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“It was... hasty,” Merlin hedged.
Lancelet snorted from across the table. “You can say that again. The bans were not read. There was no announcement. No one was told. Not until after the wedding had already happened.”
“We have absolutely no idea who the new queen really is,” Merlin admitted. “Simply that her name is Belisent. She appeared by the king’s side on the steps of the castle, and that was when most of the kingdom first learned they were married.”
I felt dizzy. Camelot had a queen again. Kaye... Kaye was displaced. Or would be as soon as Arthur’s child was born.
“How?” I said sharply. “The High Priestess performs royal weddings. That’s how it has always been done.” I looked in Tyre’s direction.
He raised his hands quickly. “Don’t look at me, milady. I was not asked to perform the nuptials, and believe me, I thank the Three for that every day. I believe I would have vomited all over the bride’s gown.”
I couldn’t help a small snicker at that mental image.
“There is another temple now, Morgan. Cavan, the High Priest of Perun, performed the ceremony from what we understand,” Merlin explained, looking immensely uncomfortable.
I began to understand. “Is that why the temple is so empty?”
The day before, Lancelet had searched for an empty corridor, seemingly to try to avoid the eyes of visiting worshippers, but she hadn’t had to look far to find one.
Merlin nodded reluctantly.
“Simply replacing Merlin with a High Priest was not enough for your brother,” Tyre said, his normally pleasant voice tinged with a hint of bitterness. “I was not enough. For do we not still primarily serve the Three here? Three women?”
“Three divine goddesses,” Merlin said, her voice sharper than usual.
“Of course,” Tyre assured her. “Three most deserving goddesses.”
“But Arthur has become obsessed with Perun. And he’s forcing the people to worship him, too. Yes, I understand.” I rubbed my temples.
“He credits Perun for the blade,” Merlin said softly.
“Excalibur?” My eyes widened. “You mean he has Excalibur? She brought it to him?”
“She?” Merlin looked confused. She shook her head. “We do not know how he got the sword. Lancelet could not explain it either. But it is in the king’s possession.”
“You’re sure of that?” I insisted. “You’ve actually seen the blade? You know it is Excalibur, for a certainty?”
I thought of Orcades. None of this made any sense. She was fae. Arthur hated the fae. He did not seem to have stopped hating the fae while I was gone or just because he had gotten married.
Of course, there was only one way to be certain.
“This woman Arthur has married,” I said carefully. “What is her name? What does she look like?”
Merlin frowned thoughtfully, then opened her mouth to speak. But it was Guinevere who answered.
“Hair as black as night. Lips as red as rubies. Eyes bright as a bluebird’s feathers. Skin as pale as porcelain,” Guinevere recited dully. “Queen Belisent is perhaps a few years older than you or I.”
“I see,” I said slowly. “Thank you, Guinevere.” That didn’t exactly match the description of Orcades, who, last I saw, had preferred the color amethyst to match her vivid, purple hair and violet eyes.
“So, Kaye is on the front lines. Arthur is married. His wife is pregnant.” I ticked the items off on my fingers. “Arthur also has Excalibur, or most likely has it. And I assume Arthur hates the fae as much as he always has?”
Some of the faces around the room flickered with confusion, but Galahad answered, “We assume that he does. But he has not targeted the fae specifically while you have been gone.”
“No, he’s saved his hatred for people like us above all,” Lancelet spat, looking down the table at Galahad who immediately seemed uncomfortable.
“Men who love men and women who love women, you mean,” I said softly. “I am... sorry. Galahad, I still remember the night Lancelet came to us in the forest and told us you were no longer permitted to serve in the temple.”
Galahad nodded. “It was a blow.”
