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“Hush now, Mary. You mustn’t upset yourself. Just take a deep breath and all will be well,” Morganna murmured.

Arthur stared at his daughter in incredulous amazement. She was talking like one of his most hardened knights, and though Molly normally had a colorful mouth, she always kept her tongue in check when she was around her stepmother. Furthermore, she had mentioned another man. Who was this Shakespeare? Were he and Collin one and the same? His head hurt from all of the unanswered questions. Molly almost sounded as if she had lost her mind. Could the shock of the Dark Rider’s attack cause her to lose her grip on her sanity? Stop jumping to conclusions. His chide against himself served to knock some sense into him. Of course Molly wasn’t becoming addle-brained. She was a Lady Knight and a Light Bearer of Merlin’s. Her training had prepared her for any trial. She would recover. He was sure of it.

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Gwen plastered herself up against a wall and let out a horrified shriek. “Mayhap she has been possessed by a demonic spirit. We should call upon Father Cadfael. He will know how to handle this dire situation!” Gwen started only to be cut off by Morganna’s loud and highly undignified snort.

“I wish that you would cease your addle-brained blabbering. For being Welsh, you turn your back rather well on your mystical forebears,” Morganna muttered. She cast Gwen a disgusted glare. A gust of fresh air whipped through the air and caused Molly’s eyes to flutter open. A smile lit their glorious depths, and for a brief moment a lively sparkle danced within her orbs.

“Beatrice. Thank God!” Molly murmured. The faint trace of a smile touched her rosebud lips, and she relaxed.

Arthur felt renewed hope flaring in his heart. He trusted his daughter’s instincts above everything else. Reluctantly, he wrenched his gaze away from Molly’s pixie-like face, only to rest them on the Lady Knight known as Beatrice. A lump lodged in his throat, even as a violent thrill raced through him.

“I am well versed in the healing arts,” Princess Beatrice stated, stepping tentatively forward. As she came closer, her golden hair slid back from her face revealing her pointed ears.

Gwen let out another horrified shriek, as the Elf princess smiled almost gleefully.

“May I inspect Princess Molly?” Beatrice moved to the side of the bed, and rested her eyes on Arthur as she waited for his permission. Arthur stared up into Beatrice’s violet eyes, and as he stared into their depths a feeling of the most glorious tranquility washed over him. In her gaze, he could almost see the light that Mildred had carried in her own glorious orbs.

“She is dying, brother, give your permission for the love of God!” Morganna snapped angrily. He narrowed his eyes. In the last few moments, Morganna had become almost maternal in her care of Molly. This was a surprising side of Morganna but not a revolting one, fortunately. He watched as she continued to soothingly caress Molly’s forehead.

“Lord Merlin learned his power of healing from my Elvin forebears. I assure you, Your Grace, that I am well skilled. You must place your faith in me. If you do not, we will surely lose Molly. Even now as we speak I feel her moving closer to the light that welcomes all good spirits. “ Beatrice’s voice made Arthur feel quite enchanted.

Almost as if he were mesmerized, her brilliant light stunned and amazed him. He hadn’t paid much mind to the new members of his daughter’s order…had only been introduced to them the last eve. He had not expected one of the members to be from one of the mystical lands that only lived in fables of his youth.

“Cease your gawking, my brother. She is an Elf, and her cousin from the lands of Faerie is also a member of the High Order, had you paid more attention last eve, you would have known that,” Morganna chastised, beaming brilliantly up at Beatrice. “Mayhap that is why Merlin has not returned with Adria yet. He is a firm believer in allowing us to do for ourselves and if he does not truly believe he is needed, he will stay away. I believe that he wants to see how well we all fare in moments of heart-wrenching despair. If you do not act now, you will lose your only child, and your future heir,” Morganna pointed out, matter-of-factly. Her forehead wrinkled with concern, and the stare she served Arthur sent a shiver through him. She had finally vocalized the thought that he had been keeping at bay. Molly. Dead. No, he could not let that happen.

“Proceed,” he murmured, moving out of Beatrice’s way. Beatrice gently laid her bare hands against the gaping wound. Her hands were immediately drenched in hot sticky blood, but she was undeterred, as light began to emanate from her. Morganna and Arthur shielded their LADY PENDRAGON MARLEY MATHEWS 38

eyes with their hands, and when they were able to look back, the sight that was before them nearly took their breath away.

“Thank Heavens,” Arthur murmured. His eyes rested on the now freshly healed wound.

The large gaping hole had been fused closed by Beatrice’s remarkable healing magic. It had to be a miracle.

“We shall need to wash away the last vestiges of blood, and then Princess Mary shall have to take care. I have merely closed the wound and eradicated the poison; she will still be tender and sore. I can do nothing to restore her strength and she has lost too much of her lifeblood. She will have a long journey of recuperation ahead of her,” Beatrice murmured.

Arthur nodded his head solemnly. The light in Beatrice’s eyes had dimmed ever so slightly. Her shoulders slumped and he watched Beatrice summon a staff much like the one that Merlin carried. She leaned her weight against it and gave him a weak smile.

“I must retreat to my chambers now. I shall need to rejuvenate my own strength. “

“Rest easy, Lady Beatrice. I assure you that my daughter shall not move from this bed,”

he vowed. Standing up, he clasped his hands behind his back. “I shall leave now and inform my Knights that their Princess is alive and well, they will be much worried. “ He cast a glance toward the speechless Gwen, shrugging his shoulders at her pale complexion.

“It was only white magic, no harm has been done. You needn’t stare at me as if I’ve allowed some abomination to occur,” he murmured, moving to take Gwen’s arm. Her eyes bulged and he knew she was about to protest. Instead, she clamped her mouth shut and let her arm hang stiffly in his hold. Then, in the blink of an eye, new anger surged into her body. She wrenched her arm out of his grasp and looked at him as if he were sprung from the very bowels of hell itself.

“All magic is accursed!” Gwen hissed. Shuddering, she reached for the long cross that hung on the leather cord around her neck. “Devilry is what it is. You should not even use that Wizard’s counsel. You let devilry dance throughout your kingdom. If you do not take care, my lord husband, it will be your ruination!”

Arthur flung his hands in the air. With his hopelessness dimming renewed determination flowed through him. Reaching for her hand he, well more or less, pulled her toward the door.

“Would you have had my daughter die?” he demanded angrily. “I had not thought you were that heartless, wife!” He stared at her with an expression mingled between disbelief and outright hatred.

Dead silence resonated off the walls. Morganna, for once in her life seemed content to let him take charge of the situation at hand. If he were a lesser man, he would have been tempted to shake some sense into Gwen. As it was, he just wished that she would decide to take a vow of silence for the next fortnight. At least then, he would be given some form of peace.

“Aye, had I not been able to see Molly through her injury. Death would have been a blessing compared to this half-life she will lead now that she has been healed by—”

“Do not say it!” he commanded. “You will condemn yourself even further in my eyes, Gwen, if you do. The magic that is practiced within the borders of my land is pure and just. You need to understand that or we will forever be at odds over it. “ His nostrils flared.

Gwen graced him with her sickeningly patient smile, even while her eyes danced with bold fire. She would not relent, that he could see. “My lord husband, you will see the error of your path one day. Even now as we speak, you should rush to Father Cadfael to confess your sins. You must understand, Arthur. We cannot go against the will of God. What if Molly had been meant to die? The catastrophe such a defiance of fate might cause could be severe. I fear LADY PENDRAGON MARLEY MATHEWS 39

for you, husband. Your love for Molly clouds your judgment. The people will begin to lose faith in your ability to lead them, if you do not take care,” Gwen predicted, just as the fire in the hearth let out a loud crackle.

Arthur turned. A large gust of wind ripped through the room. Glaring light enfolded them both, and he heard Molly’s faintly spoken whisper.

“Mama,” she whispered. His heart stopped.

Spinning around, he met the anxious gaze, of his one and only true love. Mildred was the lady of his heart, and would be until his dying day. Even now, the profession of his love for her was on his lips and he completely forgot about his lady wife. He dropped Gwen’s arm and rushed toward Mildred.

To his complete befuddlement, Mildred turned her back on him. For the first time in his life, Arthur the Great War King, felt defeated.

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Mildred rushed over to Molly’s side and Morganna moved aside so that Mildred could be close to her daughter. Arthur remained motionless, a myriad of mixed emotions boiled within him. Mildred settled herself on the bed beside Molly and cautiously gathered Molly into her arms.

Mildred’s midnight waves spilled loosely down her back, tied away from her face with a dyed leather cord. Her skin was pale and lacked the freckles that were spotted liberally across Molly’s cheeks. Mother and daughter resembled each other in height and build, and shared the same eye color, but that was where the physical similarities ended. Pain crept into his heart and coiled itself around it. He couldn’t seem to breathe.

“You seem so altered, my daughter. I had not expected to find you so…different. Your eyes hold a wisdom that far surpasses your tender age,” Mildred murmured, as Molly stared up at her mother with surprised adoration.

“But of course, I am quite altered, Mama. It has been many, many years since last we saw each other. I knew that you were not dead,” she murmured, squeezing her mother, as if to further enforce that fact. “You are still alive, are you not? For if you are just on a visit from the land of angels, I shall be most distressed,” Molly said, staring up at her with glistening dark orbs.

“I am alive, dearest daughter,” Mildred murmured, chuckling softly. “Adria frightened me half to death when she carried your news of bad tidings,” Mildred finished. She tossed Arthur a scathing scowl.

Molly watched transfixed. This all seemed surreal. How had her mother survived? This could not be happening. Time seemed to be turning itself inside out. Nothing made sense to her.

Her mother shouldn’t be alive. This was not how her past had unfolded. Her heart thumped as a startling realization hit home. She had started another timeline. As soon as that Dark Rider’s sword pierced her skin, she had set into motion another chain of events. Nothing was as it had been, which meant that all of her former experiences would change. How could she make sure the timeline remained stable if she didn’t know what would happen before it happened?

Grimacing, she flexed her jaw. A gigantic headache formed behind her eyes. She watched closely as her father dragged his feet across the stone floor and came to stand by the bed.

“I must be dreaming,” he mused, reaching out a tentative hand toward Mildred.

Mildred pulled back, as if he meant to do her harm. Molly couldn’t understand the exchange, and her head felt as if it was about to explode. There was so much to try to understand. She had lived through fifteen hundred long years believing that her mother was dead. Now, on her second time around, she discovered that her mother had indeed lived through the attack on Castle Anwyn, some six years earlier. She had been betrayed. Merlin had lied to her by keeping this important knowledge away from her. Fury welled inside of her. Had she possessed enough energy she would have given Merlin a what for!

Bitterness welled inside her dry throat, and she licked her parched lips, as Morganna hastily handed her a goblet of water. Quickly, she drank it down, and winced at the strange taste of it. Of course, it was drawn from Killarney Springs, but it still made her hesitate slightly. She LADY PENDRAGON MARLEY MATHEWS 41

had grown accustomed to drinking the purified bottled water of the 21st century, and though this water was pure, it still tasted quite different.

“The fever has been lifted,” Mildred said, pressing her hand to Molly’s head.

Molly reveled in the soft smile that Mildred gave her. Love vibrated between them.

They had been parted for many years and yet now that they were reunited, it felt as if only a mere heartbeat had passed since they’d last seen each other. Gwen let out an exclamation and held her cross out toward Mildred as if to ward away evil.

“You are supposed to be dead! You are an abomination! You must be an evil spirit sent to trick us all into working for you,” Gwen gasped, marching toward the bed. “Be gone evil doer!” Gwen shrieked.

Molly tried to do something but her strength had indeed left her. By the look of things, Gwen seemed about ready to lash out at her mother in a fit of unparalleled violence. Her one arm was lifted high above her head and she had her hand clenched into a tight fist. Gwen’s eyes were filled with malice. Arthur caught and held Gwen before she could accost Mildred. Gwen struggled for a bit, causing Arthur to lift her about a foot off the floor. Molly couldn’t understand Gwen’s volatile behavior. She always acted with an almost detached coldness to everything. Molly found it quite hard to believe that Gwen was now willing to cause a scene in front of her ladies-in-waiting. News of her odd behavior would rip like wildfire through the castle. Soon, the lowest scullery maid and the youngest stable boy would know of her ridiculous outbreak.