sophisticated, in those days — but it’s possible they did know, and simply… neglected to mention it to Arthur.”
Chelsea’s jaw dropped.
“There were many fae in Arthur’s court, including Nimue and her son, Lancelot. Lancelot was Arthur’s friend, but he was also Guinevere’s
“Her what?”
Tamani felt a strange sense of pride that Laurel had not shared that phrase with her friends. “It means watchman. Guardian.” It meant more than that, but Tamani was already feeling a little exposed.
“So Guinevere married Arthur, and when her faerie guardian stuck his nose into things and stole her away, that was the end of Camelot?” Everyone looked up as David spoke.
“Twist it how you want,” Tamani said, his voice steady, “but Lancelot was the least of Arthur’s worries. When it became obvious that King Arthur and Guinevere could not produce a child, many of the human knights cried witchcraft. Guinevere turned to Lancelot for both love and safety. But things in Camelot were already going badly, and let’s just say Guinevere was almost burned at the stake before Lancelot rescued her and took her back to Avalon.”
“So what if Lancelot hadn’t been around at all?” asked David. “What if Guinevere had really had a chance to make it work with Arthur? It still sounds like Lancelot was to blame for the whole thing.”
Tamani saw Laurel and Chelsea exchange glances. It was obvious that no one was talking about Lancelot and Guinevere anymore. Not wanting to distress Laurel, Tamani pretended to check his phone and stood. “Maybe,” he said. “But Arthur was a great king, especially for a human, and if you ask me, he’d rather lose a challenge than be handed an easy victory.” He gave David a long look then smiled. “I’ll be back soon,” he said, spinning his keys on the end of his index finger. He left the room, closing the door behind him without looking back.
LAUREL TOOK A SHORT BREAK FROM THE HOT, HUMID dance floor and walked into the slightly less hot — though heavily perfumed — bathroom. She checked under the doors of the stalls, but no one was there. Alone for a moment, Laurel carefully stretched and adjusted her shirt over her blossom — a little achy from being bound so many days in a row — then sighed and leaned her head against the cool mirror.
She really did like dances. For the first hour, anyway. But after a while the room felt too dark, and there were no sunlit windows to give her a dash of rejuvenation. On top of that, the music seemed extra loud tonight and her headache was back with a vengeance.
Still, there was only half an hour left. Laurel leaned over the sink and splashed icy water on her face. Blotting it dry with a paper towel, Laurel studied her light complexion in the mirror and — even if it was just wishful thinking — decided her head felt a little better. She was glad it was a casual dance; T-shirts all the way. She didn’t think she would have been up for a formal tonight.
The three couples had all started the evening in Laurel’s kitchen with Laurel’s mom’s homemade appetizers. It was interesting to watch Yuki out of the corner of her eye. She had lifted the appetizers carefully to her nose, trying to figure out what was in them before taking that first tentative bite. She was actually pretty nice. Very shy, but Laurel sensed there was more she couldn’t see. It was fun to have her around, as long as Laurel didn’t think too hard about the fact that the only reason they were all together was because Yuki was on a
After the snacks everyone piled into the convertible — Tamani’s idea, to keep them all together. Thank goodness for bench seats. There weren’t quite enough seat belts, but as long as the person sitting in the middle of the front seat — Yuki, squeezed in close between Tamani and Laurel — had a jacket or something sitting on her lap, you really couldn’t tell. Not that there was a police officer alive who could give Tamani a ticket.
Laurel was letting the water run idly over her fingertips when she heard one of her favorite songs start. Feeling a bit of a second wind, she returned to the dance floor and found David. With a playful growl, she jumped on him from behind. He grabbed her arms and bent forward, lifting her off her feet and making her squeal. Then he swung her around and pulled her to his chest, his nose resting against hers. “Dance?” he whispered.
She smiled and nodded.
David took her hand and pulled her toward the middle of the dance floor. Laurel snuggled up to his chest and David held her close, his arms wrapped around her back, one above her blossom and one below.
As the song wound down, David grinned and twirled Laurel around. She laughed, enjoying the way the lights swirled when she looked up. She was in her third spin when Laurel caught Tamani out of the corner of her eye. He was several feet away, dancing with Yuki.
For most of the night they had danced cautiously — typical first-date awkwardness — their bodies a few inches apart. Now Yuki had pulled herself closer, her temple resting against Tamani’s cheek. Tamani’s arms were loose around her back, and his brow was furrowed, but he didn’t put any distance between them. Didn’t push her away. As Laurel watched, he sighed and leaned his head against Yuki’s.
The faerie couple was circling, slowly, and suddenly Tamani’s eyes met Laurel’s. She expected him to look guilty, to push back and make Yuki stop hugging him. But he didn’t. His gaze was level, calm, emotionless. Then, very deliberately, he closed his eyes and laid his cheek back against Yuki’s forehead. Something inside Laurel froze.
Then David was pulling her back around to face him. When she looked up he was smiling warmly at her. He hadn’t witnessed that moment — that awful, terrible moment — at all. She made herself smile up at him as the slow song faded out and a loud, bouncing song crashed in.
David’s fingers twined through hers and they walked to the edge of the dance floor, Laurel forcing herself not to turn and look around. When they stopped, and she could turn without making David suspicious, Laurel did, her eyes scanning the crowded room, searching for Tamani. She finally spotted him on the far side of the gym, laughing at something Yuki was saying.
“Hey, David,” Laurel said, hardly able to smile over the lump in her throat. “There’s only, like, fifteen minutes left of the dance, do you think we could cut out a little early?”
David looked down at her, concern in his eyes. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Laurel said, still keeping her smile. “I just have a headache. Have most of the night, actually.” She laughed shortly. “I swear I’m allergic to this school. The loud music doesn’t help.”
“Sure,” David said. Then, pulling her close, he whispered in her ear, “After that last dance I think it’s all downhill anyway. I’ll go get
“Can’t we just walk?” she asked. “It’s only half a mile to my house. We used to walk all the time, before we both got cars.”
David’s face turned serious. “Are you sure? I thought we were all supposed to stay together.”
“Yeah, but…” Her eyes darted to Tamani. He still hadn’t seen them, but it was only a matter of time. “There hasn’t been any real
“And at least one troll,” David noted.
“Besides,” Laurel said, ignoring that, “I never go anywhere without my trusty kit,” she said, edging toward the coat rack and grabbing her purse. “We’ll be safe. Please? We haven’t been alone all night. I just want some quiet.”
“It’s cold.”
Laurel grinned. “I’ll keep you warm.”
“You will not, you’re practically cold-blooded,” he said, laughing. But he grabbed his jacket from a hook and placed a hand at her back, guiding her toward the double doors that led out of the gym.
It was a huge relief to get out of the gym and enter the quiet atrium where only a few people were mingling.
“Thanks,” Laurel said, then pointed toward the rear doors. “Let’s go this way.”
They had only gone a few steps before the doors of the gym flew open, cracking against the walls behind them. Laurel and David both turned and saw Tamani burst from the gym, his eyes scanning the room until they lit upon Laurel.
“There you are,” he said as soon as he was in earshot. “Where are you going?”
