"Something desperate. Something that had never been attempted before." His voice lowers. "Each of the Knights donated a piece of their soul to craft a key—a sword called Excaliber—infused with soul magick that could lock her away in a cell beyond the reach of any realm."
I stare at him. "You gave up pieces of your souls? Voluntarily?"
"We did what was necessary," he says simply. "But the consequences were... unexpected. The sword broke when the cell was sealed. Our soul shards were scattered and lost."
I struggle to wrap my mind around the implications. "And Earth? How did it get cut off from the other realms?"
"In the aftermath, fear gripped the realms. A self-appointed council usurped the Knights and Yggdrasil’s authority and decided that Earth should be sealed off to prevent another such threat. The door was locked and Earth was abandoned."
"And the Knights? You?"
Fen's jaw tightens. "We began to experience... symptoms. A growing darkness, loss of control, a sickness that worsened over centuries."
"So how did you figure out that finding your mates would help?" I ask as Fen stops in front of his suite doors, ornately carved beautiful dark wood bearing his family's wolf sigil.
He pushes it open with a slight creak and holds it for me, the firelight from within casting his face in warm gold shadows. "We didn't—not for centuries. Then Hawke's mate appeared. Melinda. She was from Earth, like you." His eyes meet mine, warm with memory as I step past him into the warmth of the room. "We discovered she carried his soul shard inside her. Hawke became whole again after they bonded."
"You said I had a piece of your soul inside me," I say, pausing in front of him. The heat from the hearth wraps around us, a welcome contrast to the chillier corridor.
He pushes it open with a slight creak and holds it for me, the firelight from within casting his face in warm gold shadows. "We didn't—not for centuries. Then Hawke's mate appeared. Melinda. She was from Earth, like you." His eyes meet mine, warm with memory as I step past him into the warmth of the room. "We discovered she carried his soul shard inside her. Hawke became whole again after they bonded."
"You said I had a piece of your soul inside me," I say, pausing in front of him. The heat from the hearth wraps around us, a welcome contrast to the cool corridors.
My fingers drift unconsciously to my chest, as if I might still feel some physical trace of where his soul shard had been. The concept should sound absurd. Souls aren't physical things you can break apart and distribute like puzzle pieces. Yet after everything I've seen, I can't dismiss it either.
"You did. When we bonded, it returned to me." His smile is tender as he reaches out to touch the spot my fingers rest over, the warmth of his hand seeping through the silver-gray fabric of my gown.
I move deeper into the room, running my fingers along the back of a plush armchair upholstered in deep blue velvet. "And the other Knights?"
Fen shrugs out of his formal jacket, draping it over a carved wooden coat rack near the door. "All searching for their mates. All suffering from the same darkness, the same emptiness and lost of control over their magick. We believe all the mates will be found on Earth—perhaps the Yggdrasil's way of forcing reconnection between the realms." He closes the door behind us with a soft click, sealing us away from the politics of the dinner table.
I didn’t really take time to look around when we were getting dressed earlier, but the main room is really nice. Spacious yet intimate with high ceilings and walls lined with bookshelves. Thick rugs cover portions of the stone floor, their patterns reminding me of constellations. A fire burns in the massive hearth, shadows dancing across comfortable-looking furniture arranged for conversation rather than formality.
I kick off the slippers Frigga provided earlier, curling my toes into the plush rug with a small sigh of relief. "So that's why Nimue is so invested. If all the Knights find their mates, it proves the connection between Earth and the other realms can't remain severed?"
"Exactly." Fen moves to a sideboard and pours amber liquid from a crystal decanter into two glasses. "And it suggests the possibility of restoring the soul-mate magick that was broken when the queen was imprisoned." He hands me one of the glasses, his fingers brushing mine deliberately.
I take a sip, the liquid burning pleasantly down my throat as I wander toward the center of the room. "You know," I say, lightening my tone, "when I joined GUIDE, all I wanted was to find the chimera that killed my father. Revenge was simple. Clear." I shake my head. And I still haven't avenged my father... or my dead comrades. Except now with everything that's happened, do I still want to? "I never imagined I'd end up in the middle of an interplanetary magickal conflict."
Fen's settles into one of the armchairs, the leather creaking slightly beneath his weight. "This conflict definitely isn't simple."
"That's an understatement," I reply, perching on the arm of his chair. "Missing pieces of souls, evil queens locked in towers, people stealing magick." I give him a sidelong glance, allowing myself a small smile. "Though I have to admit, not all the complications are unwelcome."
He raises an eyebrow, catching my meaning as he sets his glass down on a small table inlaid with mother-of-pearl. "Is that so?"
"Don't let it go to your head, Your Highness. Five hundred years old and still fishing for compliments." I nudge his shoulder playfully.
"Five hundred and twenty-eight," he corrects with mock seriousness, capturing my hand and pressing his lips to my knuckles. "And when you've lived as long as I have, you learn to appreciate sincere praise wherever you find it."
I slip from my perch, restless energy making it hard to stay still. "So these other Knights... will I meet them in Avalon?" I try to keep my voice casual, but there's an undercurrent of uncertainty I can't quite hide. Will they accept me—a former GUIDE agent who hunted their kind? Or will they see me as an outsider, a human-turned-wolf who stumbled into their ancient quest?
"Some of them," he nods, watching me pace. "Perhaps all, but not everyone seemed to stick to the check-in schedule. Hawke and Melinda will definitely be there."
My fingers trail along the spines of leather-bound books as I move toward the bookshelves. "And they're all... suffering from something because of the missing soul pieces?"
Fen's expression sobers, the firelight casting deeper shadows across his face. "Different for each Knight."
"And for you it was?" I ask softly, turning back to face him.
