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“Not at all, my dear. I had hoped you would live.”
“And yet you admit you poisoned me at Arthur’s request. Gave me a tonic so toxic you knew it could kill me.”
“Indeed, I did. There is no denying it. But, my dear, I also knew who was accompanying you.”
My heart sped up. “Whitehorn. Agravaine’s man.”
My uncle grimaced. “Not that dimwitted brute. The other.”
“The Captain of the Royal Guard?” Sir Ector was frowning. “A liar he might have been, but Lancelet has already told us that Halyna and I were wrong about his intentions. He behaved with surprising honor and protected the group. Even aided a small refugee girl.”
Draven. They were speaking about Draven. My Draven. My... husband.
My mind raced with conflicting thoughts and emotions.
“Aye, Kairos Draven. Arthur had appointed him captain just before assigning him to join Morgan on her quest,” my uncle said, his eyes intelligent and beady. “A very convenient appointment. Swift, too. Rarely have I seen a man advance through the ranks so quickly.”
I shot to my feet. “Are you suggesting you had something to do with it?”
“I had everything to do with it,” my uncle said. “Regardless of whether or not you will believe me, it was I who orchestrated his hiring in the first place.”
My jaw may have dropped. “I don’t believe you.”
He rubbed his temples. “I don’t expect you to believe me. At least, not yet. Nevertheless, it is the truth.”
“Your optimism is misplaced. Why would you do something like that?” I demanded.
Caspar Starweaver was quiet for a moment. “We all serve in our own way, Morgan Pendragon.”
“I don’t see how bringing Draven to Camelot served your king whatsoever. If you reallyknewthis man as you claim to, you would know this already,” I snapped.
“Ah, but I did not say it was Arthur I serve,” my uncle said mildly.
I stared. “Then... who?”
His face hardened. “I serve the throne of Pendrath. I serve this kingdom. I serve the best interests of our people. Do not tell me you have ever believed your brother had those interests at heart, Morgan.”
“Well said,” Sir Ector said. “As do we all, Caspar. Pendrath. Pendrath is my mistress. And Morgan Pendragon is the one who should be seated on that throne, not her treacherous, traitorous whelp of a brother.”
The room exploded with sound.
I held up my hands. “Stop! Please. I mean it.” I met Sir Ector’s eyes. “I have no wish to sit on that throne, Sir Ector, though I am grateful you think so highly of me. But I will say this once. The throne should be Kaye’s. Years ago, my father set me aside. You all know this. What’s done is done. I will never be queen. But Kaye... Kaye deserves to sit on that throne. Kaye would be a good king.”
The room fell into a surprising quiet.
“What? What is it?” I asked, looking from face to face. “What are you not telling me?”
It was Lancelet who broke the silence.
“While you were gone, Arthur wed,” she announced bluntly. “His new queen is with child. ”
My eyes widened. “Arthur is married? To whom?”
Ironic that my brother and I had both been wed while I was away. I did not voice the irony.
“His bride is something of a mystery,” Merlin admitted. “Originally, a marriage alliance had been arranged with... Well, he had a traditional marriage planned.”
“Traditional?” I raised my eyebrows. “And this marriage was not traditional?”
