Excalibur's Seven - Chapter 34: Chapter 34

THE VILLAGE WAS IN flames, and there was nothing Kit could do. He watched a sword separate a child's head from her shoulders, followed by the terrified scream of her mother nearby. Kit wished it was a mercy, the blade cutting off her cries and, effectively, her grief.
All this death, but none of them deserved it. Kit was the one that had it coming. He'd lose his head a thousand times over if it meant these people could live. He wished they didn't see this as some kind of revolution, that he didn't inspire them to fight back.
"Kill me," he said, but his voice only came out in a whisper. "Kill me. Kill me. Stop killing them, just kill me. Please."
His voice wouldn't raise above a whisper. He gathered up all his strength, but just as he thought he might successfully scream, he woke himself up.
He was on a bed, shirtless and surrounded by fussy Seelies with wet rags.
"You're awake," one said. Kit tried to sit up, but a searing pain in his side forced him back down.
"Shit," he breathed. "Where's Morgana? And everyone else? Are they okay?"
"The Unseelie is still locked away, he is in good health. Your friends are alright, they were healed last night," a nurse answered, pushing a needle into his side.
He let out a cry, only to realize it was just stitches. After a brief examination, he could count five deep wounds and even more Seelies tending to them.
"You're a stubborn asshole, you stayed in that dungeon until you passed out," said a familiar voice. It was Eurion, stepping into the room and standing at his feet. "You should've asked for help."
Kit said nothing, just stared up at the ceiling.
"Morgana will be fine," she continued like she read his mind. "The guards down there know what they're doing, I promise. Even I can't sneak around them. He'll stay put."
"Is he awake?"
"I haven't checked, but they'd let us know if something was wrong." She placed a hand at the side of his ankle, wiggling his leg with warm eyes. "We'll figure this out, Kit. We're good at that."
The prince kept silent, something he wasn't used to doing. Clearly Eurion wasn't used to it, either, because she kept talking.
"Hey, you alright?"
Kit chuckled. "You probably know the answer to that."
"You're right. How was your sleep?"
He let out a breath, then yelped at a sudden burning in his thigh. A Seelie was pressing their hand against a cut, healing it the same way Giselle healed. It hurt like a bitch, but his tolerance for pain was growing.
"Bad dreams, nothing new. How long was I out?"
"I'd say fifteen hours," she answered, letting go of his ankle and getting comfortable on a nearby chair. "Giselle has you beat, though, she's still sleeping. But she's okay. Selene hasn't taken her eyes off her."
"Shocker. Can I sit up now?"
The nurse tending to his side slapped a sticky leaf over the cut, then motioned that they were done. With another nurse's help, he sat up, leaning back against the wall, softened by layers of leaves.
What he really wanted was to stand up, but his thigh looked messy and his arm was being stitched up in at least three places still.
"How are you?" he asked Eurion. She seemed like the least injured, a fresh red scar over her lip all he could see. He had a similar scar on his own mouth, a heartfelt gift from the tip of his father's blade and a gentle reminder that his voice wasn't welcomed there.
"I'm in good shape," she answered with a shrug. "I don't think I'll ever shake what we saw last night, though."
Kit recalled his unpleasant dream with a shudder. "Me neither."
She must've seen the guilt etched across his face, as her voice got gentler. "It wasn't your fault, you know that."
"Do I?" He looked down at his hands, cut and blistered and bruised. "My brother was right. I was an idiot. I got cocky, I thought we were really gonna do it, I should've realized."
"You didn't know, none of us did. And you weren't cocky, you were desperate and you were trying to do the right thing. We were stuck either way, either we look more and waste more time or we take the risk and try. We tried, Kit."
"Yeah, and we failed, and the entire village paid the price. Léona paid the price."
"That was her choice. That was their choice. They knew the risk."
"But they shouldn't have had to make that choice," Kit argued, eyes welling up. "They shouldn't have felt like they had to fight for us."
"Not everything is about you, Kit," she bit back, harsher than he was used to her being. "They were fighting for them. Did you not hear a word of what Léona said? Those people were miserable at the hands of the King. They made their choice to protest. It's not your fault the King fought back."
He bit the nail of his thumb, hands shaking now. She was right, but he couldn't shake the guilt. They still failed, lost the shards, and now the rest of the kingdom was at Wylan and Connor's mercy. Mercy wasn't one of their strengths.
"You're right," was all he said, as much as he didn't believe it. He wished he did, truly, it would ease the nearly unbearable weight in his chest, but he couldn't let himself let go.
It was silent in the room as the Seelies finished up, and when they finally left, it stayed that way for several minutes.
"There's food if you're hungry," she said, standing up from where she sat and making for the door. "I'm gonna go check on Chalice."
He was left alone after that. As much as he felt like he deserved it, being alone was the last thing he wanted. Luckily, there was a middle ground.
The walk to the dungeon was long, but it helped him clear his head if only a little. He let his stomach stay empty, even when it cramped with its hunger, and he found his way into the room, met by the sight of Morgana in his cell, toying with his new wooden hand. It was fascinating, how the hand moved at Morgana's will just like a normal hand would.
"You know, you've been down here so much already I'm inclined to think you're trying to be a prisoner with me," the Unseelie greeted, not sparing Kit so much as a glance.
"Maybe I am," he murmured. "How did you know I've been here before?"
"You were passed out on the floor when I woke up. I can only assume you brought me here and didn't bother to leave," Morgana answered. "You feel like you belong here."
He pushed a tray towards the bars of the cell with his foot, and Kit noticed the half-eaten food on the dish. His stomach growled, and he couldn't keep up his own punishment enough to deny Morgana's offer.
He stopped before the bread reached his lips. "Sídhe don't give gifts unless they want something."
The faery laughed. "If only you'd remembered that when the Queen just handed you the shard."
"What do you want?"
"I want that food out of my way, that's the deal," he said.
Kit hesitated, but he accepted the answer and shoved it into his mouth like a starved animal.
"If you keep eating like that, you'll choke."
"Don't act like you give a shit, Morgana."
"I'm not, in fact I wish you'd eat faster. I'd enjoy watching you die because you choked on bread," he said.
Kit couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
"Very funny," the prince said flatly.
"Why did you come here? Did you wish to interrogate me?" He was back to studying the wooden hand.
Kit scoffed and looked at his feet. "I feel like interrogating an Unseelie would be fruitless. You'd find a way to turn it back on me."
"I'm still so baffled that you accepted the shard when you're this clever."
"You believed it, otherwise you wouldn't have said anything."
Morgana said nothing, and Kit smirked. Checkmate.
After a long silence, he spoke up again. "I didn't wanna be alone. But I don't think... anyone else would be very happy with me."
"What, and you think I am?"
"Heavens, no, it's just less upsetting when you're mad at me. In fact if you weren't, I'd be worried." He toyed with the sour berries on Morgana's plate. "Eurion got mad at me, even."
Morgana sucked his teeth. "Yikes, Kit," he chuckled. "I'd only be more concerned if Chalice yelled at you."
"Yeah that's what I'm afraid of. They lost an eye because of me, I don't think they'd take it lightly."
Morgana shrugged. "They're surprisingly understanding. They probably think we're still friends, even after what I've done."
"You nearly let us die, Morgana, I doubt it."
"And the reason you almost did is because of you. We're both in hot water, Kristofer, you aren't any better than me."
Kit's chest ached when he said his name. He didn't know why, but it did. Like the word was a curse leaving Morgana's lips, a threat of ever-present grief every time he said it.
"Did I strike a nerve, Your Highness?"
"Why me?"
Morgana's mouth parted. "What?"
"Why did you reach out to me when you were in that dungeon? Not Giselle, who you can feel from miles away? Why did you choose me?"
"I could feel you, too, before I gave you back your name. You were the closest."
"Bullshit."
Morgana cracked a smile. "A faery can't lie."
"Why do I feel like you can, though?"
The faery laughed, but then his face sobered and he licked at his chapped lips. "I didn't want Giselle to see me like that. I didn't want to put that image in her mind and torture her like that."
"You didn't think it tortured me, too?"
"Oh, I'm certain it did. But I don't care what hurts you, Kit. Not the way I care about her. She's been hurt enough in her life and she's a good person, I don't need to hurt her anymore. Sometimes, Kit, I think you deserve it."
"If you're so sure you don't want to hurt her then why did you turn on us?"
"I turned because of her, Kit," he said sharply, taking him by surprise. At his silence, Morgana continued. "Camelot is not what you think it is, Kit. For years, that kingdom stood because of magic stolen from my people. Arthur killed faeries to run his fancy little utopia in the woods and if you bring that sword back, more of my people will die. And I can assure you, I know which one is going first."
Kit's chest tightened. "Giselle."
"And they'd take me last, because I'm the most worthless faerie in all the courts, and I'd have to watch your people torture mine for another century until it finally catches up with you."
He didn't want to believe it. His own people were in danger, he didn't want to have to choose.
"But that was Arthur. This is me, Morgana, I don't even have an ounce of his blood in me. My mother was a noble of Lancelot's descent, and the King is not my father," he said. "If I were the one to rule Camelot, it would never happen."
"How do you know it wouldn't?"
"I don't know, but I-"
"And how do you expect to wield the sword of you've not got an ounce of Arthur's blood in you?"
Kit froze. "What?"
"Excalibur can only be wielded by Pendragon blood, and if you've got none, how do you expect to wield it?"
His heart stopped. Morgana made a fair point, and it was starting to make him dizzy. He rose to his feet and made for the exit of the dungeon.
"Where are you off to?" the Unseelie asked. "It's hopeless."
"Maybe so," Kit said. "But that's yet to stop me."