Excalibur's Seven | ✓ [LGBT]

~ 47 ~

MAGIC WAS STARTING TO fail Chalice, at least when it was all they used. They were getting good at making use of this iron chain, however, even though it didn't burn most of the King's men. There were a few Fair Folk among the army, but not enough for the iron to make a difference.

It helped to have Eurion at their back. The thief was so quick, Chalice lost track of her half the time. They'd gotten into a rhythm of the druid slowing them down, wrapping them in chains, and passing them off to Eurion, who would stab and slit and dismember with the efficiency of a longtime criminal.

"You been using knives like this for a long time?" Chalice asked.

Eurion was to their right when she started talking. "Not really," she said. She was on their left now. "Only had to a couple times."

They were quick, efficient, and though they weren't killing a large chunk of the army, they were keeping their own circle at bay. Arrows weren't a problem, either. Chalice could redirect them, even with the Seelie magic forcing them to be accurate, right into the soldiers fighting against them.

To Chalice's surprise, Giselle was holding her own as well. They didn't realize before how slick she really was, and she spent more time getting the soldiers to kill each other than she did doing it herself.

They didn't know where Selene was, but Chalice had every confidence she was winning whatever battle she was fighting. The druid felt good about this, a full Sídhe army against an army of mostly humans was not a fair fight.

It was going their way. Chalice thought they might be able to win this, after all. At least, that's what they believed, until the Seelie's blade drove into their sternum.

* * *

The castle felt like a maze to young Lionel. There were so many rooms and hallways it was making him dizzy. But he had to find the shards, his father told him so.

He stumbled across a large bedroom, filled with gold and luscious fabrics and things fit for a king. It was Wylan's room, it had to be.

"Yes!" he cheered to himself when he realized.

The only thing was, no one was in here. He thought it strange, but it was the perfect opportunity for some snooping around.

He started with under the bed, pulling out a large chest nearly as big as him. It was locked. Lionel squeezed his eyes shut and thought really, really hard about unlocking it and sure enough, he heard a click.

"See, mom? I can do it," he said, pulling the lock from the latch. He crouched onto his knees and pulled the lid open.

It was full of treasures. Gold and silver and jewels and things Lionel wished he could have. "Wow," he whispered when he picked up a small, golden figurine. It was a dragon, with jewels in the eyes.

"Dragons don't look like that, but it's still cool," he said to no one in particular.

But no one was supposed to respond.

"How do you know what dragons look like?"

Lionel gasped and turned his head. Standing in front of him was a tall woman. Her hair was long and white, and from her head grew antlers like a deer. There was something enchanting about her, but the boy was mostly afraid.

"I've ridden one before, that's all," Lionel told her, trying to look confident. It's what Kit would do.

I'm a knight, he repeated, over and over in his head. I'm a knight. I have to be brave.