My Merlin Awakening. Copyright
© 2012 by Priyanka Ardis. Cover art by Claudia McKinney, Phatpuppy Art. Cover photo by Y. Sjøvik. Cover model is J. Mathisen. Cover design by Kat Balwin, Ink Lion Books.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the author's express written permission. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without permission is prohibited.

This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real people or real locations are used fictitiously. Any references to historical events are used fictitiously. Characters, names, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual incidents or persons is coincidental.

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Published by: Ink Lion Books, LLC

http://inklionbooks.com

Visit the author website:

http://www.priyaardis.com

ISBN-13: 978-0-9848339-1-7

ISBN-10: 0984833919

Version 2012.06.16

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A big sloppy thank you to the readers who have encouraged me to write the second installment of this series. When I went out with the first book, I wasn’t sure what to expect and to find those who enjoy the Merlin stories has been a true blessing.

There are also a great many who have worked in the background to make this book happen. I would like to thank my editors—Teri “The Editing Fairy” G. for her wonderful polish and Wes M. for his pointed insight in refining the story. I would like to thank my brilliant cover designer, Kat B. at Ink Lion Books, and fabulous cover artist Claudia M. at Phatpuppy Art.

Thank you to my family and friends for their incredible support. It means everything.

Finally, to the Brontes, may they forever haunt the Moors!

Prologue

PROLOGUE

Everything I had worked for, planned, schemed and generally manipulated into being I saw coming together. The future was upon me.

My name is Merlin.

Arthur stood on top of a small hill, surrounded by a hundred or so knights in chainmail, a flutter of brightly gowned nobles, and a mass of commoners in plain brown and gray. He pulled Excalibur from the stone.

It was what the crowd had been waiting for, yet they still gasped when it happened. The sword had been sitting outside the castle of Camelot under a great, white oak tree for so long it had passed into legend. It had been all but forgotten by the kingdom. A man had occasionally tried his hand to pull out the glimmering metal, if only for its monetary value as much as its mystery, but no one had ever succeeded. Until today.

The prince had, just hours after the death of King Uther, pulled the sword from its resting place—and the fate of the whole kingdom changed in an instant.

The burdensome gloom that had settled in the air gave way to a burgeoning sense of expectation. The fever of it shone in the eyes of everyone from the kingdom’s most faithful knights down to the smallest child. Under a banner of crimson red and glorious white, they all watched their new king with awe.

Their savior had arrived.

Finally, one commoner shouted out a cheer, the first volley of an erupting wave. Within moments, the whole square echoed with a ferocious sound of victory.

I pulled my hood around me and sank back into the trees. The kingdom would know about me soon enough.

“So it is done.” A shadowy figure came through the clearing.

I turned to look behind me. With whisper-soft footfalls, Vivane, or Vane, as he’d long ago dubbed himself, crushed leaves with such precise movements of his jerkin boots that they could only emit silent screams. Most creatures rarely got a chance to emit more around Vane. But it was not this that bothered me. It was a certain coldness in my brother’s gaze, which disturbed me my entire life.

Vane stopped just beside me. “Why do you stand in the shadows? We no longer need to hide our magic. Our time has come.”

“Will come. Arthur has promised to integrate us back into the kingdom, but nothing happens overnight,” I corrected him.

“Are you sure he is not too old?”

“Arthur is but twenty-eight. He has plenty of years left,” I said to convince myself as much as him.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I realize this.” He was referring to whether Arthur was too old to change.