“The only way your mother will get better is if you leave this world and return to Camelot with me.”
This new revelation combined with what he’s already told me can only mean one thing.
“Am I the reason she’s crazy?” I ask, but in my heart, I already know the truth.
Instead of giving me a verbal reply, he simply nods.
After all the searching we did to find a way to heal my mother’s tortured mind, I’ve had the power to help her more than any drug ever could. Tears sting my eyes as guilt over my mother’s condition hits me like a wrecking ball.
“Why do I have to leave this world in order for her to heal?” There has to be another way. There just has to be. “Can’t I still live here and just stay away from her?”
“Do you honestly believe Syndra will let you do that?” he asks gently. “She loves you too much to simply let you walk out of her life forever. Also, I realize I don’t know you the way I should, but I have a hard time believing you would be able to stay away from her forever either.”
His points are valid ones. My mother loves me too much to simply let me slip out of her life. She would follow me around the world until the day I died. Just the thought of leaving my mother and Pepa behind makes me feel like I’ve been stabbed through the heart.
“Why do I age so slowly?” I ask him, needing to concentrate on something less heartbreaking. “Is that a trait I inherited from you?”
“Not exactly,” he says, sliding his hands into the front pockets of his pants. “Whenever I’m in this world, I age at the same rate you do here, but when I’m in Camelot, I age naturally. I still haven’t figured out the reason for that, but I assume some sort of magic is involved.”
“So, if I leave with you, I’ll start aging the way I’m supposed to?”
“Yes.”
“You must spend a lot of time here,” I say, studying the fine wrinkles across his forehead and around his mouth. “You don’t look older than forty or forty-five.”
“I’ve lived here more than anywhere else. It was my first real home, and over the past century, I wanted to watch you grow, even if it was from afar.”
I pause to take in everything he’s told me up to this point, but there’s one thing he hasn’t finished explaining.
“You said you made a mistake when you paired me with Arthur in my first life. Who should you have paired me with?”
“Him,” he says, nodding to someone behind me. I don’t have to turn around to know who he’s talking about.
“Lance?” As soon as his name leaves my lips, I know who Lance really is if my father’s story can be believed. “Lancelot.”
My father nods. “He was always meant to be your true love, but I was too young and inexperienced at the time to understand what my visions were trying to show me about the future. Now, I have a chance to not only make things right with you but to also prevent Camelot from completely collapsing this time around.”
“Lance –” I stop myself short and decide to call him by his proper name. “Lancelot told me that his world was running out of magic. How am I supposed to help with that?”
“What our world needs is its one true leader,” my father says. “We need someone to unite the remaining houses, and the only way that can be done is by bringing Arthur back into the world. He’s the only one who can control Excalibur and fix what’s broken.”
“That doesn’t answer my question. How do I fit into all of this?”
“You see, the timing was the greatest mistake I made,” he says, wagging his index finger at me. “I brought Arthur into the world well before he should have been. He was never supposed to be the son of someone as dense and greedy as Uther Pendragon. I believe with all my heart that he was always meant to be your and Lancelot’s son. With the two of you as his parents, he'll be brought up the way he should have been the first time and well protected from those who would try to taint the purity of his soul. That’s why you have to come back to Camelot with us, Eve. Your destiny lies there, not here. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I also believe your heart is telling you it’s what you were born to do.”
I don’t want to face the truth of what must be done just yet. Leaving the only home I’ve ever known to start over somewhere else sounds daunting, and I know the absence of my mother in my life will leave a void inside my heart that will haunt me. Before I can make a decision about my future, I still have a few more questions that need answers.
“You mentioned something about misinterpreting visions that you had. Sometimes I have dreams that come true. I suppose I have you to thank for those.”
“I’m afraid so.” He looks at the time bubble we’re in. “I have to say I’ve never been able to make one of these last as long as this. Normally, they dissolve after a minute or two.” He returns his gaze to me. “You may be even more powerful than you realize, Eve. I think you’ve only just tapped into your true potential as a sorceress.”
“This is the first spell I’ve ever cast. I’m not even sure how I did it,” I admit.
“That was one reason I hoped to be in your life more. I wanted to teach you how to hone your magic, but it doesn’t matter now. We’ll have plenty of time for all of that after we return to Camelot.”
“I haven’t decided if I’m going with you or not,” I say testily, but even I can hear the half-hearted denial that I’ll turn my back on what fate has already set into motion. The only thing holding me back is leaving behind my mother and Pepa, but if what my father said can be believed, I have to leave this world so my mother’s mind can finally heal.
“If you’re worried you’ll never see Syndra again,” he says, “I have to admit you might be right about that. It all depends on whether or not Arthur can control the magic within Excalibur. If he can, there will be plenty of magic to transport you here and bring you back home whenever you want.”
“Your home,” I correct.
“Our home, Eve, if you’ll accept it.”
I turn my head to look back at Lancelot. “Does he know what your plans are for us?”
“Lancelot has known practically since the day he was born. I had to pledge an oath to the other ruling houses in our world that he would be the one to produce the one true king who would save us all. I hope you allow me to keep that promise.”
“I just met him,” I say, returning my attention to Merlin. “And now you’re telling me we’re meant to have a child together who will save your world one day. I hope you can appreciate how crazy all of that sounds to me.”
“I do,” he acknowledges, “but it’s all true. When you met Lancelot, did you feel an instant connection to him?”
“Yes.” It’s not something I can deny. I knew the moment I saw him that we were meant to find one another. “He has a pure soul.”
My father tilts his head as he considers what I said. “Not that I’m arguing that fact, but how are you able to say it with so much conviction? As you said, you just met him.”
“I can see the state of a person’s soul,” I say, finding it odd that he still appears baffled by what I’m saying. “That isn’t one of your gifts too?”