Free Queen of Hearts (The Risen King) by Samantha Warren

Almost.
    Overhead, the flight of dragons swooped low, led by Etain and his gryphon. With each pass, a dozen faeries were given a bird's eye view of the battle before they learned how to sky dive without parachutes.
    Lancelot worked his way through a pair of Ulmus, splintering their limbs and setting them on fire with the help of Drakka. As the creatures crumbled into ash, he put his shoulder to Arthur's and they turned in sync to face an oncoming ogre-troll hybrid.
    The two men slashed and spun in unison, the synergy from centuries before returning in force.
    “We need to talk when we get a chance,” Lancelot said as his sword plunged into the thick hide. “Just the two of us.”
    Arthur grunted beside him as the ogre-troll's fist connected with his ribs. “Now is not exactly the time, Lance.”
    “I know, I just want to make sure we get time later.” He kicked the thing in the back of the knee and it wobbled. “It's about Guinevere.”
    Arthur swung and Excalibur sank into the creature's lumpy neck. The sword wedged itself between two fat rolls and stuck fast. Arthur jerked the sword as the ogre thing swung at him with a bony fist.
    “I don't want to talk about her ever again. I wish she'd just go away.” Arthur clung to the sword as the beast swayed back and forth, trying to dislodge the offending weapon.
    “ You're the king. Tell her to leave.” Aiofe was back and she raised her bow. She let three arrows fly in quick succession. Each flew straight and true, finding their mark in the bulbous eye of the ogre. They sank deep into the tiny brain and the creature stopped fighting. It listed dangerously to the side and Lancelot scrambled out of the way as it plummeted to the ground. A trio of sprites weren't so lucky and their colorful legs could be seen flopping beneath the mountain of flesh.
    Arthur climbed up on top of the beast and jerked at his sword. “I told you,” he began with a grunt. “It's complicated.”
    “It's not that complicated,” Aiofe spat back and pulled another arrow. “Just...” Her voice trailed off as the arrow sailed through a nearby bogey. She pulled another and tried again with the same result. “What the...”
    “ What's wrong?” Arthur asked as he and Lancelot finally succeeded in freeing Excalibur with a sickening slurp.
    “ I can't hit that one.” She shot at the faery beside her first target. “Or that one.”
    Arthur rolled his eyes and stomped up to the two snarling bogies. He swung at the first one's head with all his might. The sword slipped right through, meeting no resistance at all. He stumbled and barely kept his balance as the creature flickered briefly before solidifying once more. The bogey lunged at him and its teeth snapped around his arm. He shouted with the expected pain, but it didn't come. The teeth went straight through, like he wasn't even there.
    “What is this?” He stared from the creatures to Lancelot and Aiofe with wide eyes, but they just shook their heads.
    “ Arthur, we need you.” Eden beckoned them from across a small patch of clear grass. They found her standing with Etain. “Tell him.”
    “ Some sorcery is afoot, King Arthur.”
    “ So we've noticed. What's going on?”
    “ It appears to be a trick, a mirage. The outer edges of the force were real, but everything in the middle is merely an apparition, a conjurer's trick.”
    They looked out across the field around them. Nearly half of Leanansidhe's forces still stood, but the actual battles were few and far between.
    “It appears we have taken down most of the physical forces, but it's hard to tell with all the apparitions.”
    Arthur thought momentarily and nodded. “Form up in groups, work your way through. Find any real faeries that may be hiding and dispatch them.”
    Etain and Eden bowed once and walked away to spread the word.
    “ I don't like this,” Arthur said as he watched them go. “Not one bit.”

     
     
     
     
    *~*~*
    TEN
    *~*~*
     
    “ Your highness, our army