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I felt a prickle of fear. “What is it?”
“Sir Ector will be named a traitor to the crown tomorrow in the public square. My men are already searching for him.”
“He has fled Camelot then?” I tried not to sound too hopeful.
“Perhaps. He’s left his residence. His son, Galahad, is a known traitor. You must know this already.”
I nodded seriously.
“It would seem that many of your former friends are now our enemies, Morgan,” my brother said, studying my face. “I meant what I said earlier about unity. We must stand together against treachery.”
“Of course,” I murmured fervently. “How did you discover that Sir Ector was a traitor? May I ask?”
“There have been suspicions concerning him and Dame Halyna for some time,” Arthur replied.
My heart plummeted. Not Dame Halyna as well.
“But in the end,” Arthur continued, “Dame Halyna assisted us in uprooting the true traitor. She worked with us to locate Sir Ector, but unfortunately, we were too late. He had already slipped away.”
Dame Halyna had implicated Sir Ector. I couldn’t believe it. If it was true, I would destroy the woman myself.
“When Kaye returns,” Arthur said, his eyes still fixed on me, “I hope you will help me to guide him.”
Guide him in remaining loyal to Arthur, he meant. Kaye would be devastated by the news that Lancelet was imprisoned and Galahad and Sir Ector were being hunted.
“I do what I must, Morgan,” Arthur went on, “to protect our family, this throne, and our kingdom. I hope you know that. Under my reign, Pendrath will grow mightier than it has ever been. Empires are not spun from the silk of virtue but from the threads of ambition.”
I nearly choked again. “Did you read that line in a book, Arthur?”
Arthur seemed amused at the question. “No, I heard it from our uncle once.”
“He probably got it from a book,” I muttered, tapping a finger against the rim of my glass.
“War is difficult,” Arthur said. I tried not to scoff. What did he know about any of it? Sitting here decked in velvet with heaping platters of food before him? “But perhaps it is true that the darkest of threads can weave the most enduring of legacies. I want my empire to last. Now I must build the foundation.”
“And what of Excalibur?” I dared to ask. “The weapon you sent me to retrieve? I failed you, Arthur.”
I was fishing. Perhaps very dangerously but I couldn’t resist.
Arthur shook his head. “You didn’t fail me, Morgan. You still don’t have the full picture. I keep forgetting your absence and the reason for it. Excalibur is exactly where it should be. Right here in this castle.”
I drew in a sharp breath.
“The sword was brought to me by my queen. One of the reasons she holds my affections.” He pushed back his chair and rose from the table. “Perhaps you’ll visit her tomorrow. I believe she would like that. She accepts few visitors, preferring to hold a small court of her own for her ladies-in-waiting. A very select few, you understand. But I believe, for my sister, she would make an exception. I’m sure you’ll have much to talk about.”
“Yes. I’m sure we will. I’ll make sure to do that.”
I could not wait to find out what Orcades had told my brother about how she had found the sword. Had she claimed to be a treasure seeker like Vesper who had stumbled upon it in Meridium that day?
Or perhaps she’d told Arthur the truth—that she was a secret fae princess warrior whose incredibly powerful and evil father had imprisoned her in an underwater dungeon for countless years surrounded by dangerous treasures, and only with the power of my blood had she been able to finally escape, after which she’d left me essentially for dead, and brought Arthur his precious sword.
Somehow I doubted it.
I was alone at the table. I scanned the room. Thankfully, Fenyx was gone.
I finished my plate, then rose and returned to my room.
I needed a bath. A hot one. The day had been long, and now that it was drawing to a close, I felt as if I had been drenched in not just dust but a toxic grime.
