Once & Future (Once & Future #1)(50)

Ari inspected one, finding it heavy. “Jewelry? Are we that far into our marriage already?” she teased. Teasing made sense; being married did not.

Gwen placed one on her delicate fourth finger and one on Ari’s. “People wore these to denote married status on Old Earth. Antique thinking, but one of the more romantic gestures in the heap of barbarity my planet is trying to resurrect. You should read some of the ancient texts we’ve uncovered. It’s all, Bow to the men, you wicked females!”

Ari took a moment to soften her honesty. “If it’s that bad, why do you want to be their queen?”

“Because the queen controls the barbarity,” she said, not dismissive, but on the border of it. “On Lionel, we have the chance to revise the more backward aspects of the culture. And we have each other now.” Gwen’s always confident voice frayed a little. “I mean, I’m not letting you take on this anti-Mercer mantle all alone. Lionel is behind you, one hundred percent.”

Ari stared at Gwen. Her brown eyes were entrancing. Velvet, almost. If Ari had been any other girl, she might have stayed in this moment of hope with her new wife.

“We’re going to fail,” Ari said, the truth slipping out like a dagger laid upon a table. “Mercer is a hundred times stronger than Lionel. Maybe if we went to Ketch, and got some real backup…”

Gwen looked stunned. “You want to go to Ketch?”

“If I could find a way through the barrier, we would have strength in numbers. There were billions of Ketchans before the barrier closed. The planet is huge.” Ari didn’t have to add that going to Ketch would mean leaving Gwen’s Lionelian responsibilities… and therefore Gwen. This was not something they could do together. This was an Ari and Merlin mission for sure.

Merlin. Oh, gods, he better be all right.

Gwen slipped on her robe, sliding past the subject of going to Ketch. “I’ll check with Jordan and see how close we are.”

Ari watched her leave, the queen’s shoulders squared, her hair somehow more glorious when it was a free tangle of curls than perfectly pinned up. They weren’t fighting all out; they just weren’t lining up at the moment, either. Ari twirled her new ring on her finger, catching herself smiling at it. For all their weirdly tense history, the idea of Gwen in her life, for the rest of her life, did make her damn happy.

Val cleared his throat from the doorway.

“Are Lam and Kay getting ready for the plan?” she asked.

“Plan?” Val said with firmly crossed arms. “There’s no plan. There’s just ‘Merlin will give us a sign.’ We are literally flying into a maximum-security planet looking for anything.”

“Watch it, Val,” Kay said, passing by in the hall. “Your boyfriend is helping my parents.”

“Excuse me, he’s not my boyfriend,” Val said, whirling around. “But he would be by now if all of you hadn’t let him get himself arrested.”

Lam popped their head in around Val. “Mercer put atmosphere alarms around Urite, the bastards. Jordan just picked up the signal. We’ll only have a few minutes once we land before Mercer is headed straight for us.”

Lam disappeared into the main cabin. Ari turned back to Val’s hard frown. “I’m sorry, and I feel pretty terrible about Merlin being arrested. I’m scared sick for him.”

“I don’t want apologies, Ari. I want him back.” He rubbed his neck. “Merlin is the only person I’ve connected with in years. Do you know how hard it is to find someone weird enough for me, even on Lionel?”

“That’s why I’m going planet-side. To do what I can for all of them,” Ari said, squeezing Val’s shoulder. “Don’t forget, I’m the only one on board who can wield a mythological sword. Excalibur and Merlin’s magic are the keys to beating Mercer. I have no doubt about that.”

And Ketch, she thought wildly. For some reason, ever since her memory pairing with Merlin, Ari could feel King Arthur inside of her, tugging her like he had on that day when he’d led her to Excalibur in the oak… and he really wanted her to go to Ketch.

“What about the one who attacked us on Troy?” Val’s expression narrowed to a point. His experience with Morgana had left a mark. “Whose side is she on?”

“Not Mercer’s,” Ari said. “At least I don’t think so.”

Val left, and Ari started putting on her pants. Her boots. Her belt.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Gwen said, returning with a hard scowl. “It’s far too costly for you to go down there. If you get caught you could die. Or worse, Mercer could use your felony as grounds to take over Lionel and dethrone me.”

Ari squinted, still clicking her belt in place. “How is the second one worse than the first?”

“In the first reality, I lose you. In the second? All Lionelians lose their home. Thousands of my people will die because they can’t relocate to Mercer-controlled planets. They’ll be refugees.”

“Gwen, as the supposed savior of humankind, I’m pretty sure I have to get my hands dirty.”

Gwen slid her palms against Ari’s, entwining their fingers. “I have other ideas for those hands.”

Ari growled in a pleased way. She couldn’t help it. Gwen pressed closer without reservation. Body to body, lips to lips. Ari’s thoughts swung in tighter and tighter circles until they vanished and she was lifting Gwen into their kiss.