Legendary (27 page)

“Miss Fagan,” he said. The brown eyes that peered through his leather mask were so dark they almost looked black. “Would you care to dance with me?” His smile reminded her of a viper.

Panic bloomed in her chest. Thomas Wylit had fascinated and confused her, but this guy terrified her. “No, I need to get back to my friends.” She moved to step around him, but again he blocked her way.

“I would like to dance with you, Aliana,” he said again.

“And I said no!”

Stepping to the side, he let her pass, but as she moved alongside him, his fingers brushed against her bare shoulder, and he whispered, “I would take the time to get know your friends better. They are more treacherous than you realize.”

Her eyes grew large as unpleasant prickles shot through her body. She snapped her head around, but the guy had disappeared.

“Aliana.” She slowly turned to see Arthur and the others.

“Who were you dancing with?” Wade asked.

She stepped between Arthur and Galahad. No matter what that creeper had said, being surrounded by them made her feel safe, and she had to trust that. “He said his name was Thomas Wylit.”

Lancelot’s eyebrows shot up before he whispered something to Percy and nodded to Arthur. When Arthur nodded back, Lancelot disappeared into the crowd.

Aliana looked between Arthur and Galahad, confused. “He’s going to find the guy,” Galahad explained. “You seemed upset on the dance floor. What did he say to you?”

“I wasn’t really upset, but he hinted that he knows who all of you are and what I’ve done.” She shook her head. “I swear I’ve met him before, but I can’t remember from where.”

“Lancelot will discover who he is, Aliana. Do not worry,” Arthur said, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Are you going to tell them about the other one?” Dagg asked from around her wrist.

“Dagg, you’re going to draw attention!” Aliana scolded.

“What does he mean?” Galahad asked, his eyes darkening a shade.

“Some guy stopped me when I was leaving the dance floor. He asked me to dance, but he totally creeped me out. He didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer, but he let me go.”

“Who was he?” Arthur asked, scanning the crowd.

“Don’t know, but he was wearing a brown leather leaf mask.”

“We’ll keep watch for him,” Galahad promised. “He won’t bother you again.”

“It’s no big deal, really. There are always strange guys around events like these.”

“Either way,” Arthur said.

“Why don’t we all try to enjoy the rest of the party,” Wade suggested, breaking the tense mood. “We can’t leave any time soon without incurring the wrath of Lacy, so let’s just relax and have fun. To be honest, I want to enjoy this ‘normal’ party before you all drag me into…whatever it is you’re going to drag me into.”

Aliana peeked at Arthur, hoping he would agree. She wanted a little more “normal” too.

“All right,” Arthur said. “But, Aliana, one of us
will
remain close to you for the rest of the night.” He waited until she nodded, and then a smile twitched the corners of his mouth. “And if you would still like to dance, perhaps you can show me how.”

“Sure.” Aliana smiled brightly. “We’ll start with something simple.”

“Then I would like your next dance.” Galahad’s eyes captured hers.

Aliana couldn’t seem to make her voice work, so she just nodded, letting Arthur pull her onto the dance floor.

“I think I understand the basic steps,” Arthur said, taking her hand and placing his hand at her waist. “They seemed easy enough when I was watching you earlier. You are a beautiful dancer.”

Aliana blushed and smiled at the floor. “Thank you.” The band was playing a slower song from the mid-nineties that told the story of a heartbroken man. His lady had left him with nothing but the ghost of their love haunting him like a ship lost at sea. Aliana guided the king in the first few steps, but he quickly took the lead. “I’m impressed, Arthur.”

“One benefit of my new abilities is that I seem to be able to learn things, even from just watching. It’s nearly effortless.” He spun Aliana out and pulled her back in, their bodies settling against each other as they continued to dance to the haunting music. “This song seems so sad,” Arthur said softly. “Losing someone you care about is a hard thing to do.”

“Yeah it is, but a lot of musicians and artists form their songs and art around what they feel—both the good and the bad.”

“The music now is much changed from what we had in Camelot. Most of the songs we heard were tales of warriors and battles.”

“You must really miss your home.” Aliana hated hearing the almost painful longing in the great king’s voice. Moving closer, she laid her head against his shoulder, hoping to give him some sort of comfort.

“I do miss Camelot, but there are times, like this, when it doesn’t seem so bad.” He rested his head against hers and they danced the rest of the song in comfortable silence.

Aliana fell into the security of Arthur’s arms, wondering why it was so easy to relax with someone she had only just met. She blushed, remembering the kiss that had awakened him. Something had formed between them in that moment. It was nothing like the bond she shared with Galahad. The bond she had with Arthur didn’t have the intensity she felt for his knight. Arthur was like a favorite pillow or blanket—easy to curl up in with its comforting warmth. Aliana realized that Arthur could quickly become a great friend and confidant.

The music ended and Arthur tucked Aliana’s hand into the bend of his arm as they walked back to their group.

“Where did Wade go?” Aliana glanced around, searching for him.

“He went to see if he could find that guy who was bothering you before you went to dance with our fearless leader,” Owen said.

Aliana scowled at her dragon. She didn’t want the guys to worry about the creeper and miss out on the party.

“I do believe you promised me your next dance,” Galahad reminded her.

The calm from a moment ago disappeared in a flutter of rapid heartbeats as she took his hand. Galahad pulled her to an open corner, and she saw that Percy and Lacy had followed them. Aliana met her friend’s glittering eyes just as Lacy stepped into Percy’s arms. Lacy wiggled her eyebrows, and Aliana suppressed a giggle that died in her throat when the band changed to an older Adele song and Galahad wrapped his arms around her.

“I am afraid I won’t be as good at this as your other partners,” he admitted.

“Then let’s try another way.” Aliana placed both his hands at her waist and wrapped hers around his neck, gazing into his eyes as he pulled her close. They moved together in a slow circle to the sweet melody. They didn’t talk. Aliana didn’t know what to say, and she couldn’t find it in her to look away from his beautiful blue eyes. His wintery scent wrapped around her. The band around her heart tightened as he pulled her even closer against his body.

A small part of her brain whispered that he would eventually break her heart, but even with that thought, she couldn’t pull away from him. Everything else faded away except for their swaying bodies. His fingers brushed against her bare skin, sending sparks up her spine. Aliana gasped softly.
Did he feel it too?

“Are you all right?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Yes,” she said breathlessly, lost to whatever magic was weaving around her. She was caught in the spell that was his blue eyes.

Galahad smiled then, his fingers still against her skin.

“Aliana,” he whispered, watching her with eyes so dark they looked like liquid midnight.

The song ended, and their fairy-tale world fell away, but the afterglow bliss remained. Galahad kept his large hand at the small of her back when they joined Percy and Lacy near the gallery doors.

“So, are we all having fun?” Lacy asked, winking at her blushing friend.

“You throw a great party, Lacy,” Percy said, smiling down at her.

“Well, thank you, but I didn’t do it alone, and I need to go check in with the others to make sure everything’s set for the rest of the night.” She pivoted away and then peeked back at Percy. “Will you still be here later?”

The giant smiled, nodding. Lacy flashed him a bright but slightly shy smile.

Interesting,
Aliana thought. She had never seen her friend be shy with a guy before, and she couldn’t hide her delighted smirk as Percy watched the pink lady disappear.

“Lacy’s amazing,” Percy said. “Does she have a boyfriend?”

“Nope,” Aliana said with a little pop on the P.

Percy was silent for a moment and then followed the path her friend had taken.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Galahad said.

“I love it!” Aliana giggled, wanting to do a little happy dance for her friend. “I just hope Percy is as tough as he appears. Lacy is a firecracker.”

“Do you want to rejoin the others or would you like to walk around?” Galahad asked.

“Honestly, I think I’d like to get away from the crowd for a bit.” Her mind screamed that this was a bad idea. Maybe she was still caught up in the magic of their dance. Either way, she tuned the voice out. With his hand still at the small of her back, he guided her through the richly decorated room to a long curtain, which he pulled aside to reveal a small balcony. “I didn’t even notice this earlier.” Aliana walked outside and leaned her back against the stone railing, looking up at the cloudy London sky, wishing she could see the stars.

“I noticed it before the dancers came to life earlier.”

Aliana followed Galahad’s eyes, twisting to stare out at the brightly lit city. She couldn’t help worrying about everything that was to come in this adventure she found herself tangled in.

“What are you thinking about?” Galahad asked, drawing her attention back to him. He stood only a few inches from her with both his arms coming to rest on either side of her on the railing.

“I was just wondering what’s next,” she said, enjoying the feeling of being wrapped up in him. “I didn’t expect to find another knight here tonight. Much less that it would be Wade.”

“You are unhappy that your friend is one of us?”

“Of course not! It would have been so much harder if I had to keep him in the dark on this.”

“Then what is wrong?”

“It’s just still hard to accept. I need a little more time to adjust.”

Galahad brushed her hair over her shoulder, his eyes tracing its curve. “We have come this far already, Aliana. In only two days we are almost whole again. I believe that everything will be all right. You must understand by now that we…that
I
would never allow anything to happen to you.”

Aliana saw the conviction in his eyes and, God help her, she believed him. “Lacy wasn’t far off when she called you a fairy tale. That’s what all of this has been. You, everyone. It’s like you’re all straight off the pages of a book. Every girl dreams of finding her knight in shining armor or her Prince Charming.”

“And which are you looking for?” His head dipped closer to hers.

Her heart raced, and she struggled to take a breath. All she could think about was his kiss. Would he kiss her now? She wasn’t in any danger, so why would he want to, unless…

“Galahad,” she breathed, her hands rising to rest against his firm chest, his arms still caging her against the railing.

His lips hovered over hers, his breath sweet on her lips from the wine he had been drinking earlier. Their gazes locked together, and Aliana realized she wanted this more than she wanted her next breath, but her body stood immobile. His eyes dropped to her lips, and her heart jumped, beating so rapidly she was afraid it would escape. Slowly, his lips touched hers, featherlight. His eyes met hers again before his mouth fully took hers.

Aliana’s eyes closed. A fire burned through her as she gripped his shoulders. His arms closed around her waist, pulling her against him, his kiss consuming her. They were the only people in the world. She heard herself sigh, and felt Galahad’s arms tighten as he nipped at her lower lip.

He pulled away, leaving both of them breathing heavily, and rested his forehead against hers, his eyes still shut with an expression of bliss on his face. Her heart ached and soared at the same time.
She
had put that look on his face. Her, Aliana.

“Have I told you how beautiful you are tonight?” he whispered, brushing his lips against hers for another long moment.

“Thank you,” she said through the fiery haze in her mind. “You are so handsome in that tux. I’m surprised the other women here haven’t snatched you up.”

“I don’t care about any of them, Aliana.” He pulled her gaze to his with two fingers under her chin and kissed her again, softly and sweetly.

“Lia, you out here?”

Aliana pulled back, bumping into the railing as Lacy walked onto the balcony. Her friend’s eyes grew huge with shock before she smiled like an imp.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Lacy said. “Your friends are searching for you two. They say it’s important.”

Aliana glanced at Galahad, seeing the unkind glare he was throwing toward Lacy.