Knight of the Goddess (Blood of a Fae, #4)

by Briar Boleyn

“We can never die,” Vela whispered. “What creature can say such a thing? Of course we are gods.”

Is you can’t die, then how did you kill his sisters and daughter? How did his other children die?

She paled, as if understanding how far I was prepared to go, here, today, with them.

Here, today, with them… 🙄🙄

“When I found Excalibur,” I said slowly, “the sword wasn’t alone.”

Wasn’t the grail also there?

“She was your greatest warrior. Why would you have imprisoned her there?” My father said nothing.

Does he need to say anything when you have basically answered your own question? What an idiot.

I thought for a moment. “Unless she was more than a warrior. More than your general. Unless you wielded her like a weapon. Like a spear.

You had to think for a moment when Orcades’ name came to mind (at least to Draven’s mind) and was voiced immediately after Vela said you met it and it died? I mean, it was a direct answer! Yet you had to ask your father dumb questions (which is likely why he didn’t answer) and then think about it some more. You are truly airheaded…

“Was she Devina?” my mate asked, his lips curling in disgust as he looked at Vela and my father. “Did she know she was?”

Where in the hell is Medra and Kaye. I would have like to jump back to see what was happening after she touched Kaye. Need a break from Marzanna/Morgan’s stupidity. You sure that silver hair wasn’t supposed to be blond?

“Then your spear is gone, too,” I pointed out. “Orcades died in Camelot.”

No, that’s probably what Medra is now…the spear. You have to destroy your cousin/niece?

My heart sped up. “What do you mean? Who is?” Kaye shot me a look that said I wasn’t fooling anyone. “Your grandfather.”

Smh…

Kaye looked startled. “He saw you? Here?” I felt a twinge of fear. “Yes.”

How about telling her that’s her grandfather for good measure…

Crescent stood there. He was alone. “Medra, what have you done?”

What? And here I was feeling sorry for him about Gawain… nope never again

“Kaye.” He seemed to take in the boy in the bed for the first time, to realize my uncle was awake and sitting up. “Kaye, are you all right?”

And he’s acting as if Kaye is supposed to know who he is… I mean, he probably does but he doesn’t know that Kaye has been dreaming everything that’s happened.

“Told you that her family attacked the Rose Court. That my sister...” His voice hitched,

Um, her family is also Morgan’s family, your Empress so… why are you discriminating when you failed to educate the rapidly growing child on her family tree and the evils within it to your knowledge?

“They weren’t my family,” I started to counter. “They’re as much my family as they are Morgan’s. It wasn’t my fault.”

Facts.

“What does he mean? Morgan, what does he mean?” Draven demanded.

Oh come on. Draven would really have put this together already… 🙄🙄

“A new world awaits us, Marzanna,” he promised me now. “Aercanum—the way it was always meant to be. The people are weak. Ripe for the plucking. They will serve us as their gods as they have always been meant to. There will be no one higher than you or I. We will be adored, worshiped. No desire will go unmet.”

Sounds like Vela is not included in is new world order… at least not on the pedestal she seek to be on.

The fae woman nodded, smiling eagerly. “At last.” She turned to Draven as my father lifted a hand.

And Draven just stood there and allowed her to do whatever? Okay.

She opened her mouth to snarl, and long, pointed fangs descended, dripping with a thick and viscous liquid.

And how can Morgan see what’s going on in her mouth is Vela got in between her and Draven, which means her back is to Morgan?

Across from the grove, the throne room had darkened, becoming a swirling vortex of shadows illuminated only by the flickering light of Draven’s and Vela’s clashing powers.

And where is Medra?

Suddenly Vela was screaming—a horrific, wordless sound. A long, sickly strip of pink flesh flew through the air and landed with a splat at Draven’s feet.

How does that work? A scream…like this?

Tuva hooted in triumph as Vela sank to her knees, her hands covering her mouth.

I’m confused? What was the point of Tuva arriving right now? Did Draven not use Excalibur to cut off her tongue? Why is it mingle like Tuva had something to do with it?

Vela fell to the ground, her screams silenced forever.

Thought she didn’t die though…

We had to stop him. We had to do something.

But you’re doing nothing but watching…

But just how did one stop a mad man summoning an infant to be his spear?

How about just strike him and find out instead of standing there watching it happen…

Then he laughed. “Too late.”

She always is with her indecisiveness and hesitations…

He reached down as if to touch Medra. “What a pair we will make together. The true child of the god.” Draven erupted.

Yeah, cuz you surely did nothing…

“Stop him, Morgan. We can’t let him do this to her.” Nodding grimly, I pushed my might outwards as I had done before, channeling the wind, the sky, the very light.

You’re channeling it but you’re not actually using it. Aim it at him you big dummy!

The room around us trembled. My father shook where he stood. For a brief moment, I thought he might fall.

Oh wow… he shook! Not bleed from his eyes or cried out in agony as his bones were being crushed from inside or something. He shook…

“You shall not touch her,” my mate roared. “You shall not have her. I swear it to you.”

All the while, the actual blood relative of the niece is just standing there watching all of this, not really doing anything to get the niece away from the grandfather or get the grandfather away from the niece. Just watching… just watching.

My father lifted a hand, and Draven skidded to a stop, his face rigid with strain as he pushed against an invisible wall. “I will rip you into pieces, here and now,” my father said lazily. “I will hang your limbs one by one from the trees for the birds to peck.”

Just watching… just watching…

“Never,” I screamed, and I lifted my hands. Instantly, a fissure appeared, growing beneath the altar. The oak trees around us began to split and crack. Branches and leaves fell around us.

You made a fissure form below the same alter that your unconscious niece just happens to be lying on. And you made trees split and splinter! You’re doing an excellent job of taking out everyone and everything in the vicinity EXCEPT your father. Awesome…

My aunt, dancing with death itself, her every movement a symphony of destruction

Who is this aunt because the Morgan we’ve been adventuring with for four books could do no such thing.

The Ursidaur nodded. “We were attacked while we slept.”

Um… why were they even still there or is it the same night for them?

“We’ve fought nonstop,” Lancelet said. “We wouldn’t leave this place without you. We knew you’d return.”

Oh… so they did something stupid too then…

“This is beyond me.” Guinevere took a deep breath. “But I’ll try, when we get back to camp.” I nodded curtly. “I don’t need to look pretty.”

Can’t Morgan heal them both now?

“Where is she? Where is the little thing?” Hawl boomed. “Tell me at once and I’ll go to her. Did she fall far from here? Were you separated?”

😭😭😭😭😭😭 Oh Hawl.

Of course, a cross-continental council—which King Mark quickly labeled the Empress’s Parliament—would have been an impossibility in Arthur’s time,

In his time? You mean just a couple of months ago?

But with the new arches that Crescent and Draven had been overseeing construction of,

Speaking of Crescent… nothing for his ignorant behavior towards Medra?

He’d been withdrawn since we’d returned. We’d put it down to the loss of his husband and sister.

Naw, his ass is guilty…

The way Crescent looked at us—not with resentment but with guilt. Because he believed he’d failed her.

Understatement of the year! He did more than that, even in her last moments there in Camelot, accusing her of Ling something to Kaye without cause.

We may not have gotten along as I once dreamed we would. I failed her...”

Your fault as the adult.

“I loved her, too. I don’t think I ever succeeded in convincing Medra of it, but I did.” He licked his lips.

If that was love, dear Crescent, you can keep that ish.

“She didn’t know it, but I was always checking up on her,” Crescent said softly.

She didn’t know it but had far greater hearing than them all… yeah, okay. Try to give Crescent a redemption arc. Nope.

From what Sir Ector says, she was a great deal like you in that way, Morgan.”

It’s not like they had anyone else to compare her to in the family… 🙄🙄 And she definitely wasn’t around Morgan enough to be mimicking or have learned to take an interest in the things Morgan was interested in… 🙄🙄

“Medra had a complicated relationship with animals,” Crescent said. “We were working through it.”

YOU weren’t doing anything…

There was a rap at the door, and I whirled about, suddenly conscious of the fact that I still had not put on my coronation dress as I had promised my ladies-in-waiting half an hour ago.

It’s still coronation day? WTH.

“I brought you a coronation present,” he said hastily. “I’ve been waiting for the right time to give it to you.”

I bet it’s a baby Nightclaw! Kaye likes baby animals…

“Oh no. No, Nightclaw, down!”

Nightclaw, huh…

“My ladies-in-waiting!” Lady Eve headed up the troupe of women.

Lady Eve? Was she even trustworthy?

The hours I would have to spend standing in front of a large audience while the master-of-ceremonies and visiting nobles gave speech after speech lauding my future reign.

Take the kitten with you…

“He could be the official exmoor-of-ceremonies,” Kaye said eagerly.

Yep. There is a tavern in town called The Empress’s Exmoor after all.