Sword in Stone

Artie had spent her entire life feeling like a punchline. Her full name, her parents' apparent abandonment, being taken in by her next-door neighbors, and discovering her lover was part of a cult and cheating on her—culminating in him stabbing her—all made it seem like she couldn’t catch a break. Lying in a pool of her own blood, staring up at a painted sky, the absurdity struck her as darkly humorous. She prayed that if there was an afterlife, it would be kinder to her. But then she woke up. In the same body, with the same stab wound, but in a world filled with magic, swords, and a dead King Arthur. Yes, the Round Table existed, the knights were real, and so were all the legendary figures she’d heard about as a child. Their stories hadn’t begun yet, except for the founding of Camelot, the crowning of the King, and then his sudden death. If this was a joke, it wasn’t funny. Artie was exhausted. After nearly a decade as a police officer and detective, she felt she deserved peace. But someone had other plans. Her life wasn’t over yet. In fact, the creatures of this world seemed to believe this was where she belonged all along. Her struggles in the other dimension? Just a warm-up. Now, she was expected to go along with what everyone wanted her to do, including magical beings who transported her between dimensions. Artie felt overwhelmed, even with several concerned, attractive knights around her. She wasn’t sure if she should run from these new responsibilities or embrace them. Though not naturally a rule-breaker, maybe now was the time to change?