She walked out of the palace with him and into the inner grounds. It was dark and late in the night, quiet, and perfect for sneaking away.
He kissed her, then kissed and embraced her again. Then he drew his sword and began slicing at the air. After an hour, exhaustion hit him and he had to pause for a rest. They hadn’t realized it right away, but Merlin was observing them in the shadows.
Camelee spotted him first, when he moved to keep the direction of his gaze on Wolf’s movements. His hair was as dark as the shadows, straight and long, as were his mustache and beard. When he was caught, he stepped out into the light with boldness.
“Why are you trying to leave?”
“Are you telling me I cannot go?” Wolf asked.
“I think my question was plain enough.”
“I want to find my brother and tell him I am well.”
Merlin folded one arm across his chest and stroked his beard with his other hand. “You shouldn’t do this.”
“And you all should not have pulled all these people out of their lives. Something is bound to go wrong in the timeline You took three people from the twenty-first century and dropped them into three different times, possibly changing all those timelines. Not to mention Sebastian, an eighteenth-century lord, who used to be a first-century sorcerer, now living in twenty nineteen. You are truly going to judge me on this?”
“No,” Merlin conceded, looking at Camelee then veiling his gaze for a moment behind long, black lashes. “But for the record, I had nothing to do with any of that. I have recently discovered that it was all Morgan’s doing. She was using the brooch for its intended purpose to find Arthur. It found his children instead—and guided them—as Arthur intended—to their true loves.” He smiled at Camelee and Wolf.
Wolf cast him a doubtful look when he met his gaze again. “What is a record?”
Merlin curled his lips into a smile that softened his angular features. “Forgive me, Wolf. I lose track of where everyone is from. I cannot remember how everyone speaks.”
Wolf finally smiled back. The sorcerer was difficult not to like. “I imagine it is quite difficult.”
“More than I hope you will ever know,” Merlin said in a solemn voice. “Do not meet more people than you need.” He turned a handsome smile on Camelee. “When this is over, take your husband home and live your lives. Don’t allow him to flit around from time to time because he can.” He set his dark eyes on Wolf again. “You will lose yourself.”
“Did that happen to you?” Wolf asked him and felt Camelee’s hand searching for his. He caught her and closed his fingers around hers.
“I could never stay long enough in any one place to form serious attachments to others. The choice was not my own. It still isn’t. If I wasn’t doing this for as long as I have, I would never have learned anything from the timeline. I still sometimes get mixed up when speaking of certain kings and their eras.” He smiled and then it faded. “One day it will end. I hope my day and your day are the same in the timeline.”
“Do you think I will kill you?” Wolf asked, growing tired of being some prophesied cold killer of people he liked. He would find the chapel here and go to it when he returned from finding Fin.
“Let’s hope not, eh?” He placed his hands on their shoulders, one on Wolf’s and one on Camelee’s. “Tell me why you have not been able to leave.”
“I think I am not passionate about it. Feverish.”
“I will go to your brother,” Merlin told him. “I will tell him—”
“No. I have a feeling I am going to be here for a while. I want to tell him.”
Merlin cast Camelee an understanding look. Then closed his eyes and tossed back his head.
“What are you doing?” Wolf demanded and stepped in front of Camelee, blocking her from the sorcerer.
Another moment passed with Merlin crying out. Wolf was about to give him a shake, but Camelee stopped him. An instant later, Merlin opened his eyes and stared at Wolf. All the color drained from his face and left him gaunt and hollow-looking.
“Your brother,” he gasped as air and life returned to him. “Your brother might be in trouble. There is an evil force around him. I don’t know what it is. I fear it might be Morgan, but I did not see her.”
“Morgan?” Wolf repeated quietly, then lifted his sword and turned toward the darkness.
“Wolf, please don’t go!” Camelee begged him. “It’s most likely a trap.”
“Wolf,” Merlin cautioned. I’m not sure you should go. In fact, I advise against it. If it is Morgan, you will die. You cannot beat her. You don’t even have magic. Besides, all the magic in Avalon cannot beat her.”
All the magic in Avalon…Wolf set his gleaming gaze on Merlin. “If she is allowed back in Avalon, can the sisters stop her from using her magic, as they stopped Sebastian and the king?”
“We are unsure. We have never had to try it.”
