With My Last Breath, Book Three (21 page)

Except for one. Gunner stealthily crept behind Lucan and Bedivere, his cold hazel eyes focused with unwavering clarity on his target. His face was as menacing as I’d ever seen.

‚Lucan!' I screamed, gesturing wildly toward Gunner.

But it was too late. Lucan barely had time to turn, injured as he already was, before Gunner’s lance ran him through. Lucan’s head was thrown back and he hung limply on the lance, his feet shaking, before Gunner yanked it away. Lucan dropped to the ground.

I cried out, then watched gratefully as Bedivere drew his sword and charged at Gunner, strategically drawing the Saxon away from Lucan. Lucan lay flat on his back, his chest shuddering slowly as blood poured from his gaping wound. I knew I wouldn’t get there in time if I ran like a mortal, so I materialized next to his side in the blink of an eye. I didn’t care who saw me.

Lucan’s eyes were already turning cloudy and I collapsed onto his chest.

‚I cannot do this again, Lucan,' I cried. ‚This is too horrible, too wrong. Please, my love. Please.'

He stared at me weakly, raising one shaking hand to my face, resting his fingers against my lips.

‚Harmonia, you know this isn’t forever. I shall see you in a moment. I will wake in the Spiritlands, I promise you. Come meet me there.'

‚You promise you’ll be there?' I uttered haltingly.

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Blood dripped from my husband’s lips and he couldn’t speak but he nodded. That was the last movement he would make. His chest shuddered to a stop and he died. My screams were loud enough to reach the corners of the earth.

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Chapter Twenty Four

A moment later, I felt my mother’s cool hands on my shoulders.

‚Harmonia, do not weep. We are done here. It is done. Let us return home, where I know Cadmus is waiting.'

I turned into her embrace, unable to stop the flow of my tears. Over her shoulder, I saw Lucan’s lifeless body crumpled into the grass and I squeezed my eyes tightly closed. This never got any easier.

Ares and Ahmose joined us and my mother called to Hecate.

The next thing I knew, we were standing in the flowering courtyard of Zeus’ palace.

As soon as I opened my eyes and realized where I was, I took off like lightning through the falling lotus blossoms for the palace doors. Flying inside, I streaked up the marble steps to my bedchambers. Throwing open the doors, I pushed past Ortrera’s warriors and stopped short.

Cadmus was sitting on the table where I had left him. As he looked up and saw me, his face lit up in a grin and he stood, opening his strong arms. I flew into him with a crash and we toppled over onto the cushions.

‚I can never watch you die again,' I cried as tears streaked down my cheeks and fell onto him. ‚I cannot do it. Are you listening?'

He laughed, the most welcome sound I had ever heard, as he stroked my hair.

‚Have I mentioned lately that you’re very beautiful?' he asked with a smile.

‚There has never been a woman in all of history who has been as lovely as you are.'

‚Don’t change the subject,' I growled against his neck as I showered him in kisses.

‚I am never, ever,
ever
going to watch you die again. I can’t believe you put me through it.'

‚As if I had a choice,' he replied wryly. ‚The wastelands were no picnic, I can assure you.'

I inhaled him, stroking his face and his chest before kissing him soundly. I didn’t want to take my hands from him—I wanted to stay with him forever. After seeing how lifeless he was in the Wastelands, I would never get enough of his vitality. I would absorb it if I could.

‚That was horrible, I agree,' I said softly. ‚But you’re here now. And trust me, I’m never letting you go again.'

I climbed off of him and pulled him to his feet. ‚Let us go and get Raquel,' I urged.

‚Let us get our daughter.'

He studied me for a brief moment before smiling. ‚Perhaps, just maybe, you might want to change your clothing first.'

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I glanced down and found my dress tattered and blood-stained. My hair was a tangled mess. I looked like I had just fought a battle, which of course, I had.

‚You might be right,' I agreed. Waving my hand, I dressed myself in a clean white frock and my hair was instantly arranged in a neat chignon.

‚Better?' I grinned.

‚Almost,' he replied, wiping at a smear of blood on my chin. ‚Now you’re perfect.'

Leaning up, I kissed him softly on the mouth, leaning into him as he deepened the kiss. He tasted like sunshine and I vowed never to move from his arms.

Someone cleared their throat from the doorway and I turned my head to find Aphrodite watching us with a smirk.

‚I told you so, Harmonia,' she announced. ‚I knew Cadmus would be here and all would be well.'

My thoughts returned to the knights of the roundtable, slain on that bloody field.

‚Some of us are well,' I answered softly. ‚Only some of us.'

She studied me for a moment, her lovely face thoughtful.

‚Harmonia, we cannot change the mortal world. They eventually die. And those knights, they died with valor, the way they all prayed to go.'

‚Your mother is right,' Ares announced from behind Aphrodite. He walked past her to scoop me up in a hearty bear hug and squeezed me until I couldn’t breathe.

‚Knights prefer to die in glory,' he confirmed. ‚They all died a good soldier’s death.'

I nodded. I knew he was right. Every knight, every warrior of any type for that matter, wanted to die in battle.

Harmonia.

Ahmose’ voice resounded in my head.

I’m proud of you.

His voice drew me to the window and I stared down, finding Ahmose in the courtyard looking back up at me. He was alive and well and back to his true self, an ancient man with black robes and thick eye-makeup. His black eyes glittered in the sun as brilliant blue lotus blossoms fell from the tree above him, fluttering around his feet.

I’m proud of you. But it isn’t over.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Could he not let me enjoy it for just a moment? Of course it wasn’t over. We still had to find where the Fates had imprisoned the Olympian gods and that would most likely be no small feat. But for now, the imminent threats were behind us and that called for a small celebration.

Right after I retrieved my daughter.

I grabbed Cadmus’ hand and pulled him past my parents and out of the room, calling over my shoulder.

‚You should plan a dinner, mother. This is cause for celebration!'

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‚Did she just say that she wanted a party?' I heard my mother ask in surprise. I had to smile. She was right. I was normally not one for parties. But we were bringing our daughter home and that was cause for a party if ever there was one.

‚We’ve got to get back to Thalassa,' I told Cadmus as I pulled him along behind me. ‚She has Raquel.'

‚Calm yourself, wife,' he instructed patiently. ‚She’ll still be there when we arrive.

There is no need to break our necks in the process.'

At his words, he neatly caught a large vase that I knocked over with my shoulder as I flew past. I laughed and slowed down. He was right. We had been separated from her for several millennia. A few minutes more would not kill us.

As I forced myself to walk slowly down the stairs, I could feel Cadmus containing his laughter behind me, but chose to ignore it. Any mother in her right mind would feel excited in my position and I wasn’t going to try and contain it.

‚We should find Hecate before we travel to Avalon Lake,' I murmured to him excitedly.

‚Did you call for me?'

Hecate appeared behind Cadmus, a brilliant white smile on her lovely face. I shook my head. It has always been said that mortals enjoyed instant gratification. Mortals had nothing on gods.

‚Hecate, we must get to Thalassa. I must see my daughter before I explode,' I rushed and she laughed, but her face grew serious.

‚Harmonia, I have to caution you…something isn’t right. I can feel it.'

‚What in the world do you mean, Hecate?' I stared at her in confusion.

‚Zeus’ sword…' she began haltingly. ‚No one can control it like he can and I’m afraid… I’m afraid all did not go as planned.'

My heart stuttered.

‚What do you mean?' I whispered.

‚I sheathed Zeus’ sword as planned. And as I did, I offered incantations to undo the Fates’ influence. But I feel as though that was not the correct thing to do.'

‚What do you mean, witch? Of course it was the correct thing to do. The Fates manipulated so many things throughout the millennia. Of course it needed to stop.'

She nodded. ‚Going forward, yes,' she agreed. ‚But I fear that my incantations have changed some things that we would not have wished to change. And my spell was permanent. It will take Zeus to set it right now.'

‚What things have been changed?' I asked hesitantly.

‚Raquel…' Hecate’s voice trailed off.

The breath froze on my lips as Cadmus’ grip tightened in alarm on my arm.

‚My daughter?' I whispered.

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Without waiting to say another word or ask another question, I faded from the Spiritlands and reappeared on the banks next to Avalon Lake. The mists hung heavy over the water, the lush grasses thick with dew.

‚Thalassa?' I called, scanning the area. No one was here but me. ‚Thalassa?' I called again.

Hecate and Cadmus appeared a few yards away, my husband’s face frantic until he caught sight of me. He rushed to my side.

‚Did you find her?' he asked anxiously. I shook my head.

As I did, I noticed ripples forming from the center of the lake. Watching with frozen breath, I waited while Thalassa emerged, walking out of her home beneath the lake. Dripping, she approached me with a smile, holding out her hand.

‚Harmonia!' she called joyfully. ‚I’m so happy that you were victorious!'

She clasped my hand with her cold wet one and grinned again. ‚Well done!'

‚Thalassa,' I began quickly. ‚Where is Raquel?'

She stared at me blankly. ‚Raquel?' she repeated.

‚My daughter,' I replied impatiently. ‚Where is she? You were protecting her.

Where is she?' My voice turned shrill and my heart dropped in my chest at the continued look of confusion on Thalassa’s ethereal face.

‚I don’t know what you mean,' she said uncertainly, shifting her weight as she stared at me. ‚I don’t know her.'

Hecate broke in gently. ‚This is what I was trying to tell you. I’m afraid that anything that the Fates had a direct hand in, such as the birth of your daughter, has been skewed or undone. It might be as though your daughter never existed. Or if she does, I do not know where.'

My gaze flew to my husband’s face. He was as horrified as I was.

‚How do we find her?' he asked, automatically pulling me to his chest. I dropped my forehead against him as I waited for the answer and when it came, I found that I already knew it.

‚We must find Zeus,' Hecate answered firmly. ‚He is the only one who can truly command his sword. And with his sword, all can be restored.'

They kept talking but their voices faded from my consciousness. I limply rested against Cadmus, shock overwhelming me until it felt I would collapse. With my eyes closed, I felt his strong arms scoop me up and hold me firmly against him.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in my bed in the Spiritlands with my mother fluttering around me like a bird. She was packing my knapsack as Cadmus sat on the edge of the bed, stroking my hand gently.

‚Are you alright?' he asked in concern. My eyes welled up with tears and I couldn’t answer.

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‚My love,' he began. ‚All will be well. Look at how far we’ve come. The Fates are trapped in the underworld and they will never escape, Cerberus will see to that.

Without their intervention, we will find Zeus before you know it. And with Zeus’

power, all will be restored, just as Hecate said.'

‚Do you really believe that?' I whispered, keeping my gaze fixed on his handsome face.

‚Of course I do,' he replied firmly. ‚We’re together now and we shall never be separated again. We have this one final quest, this one last journey to complete, before everything is made perfect and whole again. We will find our daughter and our family will be complete.'

He sounded so certain, so sure, that I could scarcely doubt it. And I knew that he was right. We had come so far, traveling over oceans of time already. What was one last journey? We had the powers of the Spiritlands and my bloodstone at our fingertips and we would search every corner of the earth. It was not impossible.

I nodded limply, grasping his hand as I allowed my mind to wander. Raquel’s jade green eyes filled my thoughts. Her little face always seemed so sad and that haunted me. I wanted nothing more than to make her happy.

‚And I, too,' Cadmus agreed, reading my thoughts. ‚And we will. Once we get her back, she will be the happiest little girl in the world. I will make sure of it.'

He bent to kiss my forehead and I clung to him, inhaling his strength. I would certainly need it on our quest. One final journey. It sounded so simple, like a last trip in an old car or a final visit to a store going out of business. But it wasn’t the same.

Our journey would not be simple. I knew that already, even without using powers of prophecy. There would be pitfalls and obstacles and challenges that I couldn’t even conceive of right now.

But I was stronger than I thought. I had proven that to myself time and time again.

I was not weak…I was the Chosen One. And as the Chosen One, I knew that every journey since the beginning of time has always started with a single step. I sighed and swung my legs out of bed.

The End

For the dramatic conclusion to the Bloodstone Saga, read
At Morning’s Light
coming in January 2012.

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Author’s Notes

Was Camelot real?

No one knows. There is no historical evidence that King Arthur ever existed. He is mentioned in books written during the medieval times, but no factual evidence has ever been unearthed.

Regardless, there are many stories of this fabled hero that have been spun and passed down since the medieval times. The first account of his life was told by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Latin work,
Historia Regum Brittaniae.
How much of this story was based in truth? No one knows.

Some historians suggest that Arthur was actually one fictional character comprised of several different real-life heroes. Some suggest that he never existed at all. And some believe that he did.

What no one disputes, however, is how widely loved and romanticized his story has become. Arthur and his Roundtable knights have become the epitome of chivalry and honor—in fact, in the 19th century, a new code of ethics was established for gentlemen based upon Arthur’s ideals.

Whether it was real or not… it is still something that is fun to think of. Who wouldn’t want to believe that a place with perfect ideals and a chivalrous king, guarded by a legion of gentlemanly knights truly did exist? I certainly like to think it did, but then, I’m a romantic at heart.

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