Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

PERCIVAL

I stood there, frozen in horror, as Arthur vanished into the dark, churning waters. My heart felt like it was being crushed in an icy grip, and I lunged forward, hand outstretched, desperate to grab her. But she was gone, swallowed up by the depths, leaving nothing but a gaping void.

"Arthur!" Lancelot's anguished shout cut through the chaos beside me, raw with panic and dread. He made to dive in after her, but I shot out my shadows, holding him in place.

It was too late for Tristan, Galahad, Merlin and Gawain. They dove in without a second thought, disappearing beneath the water.

"Wait!" I barked, my voice gravelly and strained. I shut my eyes, feeling the shadows swirl around me, pulling them in tight. I reached out, sending those dark tendrils into the roiling waters, searching for any sign of her.

Nothing. Just a seething mess of chaos that tore at my shadow threads, scattering them like dust. I couldn’t find her. Couldn’t even feel her. Ice coursed through my veins. I’d failed her. I’d failed in my goddamn duty to protect the heir. The one who was supposed to save us all.

“Damn it all!” I roared, slamming my fist against a nearby tree. The bark cracked beneath the impact, pain shooting up my arm. But I welcomed it. I deserved far worse.

I released Lancelot, and he immediately started pulling off his heavy clothing and preparing to leap into the water. “I’m going, with or without you.”

I snarled, knowing he was right. There was no choice but to go after her. I followed Lance’s lead, then shucked my boots and shirt, discarding them on the riverbank, prepared to follow her to the depths.

Then, without warning, the water erupted. My heart stuttered, then thundered back to life as a familiar chestnut head broke the surface. Arthur emerged like a vengeful goddess, Excalibur raised high, its blade gleaming with a golden radiance. She was no longer wearing her leather clothing, but rather a water soaked white dress that left very little to the imagination.

Staggering relief crashed over me. We surged toward her, not giving a damn as the frigid water soaked us to the bone.

Arthur staggered toward us, coughing and sputtering. I reached her first, catching her just as her knees buckled. Excalibur toppled to the riverbank, the glow fading, but Lancelot caught it.

“I’ve got you,” I murmured, pulling her close.

She was trembling, skin icy against mine. I scooped her up, cradling her against my chest as I carried her toward the shore. Lancelot was right behind me, hands hovering, desperate to touch her.

The cloak I grabbed was woefully inadequate to warm her. She looked so fragile in that moment, like a drowned kitten. It made something ache deep in my chest.

"Here, this should help," Lancelot murmured, conjuring a flickering flame in his palm. He held it close to Arthur's face, letting the heat seep into her pale skin.

Just then, a rumble of thunder boomed overhead as shadows drew in. A storm was about to hit us fast and hard.

A whimper escaped her blue-tinged lips, and she curled into me, seeking out any scrap of warmth. I held her tighter, trying to will the heat from my body into hers. Worry gnawed at my gut. She'd been down there so long. Too long.

"We need to get her out of those wet clothes," I said gruffly, my voice rawer than I would have liked. "And find better shelter for the night."

Lancelot met my gaze, golden eyes filled with the same fear that gripped me. He gave a quick nod.

“The others…” Arthur croaked, trying to lift her head.

I coaxed her back down, shushing her softly. “They’ll be alright. Three fae knights and a sorcerer are well equipped to handle a portal.”

“Is that what that was?” she asked, her eyes searching mine as she blinked the water from them rapidly.

I gave a grim nod. "Aye, portals exist all over, especially when a quest is underway. They're drawn to the magic." My lips twisted wryly as I adjusted my grip on her, her soaked dress cold and clinging. "Seems the old magic wants to make sure you succeed, even if it has to drag you through seven hells to do it."

Arthur shivered against me, tucking her face into the crook of my neck. Her breath was warm on my chilled skin, igniting a heat low in my gut that I promptly ignored.

"There was an orb," she murmured, voice muffled. “And a voice...calling me..."

I frowned, an uneasy prickle running down my spine. Orbs and disembodied voices rarely led anywhere good, in my experience. Usually heralded some fresh misery the divine powers wanted to unleash.

"Let me guess," I said, tone flat and cynical. "Sounded like a woman? Melodic and alluring, promising great knowledge and power?"

Arthur pulled back, blinking up at me in surprise. "Yes, actually. How did you know?"

I snorted. "That was the Lady of the Lake—an old water spirit from the Unseelie Court. She loves to meddle. What did she tell you?”

Arthur was about to respond when Lancelot said, “Let’s find shelter and get her dry before we get into that. The trees have eyes and ears.”

He was right. This could wait a bit longer.

In silence, we walked for nearly an hour before reaching a cave on the side of a cliff that seemed relatively safe. I sent my shadows into its depths and found nothing but small critters scurrying around.

Rain had begun to fall in earnest now, so there was no choice but to settle in for a long night. The others would be fine once they realized they were in a portal. Tristan would be able to lead them out of it.

I carried Arthur into the cave, her small frame a shivering bundle in my arms. The cave was dark and musty, but blessedly dry. I set her down gently on a flat rock, keeping a steadying hand on her shoulder.

Lancelot wasted no time gathering kindling and logs, piling them into a neat fire pit with practiced ease. Sparks danced from his fingertips, catching the dry tinder and birthing a blaze that filled the space with flickering light and warmth.

I rummaged through my pack, pulling out a spare tunic and breeches. They'd be comically large on Arthur's slight frame, but at least they were dry. I tossed them to her, along with a thick woolen cloak.

"Here, these should fit you well enough." My words were gruff, but I couldn't quite meet her gaze. The sight of her in that sodden white dress, the fabric clinging to every curve. It stirred something primal in me. Something I had no right to feel. “We’ll head back for the horses and our packs in the morning, but for now, this will have to do.”

Arthur took the clothes with a grateful nod, her fingers brushing mine and sending a jolt of awareness through me. I pulled back, busying myself with laying out a bedroll near the fire.

The soft rustle of fabric drew my attention, and I made the mistake of glancing over my shoulder. Arthur had her back to me with the dress pooled at her feet as she shrugged into my oversized tunic. The firelight danced over her pale skin, casting tantalizing shadows along the elegant line of her spine. I swallowed hard and forced myself to look away, focusing intently on adjusting the one bedroll we had with hands that trembled slightly.

Gods, how long had it been since I allowed myself to look at a woman this way? Decades? Maybe more. But Arthur drew me in. Like a moth to an open flame, and even my shadows danced in her presence.

The cave suddenly felt too small, the air too thick with tension. I could hear the whisper of fabric as she finished dressing, the crackle of the fire, Lancelot's steady breathing. Everything seemed amplified, my senses hyperaware.

"So," Arthur said, her voice still rough from her ordeal. "About that orb."

I turned to face her, steeling myself against the sight of her drowning in my clothes, her damp hair curling around her face. She looked so young, so vulnerable. It made me want to wrap her in my arms and shield her from the world. But that wasn't my place.

I cleared my throat. "Right. The Lady of the Lake. What exactly did she say?"

Arthur settled herself on the bedroll, drawing her knees up to her chest and pulling the cloak tight around her shoulders. Lancelot sat down next to her, close enough that their shoulders brushed. A flare of something hot and angry twisted in my gut at the sight, but I pushed it down.

Arthur's brow furrowed as she stared into the dancing flames. "She gave me a riddle."

“Can you remember it?” Lancelot asked as he ran his fingers through his long, wet hair, combing out the tangles.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Arthur said with an amused huff. “I can’t get it out of my head.”

"Daughter of stars and stone, born of magic's blood, To claim your fate, a bridge you must cross. But beware the path, for it is fraught with peril, And the price of failure is a fate far worse than death. Across the bridge, three guardians stand, Each a riddle, a test of wit and will. Answer true, and passage shall be granted, But fail, and your quest will be forever lost."

“So the second trial will involve some kind of bridge, where three guardians will test you with a riddle,” I mused aloud.

"I don't like the sound of that last part. 'A fate far worse than death'? What could be worse than dying?"

Lancelot glanced at Arthur, something flickering in his golden eyes. Something that reminded me of a similar sparkle in Merlin’s gaze when he looked at Arthur sometimes. Irritation twisted inside me. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew what happened between Arthur and Gawain this morning. All of us knew.

I wasn’t angry at Gawain for touching her. But I was jealous. I wanted to be the one with my fingers in her warm cunt, making her writhe against my skin.

It was impossible, though. How could she ever feel safe with me after my shadows attacked her after my nightmare? Shame still weighed on me, and sometimes it was hard to look at Arthur, even if she said she understood.

I watched as Arthur's eyelids grew heavy, her body finally succumbing to the exhaustion of the day's trials. She curled up on the bedroll, nestling into the warmth of the fire and Lancelot's solid presence beside her. Within moments, her breathing evened out into the slow, steady rhythm of sleep.

Lancelot and I sat in silence for a time, listening to the crackle of the flames and the soft patter of rain outside the cave. The shadows danced along the rocky walls, casting everything in a shifting, ethereal glow. It felt like we were in a world apart, suspended between reality and dreams.

My gaze kept straying to Arthur's sleeping form, tracing the delicate curve of her cheek, the way her damp curls clung to her neck. Even in sleep, there was a strength to her, an innate stubbornness that attracted me more than it should have.

"She's going to be the death of us, you know," Lancelot murmured. "She'll break all of our hearts in the end."

I huffed out a mirthless laugh. "Bold of you to assume we still have hearts to break. This life hollows you out until there's nothing left."

Lancelot shook his head. He glanced down at Arthur, something raw and aching in his gaze. "I used to believe that too. But I’m not so sure anymore."

I studied him, taking in the tension in his broad shoulders, the way his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. I recognized that restless energy, the warring emotions. How many times had I felt them myself, that painful yearning for something I couldn't have? Didn't deserve.

"What about Gwen?" I asked, careful to keep my tone neutral. "I thought you and she were?—"

Lancelot's eyes snapped to mine, burning with a heat that had nothing to do with the fire. "Gwen and I are done. Have been for a long time. Whatever we had, it wasn't real. Not like..."

He trailed off, but I heard the unspoken words as clearly as if he'd shouted them. The realization hit me like a blow, knocking the breath from my lungs. So Lancelot had feelings for Arthur too. It seemed the heir had a universal pull none of us could resist, drawing us into her orbit like helpless souls caught in the gravity well of a newborn star.

First Gawain and Tristan, now Lancelot and Galahad. Hell, even I felt that inexorable tug in my chest when I looked at her, much as I tried to ignore it. And I'd bet my best sword that Merlin would fight to the death against any man who tried to take her from him.

What a goddamn mess. A bunch of battle-hardened warriors, felled by a slip of a girl who probably had no idea the havoc she was wreaking on our black hearts. I almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. The Fates certainly had a twisted sense of humor.

"So what now?" I asked. "We all just stumble around like lovesick fools, panting after Arthur?"

Lancelot's jaw clenched. “Or maybe we leave the decision up to her.”

I barked out a harsh laugh, the sound grating. "Right. And how do you propose we do that? Draw lots for her favor? Fight each other for the privilege of warming her bed?"

Lancelot's eyes flashed, his hand twitching like he wanted to hit me. For a moment, I thought he might actually challenge me. Part of me relished the idea, eager for any outlet for the roiling emotions churning inside me.

Then he exhaled, the tension draining from him. "No. We let her choose, if and when she's ready."

I looked away, staring into the dancing flames. "And if she doesn't choose either of us?"

He was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was rough with barely suppressed deadness. "Then we accept it. We swallow our pride, and we continue to serve her as we swore to do."

Sleep was a long time coming that night, my mind awhirl with dark thoughts and darker desires. When I finally drifted off, chestnut curls and eyes that shimmered with golden magic haunted my dreams.

I woke some time later to the sound of chattering teeth. The fire had burned down to embers, casting the cave in deep shadow. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, then I saw her curled in on herself, shaking like a leaf.

I'd removed my shirt and boots, warming them by the fire hours ago, but the chill in the air was beginning to nip at me too.

Cursing under my breath, I rose and made my way to her side. Her skin was like ice, lips tinged an alarming shade of blue. Without a second thought, I stretched out beside her, pulling her trembling body flush against mine. She let out a small, pitiful sound, burrowing into my chest like a kitten seeking warmth.

I cocooned her in shadows, wrapping them around us both like a living blanket. It was instinct, an unconscious manifestation of my need to protect her, to chase away anything that would cause her harm or discomfort.

Slowly, her shivering eased, but I found myself reluctant to let her go. It felt so right, holding her like this. Our bodies molded together.

I held Arthur close, savoring the way her soft curves pressed against the hard planes of my body. The chill had finally left her, replaced by a delicious warmth that seeped into my bones. Her breath puffed against my neck, each exhale a caress that sent shivers through my body. My cock was painfully hard.

Though I knew I should pull away and put some distance between us before I did something foolish, I was weak. Too intoxicated by her nearness to resist. My shadows continued to wrap around her.

Slowly, Arthur began to stir, a sleepy murmur escaping her lips. I tensed, bracing myself for her reaction when she realized the position we were in. But to my surprise, she only nestled closer, her face tucking into the crook of my neck.

"Percy," she whispered. "I'm sorry if I worried you. But…thank you...for keeping me warm."

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly tight. "It was nothing," I rasped, the words feeling inadequate. How could I explain the depths of my fear when I thought I'd lost her? The desperation that had clawed at my gut as I watched her go into the water?

Arthur shifted, pulling back just enough to meet my gaze. In the dying firelight, her eyes glimmered like molten gold, stealing my breath. "It wasn't nothing. You saved my life. Again."

Her small hand came up to rest on my chest, right over my pounding heart. The heat of her palm seared me, branding me with her touch. She had to feel the thundering beneath her fingertips, the way my pulse raced at her nearness.

"I forgive you, you know," Arthur murmured, her voice soft but filled with conviction. "For your nightmare, for your shadows lashing out. I know you didn't mean to hurt me."

I stiffened, shame and self-loathing rising like bile in my throat. I'd tried so hard to bury the memory of that night, to lock it away in the darkest recesses of my mind. But it haunted me still, the image of her sprawled on the ground, eyes wide with fear as my shadows whipped around her.

"I'm a monster," I gritted out, trying to pull away. I didn't deserve her forgiveness, her understanding. I was a broken, twisted thing, unfit to even be in her presence.

But Arthur held fast. Her hand slid up to cup my jaw, forcing me to meet her gaze. "No," she said fiercely. "You are not a monster, Percival. You’re a powerful warrior who faced something that would break most souls in half. I won’t pretend to know what you went through, but I can see the pain in your eyes. People don’t just have those kinds of nightmares without having seen something to put them there."

I leaned into her touch, helpless to resist the soothing warmth of her skin against mine. Her words washed over me, a balm to the festering wound that was my shame. I wanted so badly to believe her, to accept the absolution she offered.

"You don't know the things I've done," I whispered hoarsely. "The blood on my hands. On my family’s hands. If you did, you wouldn't be so quick to forgive."

Arthur's thumb stroked along my cheekbone, a feather-light caress that sent sparks skittering down my spine. "I know enough. I know that you're loyal and brave, that you'd lay down your life for me and the others without hesitation. That's the man I see when I look at you, Percy. Not a monster, but a knight… my knight."

Something cracked open inside my chest, a dam bursting under the pressure of too many pent-up emotions. Before I could second-guess myself, I surged forward, capturing her lips in a searing kiss.

Arthur gasped against my mouth but didn't pull away. Instead, her fingers slid into my hair, nails scraping deliciously against my scalp as she deepened the kiss. I groaned, my shadows surging out to wrap around us both, cocooning us in a writhing mass of darkness.

I devoured Arthur's mouth like a man starved, pouring years of pent-up desire and longing into the kiss. My hands roamed her body, mapping the dips and curves I'd only ever dreamed of touching. She was soft and pliant beneath me, arching into my touch. Each breathy moan and gasp she made only fueled the inferno raging inside me.

I broke the kiss to trail my lips down the column of her throat, lathing the delicate skin with teeth and tongue. Arthur's head fell back, exposing more of herself to my ravenous mouth. I could feel her pulse fluttering wildly beneath my lips. The urge to bite down was painful to resist.

"Percival," she breathed, my name a plea and a prayer on her kiss-swollen lips. Her fingers tightened in my hair, holding me to her as I worked at the sensitive spot just below her ear. "Please..."

I knew what she wanted, what she needed. It echoed the hunger gnawing at my gut, the desperate need to claim and be claimed in return. With a low growl, I ripped open the tunic she wore, baring her body to my greedy gaze.

Gods, she was exquisite. Milky skin glowed in the flickering firelight, the shadows of my power dancing across her flesh like midnight lace. Perfect, rose-tipped breasts rose and fell with each shuddering breath she took, begging for the touch of my hands, my mouth. The taut plane of her stomach trembled as I skated my fingers over it, feeling the lean muscles bunch and quiver.

I dipped my head, drawing one pebbled nipple into the wet heat of my mouth. Arthur keened, her back bowing off the bedroll as I suckled and laved the sensitive bud. Her fingers scrabbled at my shoulders, blunt nails digging deliciously into my skin. I reveled in her responsiveness.

My hands mapped the lush terrain of her body, committing every swell and hollow to memory. I stroked over the flare of her hips, pulling off her breeches, feeling the silken expanse of her thighs, higher and higher until my fingers brushed the damp curls at the apex of her legs. Arthur jolted as if struck by lightning, a high, breathless moan tearing from her throat.

"Please," she panted, her hips canting shamelessly into my touch. "Percival, I need..."

I silenced her with a searing kiss, swallowing down her pleas as I parted her slick lips with my fingers. She was drenched, molten honey coating my fingers as I stroked through her silken heat. The evidence of her desire made my cock throb almost painfully against the confines of my breeches.

I circled her aching nub with the rough pad of my thumb, relishing the way she shuddered and gasped into my mouth. My fingers delved deeper, teasing her tight entrance before sinking into her welcoming body. Arthur's inner walls clenched around me, drawing me in as I began a slow, tortuous rhythm.

"That's it," I rasped against her lips, my voice guttural with need. "Take what you need from me, Arthur. Fuck my fingers until you scream."

Her hips rolled in time with my thrusting fingers, riding my hand as she moaned against my neck. I could feel her body tensing. She was close, teetering on the knife's edge of release.

I tore my mouth from hers, blazing a trail of open-mouthed kisses down her throat, across her heaving chest. I caught a straining nipple between my teeth, biting down just hard enough to make her yelp.

Arthur's eyes flashed with desperation as she suddenly pushed on my chest. My eyes went wide, and she flipped us over, straddling my hips with her strong thighs. My breath caught at the stunning sight of her above me, a goddess in the flesh, all tousled curls and kiss-bruised lips.

With a wicked smile, she pulled my cock free, and rocked her slick heat against the rigid length, coating me with her arousal. I groaned, my hands flying to her hips, fingers digging into her supple flesh. "Fuck..."

"That's the idea, Shadow Knight," she purred, reaching between us and I hissed as her small hand wrapped around my aching shaft, giving me a firm stroke. My hips bucked up involuntarily, seeking more of her touch.

Arthur rose up on her knees, positioning me at her entrance. Her gaze locked with mine. Then, with agonizing slowness, she sank down on my thick length, enveloping me in her tight, slick sheath.

"Fuck!" The curse tore from my throat as she took me to the hilt, her walls rippling deliciously around my cock. The sensation was indescribable, hot silk and velvet pressure, a heaven I knew she could make me feel. I hadn’t fucked a woman in decades, but even before, it’d never felt like this.

Arthur stilled for a moment, adjusting to my girth stretching her. Then, with a sinful roll of her hips, she began to move, undulating above me like a siren of the seas. Her pace was slow at first, a sensual glide that had me seeing stars. But soon she picked up speed, riding me as she moaned.

I was lost to her, drowning in pleasure as she rose and fell on my cock. Her breasts bounced heavily with each roll of her hips. Our bodies moved in perfect sync. The wet sounds of our fucking filled the cave, punctuated by harsh panting and throaty cries of pleasure every time she slammed down on me.

"Gods," Arthur whimpered, her head thrown back in ecstasy as she impaled herself on my shaft. "I'm so full..."

Pride and possession surged through my veins. This fierce, beautiful creature had chosen me, was taking her pleasure from my body. My shadows reacted to the intensity of my need, rising up to caress Arthur's skin, twining around her limbs like phantom lovers. She gasped, her cunt clenching hard around me as the tendrils of darkness stroked her clit.

I thrust up into Arthur's heat, meeting her downward strokes with powerful snaps of my hips. She keened, her fingers digging into my chest as I hit that spot deep inside her again and again.

"Percy!" she cried out, her voice cracking on a sob. "Please, I need—I'm so close?—"

I felt her walls beginning to clench around me, her thighs trembling with the strain of holding back her release. Gritting my teeth, I slid one hand to where we were joined, seeking out the throbbing pearl at the apex of her pussy.

The moment I pressed down on her clit, Arthur shattered, her orgasm crashing over her in a tidal wave. She tossed her head back, crying out her pleasure to the cave walls as her body convulsed around me. The rhythmic squeezing of her cunt was too much for me to withstand. With a hoarse shout, I followed her over the edge, spilling myself deep inside her.

I fucked into her even after I came, letting the aftershocks ripple through us. We slowed, Arthur moaning and cursing.

Then she collapsed onto my chest, boneless and sated. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close as we both struggled to catch our breath. My shadows withdrew, slithering back into my body.

It took less than a second to realize that Lancelot was awake too.