“I fought back out of fear,” he said simply. “I saw the same raw power in his eyes, and I didn't trust it."
He nodded toward Camelot. “Do you see the central tower? The crack running through it?" I nodded. "No mason or magic has ever been able to repair it. It resists healing.” He met my eyes. “Like the rift between Merlin and me.”
“I… didn’t know,” I said. It was all I could manage.
“Most don’t.”
He paused, his gaze drifting back to the mist. “The ban on magic—it wasn’t born of hatred. It was damage control. ButMerlin wouldn't accept any ban at all." He took a breath. "It was only ever my intention to pause magic—never to ban it indefinitely. I simply wished to create safeguards.” A beat of silence. "But Merlin's departure to Annwyn and his subsequent positioning as my enemy made compromise impossible."
I stood frozen, absorbing all of this information. I still didn't know why Arthur was tellingmethis, but there was something missing, something he wasn't telling me. I didn't know why I felt this way, but I did all the same.
“I thought I was protecting the realm,” Arthur went on. “Merlin believed I was enslaving it. And so, we became what the other feared.” Then he was quiet as he looked out at the Standing Stones in the far distance. There was a strange expression on his face. “Remember what I told you today, Lioran.” He looked back at me then. “History is rarely what it claims to be.”
I hesitated, then asked, “May I ask, sire… why me?”
Arthur looked at me for a long moment and smiled. Not with warmth. Withunderstanding.
“You’re from the Northlands. And there have been… questions about loyalty there.” A pause. “I thought it best you heardmyside of the story—since I’m sure you’ve heard others.”
I simply nodded, managing a small smile. “I appreciate that—more than you know, Your Majesty.”
As we walked back to the horses, I kept replaying the image of Arthur tossing that stone into the mist. The grief in his voice when he spoke of Merlin—it didn’t sound like the lie of a tyrant. It sounded like the truth. But a truth that was obscured by… something. I just could not part with the notion that there was more to this story than he was letting on.
“I apologize if I’ve burdened you with old wounds,” Arthur said, catching my silence. “But the story had purpose.”
He paused.
“The Shadow Trials… they’re my attempt to rebuild what we lost. Knights who wield magic with discipline. With honor. Sworn to protect rather than dominate.” He looked away and shook his head. “Perhaps it’s too late.”
When he turned back, his expression was quieter. Older.
“History will say I banned magic,” he said. Then, after a breath: “It won’t remember that I once believed in it.”
-GUIN-
The training yard rang with the clash of steel and barked instructions.
I arrived deliberately late—less time for conversation, less risk of being seen too closely. Less opportunity for my eyes to stray to the most handsome knight in black armor.
But it was no use. My eyes found Lance immediately. He was demonstrating a parry—graceful, precise, dangerously focused. Sunlight caught in his dark hair. His tunic clung to muscle and movement.
Something fluttered in my chest.
I crushed it by digging my nails into my palm until the pain cleared my head.
Professional distance.
I was Lioran. I was Merlin’s agent. Not a woman with foolish longings for Arthur’s most loyal sword. All I had to focus on was the truth—that if Lance knew who I really was and why I was really here, he would run me through with his blade—no questions asked.
When Mordred called for paired drills, I turned sharply—away from Lance—and approached Gareth, as Percival had already paired with Galahad.
“Care to spar, Sir Gareth?”
Gareth's auburn brows rose in genuine surprise, though his expression quickly shifted to one of pleased anticipation. A slow grin spread across his attractive features, transforming his usually serious demeanor into something almost boyish. He straightened from where he'd been adjusting his leather bracers, the movement causing the morning light to catch the subtle flame motifs in his armor.
"Gladly," he said, rolling his broad shoulders in preparation. "I've been hoping to test my fire against your water, Sir Lioran. The other knights speak highly of your elemental control, but I confess I'm curious to see how ice fares against flame."
"Well, let's put it to the test, shall we?"
