Of course she did. My big-brained sibling will always come through. “Tell me.”
Hart lifts a notebook and flicks through it. “According to a diary entry, the first Merlin had designs on usurping King Arthur. He sought a weapon of power to give him what he needed to succeed, making sure the realm would recognize him as their perfect leader.”
“If he had just killed the king, whom the people loved, the kingdom would have revolted,” Nash adds.
“Makes sense. Just because you take the throne doesn’t mean you can keep it. Fear is not a great foundation for leadership,” Genie agrees.
“He came across the Lady of the Lake, who protected a sword destined only for the worthy. Anyone who wielded the blade would be loved and unmatched,” Theo tells me.
“So he tried and failed to become worthy?” Is that why he is down here in a watery grave? Oh my Idols, are all Merlins fated to end in a watery grave?
“No,” Nash says. “He was a powerful wizard. He spelled himself to appear as a young, handsome knight. Then he called upon the Lady and wooed her.”
And now we are back to an unworthy male wooing one’s floof. Sounds familiar. “Did she see through it?”
Hart shakes his head. “Not at first. She fell in love with him, and as soon as she gifted him the sword because her emotions blinded her, he shed his disguise.”
Yikes.
“What happened?” Genie asks.
“She dragged him and the sword into the lake,” Nash tells us. “But before he could meet his end, he cast a spell and a curse.”
I did not like where this was going. “What spell?”
“The spell preserves him while under the water. He cannot be killed,” Hart says. “But it’s believed he can hear everything, sort of like being trapped inside his own body.”
How terrifying. I couldn’t fathom a future where I was a bystander to the realm, but never participate. “And the curse?”
Nash’s eyes narrow. “He made sure the Lady is compelled to give the sword, even though she knows it will kill her.”
My heart sinks. I’m stuck down here, fated, because of some power-hungry wizard who thought to play with the heart of a Lady.
“Are you sure he can’t die?” I ask. “Because I’m feeling very motivated right now.”
Theo tilts his head. “We have plans to visit my father and to see if he can shed any more light on how to get around the legend.”
I huff. The king will not help them. He’s set on Theo being murdered by one of his brothers. Looks like I’m stuck with Mr. Tick and the potential disaster of stealing a weapon from an Idol.
“Daphne has a plan,” Genie says. I glare at him. We hadn’t discussed not telling the knights, but it seems fairly obvious to me. One, I don’t want them to worry. Two, I don’t want to get their hopes up if I don’t succeed.
“It involved killing the creepy wizard,” I tell them. “Which you said isn’t a possibility.”
Genie frowns at me but seems to get the message.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Calamity,” Hart advises.
“Aww, you care,” I say with a grin.
“My brothers are insufferable without you. It’s purely selfish, I assure you.”
Sure it is.
“Do you have anything you can share?” Theo asks with an eye roll at his brother. Everyone knows he’s talking shit; everyone but himself.
I think for a tempo as six eyes stare at me expectantly. It’s like they know I’m plotting something they won’t approve of. “They have an underground fighting ring,” I tell them, and their eyes widen. Trust males to get excited about violence.
“Fish fight?” Theo asks. “For what?”
