Once & Future (Once & Future #1)(33)

“Don’t stop,” Gwen said, nearly running inside. Ari followed but the doors blocked her entry. At first she thought she was busted, but then a red warning scrolled across the glass at eye level.

NO WEAPONS ALLOWED ON THE PREMISES.

Jordan was already unstrapping a number of concealed blades and dropping them into one of the lockers in the row beside the building. Gwen stood just inside the door, anxiously beckoning Ari to enter. Ari heaved Excalibur from her back, swinging it around in a way that cleared the crowd and caught some attention. Just then, the sky lit back up with her stark image and Mercer’s ugly lies, and several people pointed and shouted.

She slammed Excalibur into the courtyard, the sword sliding through the metallic pavement as if it were as soft as earth.

Ari entered the building, leaving the crowd behind her. “We made it,” she said, arms encircling Gwen. “It’s going to be okay.”

Relief and amusement tangoed in Gwen’s expression. “Don’t look now, Ari, but that was a bit of pageantry.”

“If they already know I’m here, I’d rather not be shy about it.”

“Hmm,” Gwen mouthed, a silky sound that sent Ari’s mind and heart racing back to their naked, tangled hours on Error. “Ari,” Gwen murmured, running her hands up Ari’s arms. “I know what you’re thinking about.”

“How?” Ari asked, blushing and glancing at Jordan as the knight pushed through the thick glass doors.

“Because my body’s been memorizing yours since the moment I met you.” Gwen turned, pulling Ari along behind her with their fingers entwined.

“Fuck,” Ari whispered, mouth dry. That statement didn’t just satisfy Ari’s addiction to truth. It set her heart on fire. “The things you do to me, lady…”

Gwen looked over her shoulder with a small, proud smile.

Minutes later, Ari and Gwen sat in the interplanetary marriage approval department. Ari eyeballed the people waiting to be interviewed and either granted legality or rejected. The white, sterile place criticized romance acutely, and everywhere she looked, Mercer had left its mark. Troy was no longer the democratic center of the galaxy. It was Mercer’s favorite puppet.

Gwen was bent over a sticky, government-issued tablet, entering their information into the system with a typing speed that Ari had only imagined to be possible. She swept her curls over one shoulder, adjusting her silver crown the same way Merlin pushed his horn-rimmed glasses up his nose. The crown garnered a lot of looks. Most likely half of the new couples in the room had gone to Lionel for their medieval-styled honeymoons.

“You need one, too,” Gwen said, tapping her crown without looking up from the tablet. “But don’t worry. Consort crowns are smaller.”

Consort. Ari would never get used to that.

“I imagine ‘Helix’ is your adopted name. Do you know your birth name?”

Ari peered backward into her memories. They ended in that dying water heater when Kay’s chubby face peered over the edge. He’d cried when he saw her. She must have looked bad, but her brain seemed determined to protect her from the worst of the details—from whatever had come before, whatever had caused the shipwreck.

Ari shook her head. “I don’t remember my last name, but Ari is a nickname. My birth name is Ara.”

Gwen changed it on the tablet. “What should I call you?” she asked, her words poised but weighted.

Ari had given her nickname to her adoptive family. She’d never told them about Ara. She’d never told anyone until this moment, and now she wondered why it had come forward and where the rest of her old life might be hiding. “Ari. That’s who I’ve been in both lives.”

“And what about the other forty-one lives Val told me about?”

Wow, Gwen had chosen now to bring up the King Arthur stuff? “I haven’t figured that out, but I know how off the wall it sounds. Merlin and Excalibur’s magic are rather convincing, and confusing…” Ari shrugged. “I’m just trying to help my friends.”

“We’ll tackle that later, then.” Gwen finished tapping on the tablet. “It’ll be a few minutes. Relax. Both of you.” Jordan’s shoulders sank, clinking her armor. When Ari didn’t follow suit, Gwen put a soft hand on the back of Ari’s neck. “You might be Ketchan, but you are my wife, and the rules are clear. I will keep you safe.”

Ari felt Gwen’s confidence—or was it that soft touch?—lean through her, easing Ari’s nerves. “But you’re lying. You don’t know that.”

“I’m hoping. I’m trusting. That’s not a lie. It’s a leap of faith.”

Ari always faltered when it came to hope; it felt like a lie that wanted to be a truth. “What about the boys and Lam? They’re still marked for being my acquaintances and they’re not great at blending in, if you didn’t notice.”

Gwen squeezed her fingers. “Lam’s hand was not your fault.That was Mercer being”—she raised her voice pointedly—“tyrannical bullies!”

Ari glanced around. “Should you be saying that here?”

“A government that cannot handle criticism cannot handle governing. Isn’t that right?” Gwen said, her voice floating across the room as if she were speaking to a stadium on Lionel.