With My Last Breath, Book Three (9 page)

A large part of Cadmus existed in every mortal life that he had lived, but he wasn’t truly himself except for when he was Cadmus. It was more pressing than ever that I get him back - not only for me, but for our child. I curled my hand against our unborn child protectively and closed my eyes once more.

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Chapter Ten

The castle herald woke me from my nap with a bugle and his grating shout.

‚Hear ye, hear ye! The royal tournament will continue as planned for this eve. A feast will ensue after.' I could tell that he passed beneath my window and then continued onward, because his annoying voice grew more distant. ‚Hear ye, hear ye!...'

I rolled to my side and found Lucan’s eyes open. His arm was under my shoulders.

‚King Arthur is still having the joust' I asked. ‚Even after the massacre of the peasants?'

Lucan shrugged. ‚I believe he probably wants life to continue as normal, as much as possible. Why should we allow the Saxons to change what we do?'

‚Or the Romans?' I added. ‚It could be either, from what I heard.'

‚True,' he acknowledged. ‚Although, my lady, this is something that you do not need to concern yourself with. That is my job as your man. I won’t allow harm to come to you.'

At times like this, I did truly miss Cadmus. Cadmus, in his true form, knew very well that I was perfectly equal to him in every way. In our earlier mortal lives, not so much. I swallowed my annoyance and smiled cockily.

‚Yes, Lucan. You are correct. I should sit by the fire and embroider something.'

He grinned. ‚You’re such a cheeky one, Heleyne. Anyway, it is too hot to sit by a fire. You’ll have to sit outdoors in the shade or in the queen’s bower.' I swung around and punched him on the arm and he laughed.

‚You’re not meek enough by half,' he observed. ‚But I love you to distraction.'

‚As I love you,' I answered softly, stroking his bulging muscle where I had just punched him. ‚But do not become distracted this day, Lucan. Not at the joust.'

He rolled his eyes as he stood.

‚Must you think so little of me?' he looked toward the ceiling in mock despair.

‚Do you think me so unskilled? I will win tonight, my lady. For you. Shall I carry your favors?'

‚Of course,' I replied lightly, rising from the bed to choose a red scarf from my armoire. ‚We’ll tie this around your arm.'

He took it and bowed low. ‚I will have my squire see to it,' he said obediently with a grin. ‚And I will win the tournament for you.'

‚Only for me?' I asked doubtfully. ‚Not for the fame and glory?'

He shook his head. ‚Only for you. I will hand your scarf back to you as a champion.'

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I shook my head with a smile as he dipped to kiss me and walked from my rooms.

I took one moment to straighten my disheveled hair and set out to find my mother.

It wasn’t hard. She was overseeing the servants who were setting up the seats for the joust. I crossed the field to the side of the castle, treading across the wildflowers and grass that led to the jousting arena.

One side of the arena backed up to the cliffs that the castle itself was situated on. I stood on the edge for a moment, looking down. The ocean crashed below me, magnificent and strong, with sandy beaches unfurling for miles on each side. Amid the call of the seagulls and the smell of sea salt, I closed my eyes with the sun on my face.

The baby was rapidly stealing my energy and I would swear that I could fall asleep in this standing position if I stayed still too long. Shaking the weariness from my eyes, I turned to meet my mother.

On either side of the arena, wooden tiered benches were arranged for the crowds.

On the far end, a box filled with seats sat, with a bright green canopy snapping in the wind. Arthur’s green crest hung in front, just below the seat that he would sit in, if he didn’t participate. However, there was seldom a joust in which he did not participate.

His seat, like normal, would sit empty today.

Next to him, was Guinevere’s seat and my own, as well as several other chairs for visiting dignitaries and any noblemen of the kingdom who were in attendance. From this vantage point, we had a perfect view of the tournament. Any time a knight crashed into the dust, his lance splintered, we would see it perfectly. And to be honest, right now I just didn’t have the stomach for it. Men from this era so loved blood and sport.

‚I wish that Arthur would cancel this today,' Guinevere muttered as she straightened the chairs that we would sit in. Turning, she took a vase of flowers from a servant girl and placed them on a pedestal in the corner of the gallery box.

I didn’t know why she bothered. The smell of the roses would not come close to overpowering the strong scents of horses, manure, dust and blood that would fill this stadium in a little while.

‚We do not have time for this,' she grumbled to me. She looked at the servant girl who was patiently waiting for further orders.

‚You may go,' she nodded kindly to the girl. The girl turned and walked down the steps leading to the gallery and Guinevere looked back to me.

‚Well? What say you? We do not have time for this.'

‚What would you like me to say, mother?' I stared at her in exasperation.

Aphrodite had such a tendency to work herself up into a frenzy and expected that her agitation would spill to everyone around her. And sometimes it did. But not today.

‚Yes, we have more important things to do. But we cannot help that right this moment. Our absence from this joust would be missed. We will resume our search for Courtney Cole 59

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the sword tonight after this tournament. I wish to search this castle from top to bottom before we hunt away from here. It makes no sense otherwise.'

Guinevere finished tying a bow on the banister in front of me and stopped, pausing to survey the area in front of us. The arena was empty and quiet, the bleachers free of people. She sighed.

‚I know you are right,' she murmured. ‚I’m sorry for adding to your stress. I know you must be anxious already. You are correct. We will thoroughly search the palace grounds before we search elsewhere.'

As we descended the wooden steps from the gallery tower, I tossed my hair out of my face and as I did, I caught sight of Morgan sitting in the far seats of the arena, back in a darkened corner. Hunched with her, his head to hers, was Mordred. My blood turned cold as I stopped moving. My mother ran into my back, and I felt her follow my gaze, then heard her sharp intake of breath.

They were talking animatedly; Morgan was throwing her hands around wildly and finally Mordred stood, glaring down at her in agitation before barking something at her. He stood still for a moment and then stalked down the wooden walkway and across the field back to the palace.

Morgan watched him go and then she turned her head, meeting my gaze. Her eyes were dark and stormy and froze into mine. I felt as though I would ignite from the heat emanating from her glare. Finally, she turned her head and leaped to her feet, flouncing away in the opposite direction. Her dark cloak swirled around her and I watched her disappear in the tunnels under the arena.

‚What was the about?' my mother whispered in my ear.

‚That is a good question,' I answered. ‚The two of them together is a worrisome combination.' She nodded in agreement, but we didn’t have time left to continue the conversation. People from nearby villages were beginning to arrive for the evening’s joust.

I sighed as I settled into my chair, watching the stands fill up with peasants, farmers and noblemen. To our right, Reagan and his stable boys led out the knights’ horses. All of them were decorated festively, with masks and ribbons while banners draped from their backs. Pageantry was a large part of jousting. Every action was steeped in tradition, going back hundreds of years. It was a celebration of honor and chivalry and Arthur thought that it was a good reminder to the people of what he stood for.

Arthur himself was laughing with Sir Tristan a few yards from us. They were both already wearing their armor, each of them holding their helmets in their hands as they talked. Tristan’s sandy blonde hair curled around his shoulders, his brown eyes warm as they twinkled with jest. He was typically a quiet man, very thoughtful in everything that he did. But he was very loyal to the king and just as deadly as anyone else seated on the roundtable.

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Arthur slapped Tristan on the back, his hand clanging against the metal, before he turned and walked quickly for Guinevere. Bounding easily up the steps, mindless of the heavy armor, he knelt in front of his queen.

‚My lady, may I wear your favors?'

His cornflower blue eyes beseeched her and I saw just a glimmer of insecurity in them. He was afraid to trust that she had truly forgiven him. It spoke to a soft place in my heart and I smiled at him.

Guinevere laughed, a soft tinkling sound. ‚Of course, husband.' From her skirts, she withdrew a satin kerchief, tucking it into the front plate of his armor. ‚Wear it here, by your heart,' she instructed. ‚My love will protect you, your highness.'

My heart swelled with pride for my mother. She did so carry out the part that she was meant to play here. And even though her true heart belonged to my father, she treated Arthur with the love and respect that he deserved.

He grinned in response, bending to kiss her hand.

‚I shall win for you,' he told her solemnly. I couldn’t help but pipe up.

‚Then you shall have to best Lucan, my king. He has sworn to win for me, as well.'

We all laughed, Arthur hardest of all, before he rose to his feet and bowed slightly at his waist. ‚Well, Lucan is certainly a worthy adversary. I will do my best.'

He straightened and grinned at us both.

‚Ladies,' he said. ‚I will return in a few moments.' He turned and began walking noisily down the walkway. ‚As a victor, Heleyne!' he called over his shoulder.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched him join the rest of his knights. They were all congregating around their horses as their squires finished final preparations.

This joust would only be between themselves. They did host tournaments when they invited other challengers from throughout the land. Those competitions could turn deadly. But with the current state of the country, Arthur couldn’t risk losing any of his highly trained knights to a simple jousting loss. He needed them on the battlefield.

These tournaments now were for fun and sport. A simple exhibition only, one meant to restore the morale of the people and to provide sheer entertainment.

I watched Lucan’s squire tie my red scarf around his bicep over the metal of his armor. Lucan looked up at me, catching my eye and winked before he dropped the visor of his helmet.

Instead of taking the stairs back up to the gallery, Arthur leaped onto the ledge in front of us, balancing precariously as he addressed the crowd. Clad as he was in heavy armor, it was a sheer testament to his athletic prowess.

‚Countrymen!' he shouted. ‚We all know that we face challenges ahead from enemies from other lands. They come here, to our own land, to challenge us. But today… today we will put this aside and in this exhibition, my knights will show you Courtney Cole 61

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the caliber of the men protecting you. You will see that your country is in good hands.

Let the games begin!'

Bugles sounded and he leaped once more to the ground. Flags fluttered from the corners of the stands and people laughed merrily, all willing to forget the current dire situation of the country in exchange for one joyous evening.

First up, was Arthur and Tristan. As they faced each other from opposite ends of the arena, the court herald leaned from a small box protruding from the bleachers at the midpoint. When the king participated, the herald acted as an official in his stead and ruled the winners. The herald lifted his arm, a flowing black scarf in his hand, then dropped it.

At his signal, King Arthur and Tristan rode for his each other, their lances held tightly under one arm as their horses’ hooves thundered in the dirt. As they drew closer, anticipation built and then they met in the middle. Their horses did not swerve and they each lifted their lance, their faces invisible from behind their visors.

Arthur made the first contact, striking Tristan sideways on his chest, squarely across his chest plate. Arthur’s weapon knocked Tristan from his seat, causing him to sprawl headfirst into the dust.

Arthur spun his horse to face first the crowd, with his arms raised in victory, then to Guinevere. He dipped his head and then straightened again before sliding from his horse. Walking to Tristan, he helped him from the dirt. They both flipped up their helmets and chatted as they walked from the arena. Their squires scrambled to retrieve their weapons and horses, clearing the area for the next dual.

Gawain and Gareth competed next, two brothers pitted against one another in fun.

They each winked to the crowd before facing off, causing the eligible ladies in the crowd to giggle and watch the men with interest. Both of them were eligible bachelors, and they both incited much interest from the females in the kingdom.

After Gawain good-naturedly prevailed over his brother, they shoved each other out of the arena, much to the crowd’s delight. Sir Bedivere and Sir Kay followed them with Kay as the winner. Gaheris and Bors de Ganis were next.

As they faced off, Guinevere whispered to me.

‚How are you feeling? Are you okay in this heat?'

I reached over and squeezed her hand. ‚I’m fine, your highness. The breeze is nice, though, is it not?'

The ocean breeze blew in from the sea, breaking up the horse and dust smells.

Without that, the smell around the arena could become stifling, particularly to a newly pregnant woman. It seemed that all smells were becoming more potent to me now. I could even smell the sweat from the horses from here.

‚Oh, look!' Guinevere nudged me. ‚Lucan’s turn!'

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My eyes shot to the arena to seek out my soulmate. He was poised, tense and ready, waiting for the scarf to fall. It dropped, fluttering in the wind, and he and Sir Percivale went head to head, their horses’ massive hindquarters digging into the dirt as they ran.