She turned back toward Morgan Le Fay and gestured for the other woman to step forth.
“Come, sister,” the queen cajoled, as if Morgan was a wayward, misbehaving child. “Greet your champions. Do they not make you proud?”
Morgan stood woodenly from her seat and shuffled forward as Guinevere walked back to her throne. Upon passing the other woman, Rui heard the queen say, “Make the pronouncements if you want him to live.”
Rui and Ere exchanged a look.
He’d heard it too.
The queen was threatening Morgan with someone important to her. They both looked at the man sitting between the two women.
Morgan stepped to the edge of the dais and held out her hands, palms up, toward Rui and Wolfe.
As if compelled by an invisible force, they both laid their hands upon hers.
The woman immediately clutched them tightly, her fingers like talons, incredibly strong. Rui had the sense that they wouldn’t be able to pull free if they tried. Not unless the sorceress released them.
And so, Morgan began to chant:
To release the curse upon this Eye,
A Champion must fight to win the Right;
Hence, the hidden Truth will be revealed;
And the Fate of souls forever sealed.
Rui felt a fiery burn in the center of her palm where her skin touched Morgan’s. She yanked her hand back reflexively with a hiss, and saw that Wolfe did the same.
He felt it too.
But he couldn’t have understood Morgan’s words, for they were spoken in a tongue only dragons knew. Humans would hear the words as meaningless hums and garbled rumbles. Rui was taken aback that Morgan could even make the sounds. She possessed a human voice box, after all.
Didn’t she?
“What is done cannot be undone,” the sorceress intoned with finality before stepping back and retaking her seat.
Guinevere watched Morgan with narrowed eyes, as if expecting her to play a trick. But the other woman merely collapsed into her throne, her entire body going lax, as if she was a balloon and the air had been let out.
The queen waved her hand in Rui and Wolfe’s direction, dismissing them now that she’d apparently achieved her goal for the night.
“Enjoy the festivities, honored warriors,” she invited with a blinding smile. “Or take your rest to prepare for the ultimate match on the morrow.”
Eyes glittering with secret malice, she promised:
“It shall be an unforgettable battle. Winner takes all.”
~ * ~* ~ *~ * ~* ~ *~ * ~
Wolfe paced back and forth across the bank of the lake. He couldn’t stay still. This was not his norm.
Fuck. He didn’t have a norm anymore. Not since meeting Rui.
He ignored her and her companions all through the festivities. He did so on purpose, hoping to show Guinevere and her countless spies at court that he had no association with Rui.
If the queen had the slightest inkling how he felt about the female warrior, she would most likely try to eliminate Rui before the last battle. Or worse, use her to force Wolfe to do Guinevere’s bidding.
Tristan helped him take stock of their surroundings. The boy was sharply observant, hiding his intelligence behind ribald jests and hearty laughs. Between the two of them, Wolfe knew where all of Guinevere’s spies were planted in the castle.