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“For now, perhaps both.” I was quiet for a moment. “We need to find out who betrayed us. Arthur knew Guinevere was there. Could it have simply been a frightened acolyte who told him?”
“I’ve considered it. Merlin placed a great deal of trust in her people, not just the ones working within our network but in all who resided in the temple complex. It is terrible to say, but perhaps her trust was misplaced.”
I hesitated. “The Siabra man who was with me. The court mage, Javer.”
“Yes, I recall him.”
“I didn’t see him that night. In fact, the last time I saw him was at the meeting.”
I met Tyre’s eyes, and he nodded slowly. “You think he may be the traitor?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I said. “But I’d like to find out what’s become of him if we can.”
“I’ll see what I can dig up,” Tyre said quietly.
“Of course, the traitor may have already lost their lives that night,” I said. “I can’t imagine my brother leaving an informer alive, unless he believed they could provide more value to him down the line.”
Or, maybe the traitor was still out there. And worse, they would continue to infiltrate the group and send Arthur more information.
“You’ll be relieved to know,” Tyre murmured, after glancing around again to reassure himself we were still unobserved, “that we’ve managed to secure Merlin’s body.”
My eyes widened. “How?”
A look of distaste came over his face. “The bodies the king hangs in the market gallows go missing at times.”
“Yes, Lancelet told me. Some people have been forced to resort to, well, cannibalism.”
Tyre shuddered. “It’s a terrible aspect of war. Especially for the refugees who are unemployed and looked down upon by the city residents. They do what they must.” He glanced around, then lowered his voice still more. “Merlin made many friends among the refugees. She and I would frequently go out and bring them food and other supplies that the temple could spare. Her kindness has now been repaid. Some of the refugees managed to steal her body away. They made contact with Galahad and passed it along to us. Merlin will have a decent burial, Morgan. I thought you would like to know.”
I nodded. “Thank you for telling me. What I’ve been imagining was far worse.”
The refugees could have kept the body after all.
Tyre shook his head. “It could be any one of us up on those gallows next. But to lose the High Priestess... Well, it is a devastating blow.”
“Is the rebellion continuing without her? What exactly is being done?” I had been in the temple too briefly to learn much about what they had planned. And now, here I was, isolated at court.
“Galahad and Guinevere have stepped into Merlin's place. They’re taking the lead quite admirably. Mostly, they’re maintaining the networks we had already established. Sending our people out to discreetly collect information about military movements but also corruption within the court. You never know when it will be useful to know who’s ready to accept a bribe to look the other way. Of course, there's also the safe house to run and monitor...”
“Safe house?” I interrupted.
He nodded. “Lancelet's family has been providing shelter for those who need a place to hide before they can be smuggled out of the city. Her father was badly wounded by the king’s guards, but he’s since recovered. A brave man. So far, the king has not targeted the de Troyes family again. Pray that it stays that way for all our sakes.”
I thought of Christen, the spy I had seen die. If he had lived, perhaps he would have been sent to the de Troyes safe house.
“That sounds incredibly dangerous,” I couldn’t help remarking. “The de Troyes have small children to think of.”
Tyre sighed. “They do, but they have brave and loyal hearts like their eldest daughter, and they wish to do their part.”
“What else is being done?” I prodded, knowing our tête-à-tête would soon have to break up.
“Propaganda posters are being printed and will be placed around the city. Small things, but we try to bolster the people’s spirits and tear down Arthur's resolve in any way we can, small or otherwise. And then, of course, there is sabotage.”
“Sabotage?” I hissed.
Tyre smiled broadly. “Of course. We've been collecting weapons among other items. Anything we can use to weaken the king's control.”
I thought of what Lancelet had said about Camelot eventually facing invasion.
