“I’ll admit I was hard on you. But my actions were necessary. Had I behaved otherwise, you would have seemed a threat to the crown,” said Uther. Arthur stared at his father in surprise. “I didn’t want my court to split favor amongst my children. For my sons to fight over the crown. So I acted as though you were nothing to me. A mistake. A spare. How could I say differently, after the scandal surrounding your birth?”

Arthur couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“After your mother died, I couldn’t very well take it back.”

“You could have told me this sooner,” said Arthur.

“What would it have changed? You have always been stubborn. Foolish. Determined to remake the world into something different than what it is.”

“Is that so wrong?” Arthur asked.

“It is no way to rule a kingdom,” said Uther. “Now, more than ever, we need to protect Camelot.”

“Not this again.” Arthur sighed.

“Yes, this again,” Uther insisted. “Excalibur paints a target on your back. You need an heir whose lineage is beyond dispute. King Leodegrance assures me his daughter will breed. You’ll see to it that she does. Quickly.”

Arthur stared at his father in disbelief. “Let me see if I’ve got this right,” he said sarcastically. “Marry someone I don’t love, and immediately have children? Is that all, or is there anything else you’d like me to do before I turn twenty?”

Rage flickered across King Uther’s face. He stepped forward, grasping Arthur roughly by the shoulder. Arthur could smell the drink on his father’s breath, and see the yellow film gathered in the corners of his narrowed eyes.

“Accuse me of being unreasonable again, and you’ll find out just how unreasonable I can be,” growled Uther. “Now act happy about your bride. Or I will personally dismantle your precious library, triple your guard, and order them to accompany you inside the privy.”

CHAPTER 35

Emry didn’t know how long she’d been lying in bed, her faced pressed into a pillow that had gone wet and salty from her tears. She’d told herself not to catch feelings for the prince. She’d warned herself what would happen. And now it had.

Smart as spades, but foolish as hearts.

And she had been so foolish. Arthur had told her himself that his father intended for him to marry Guinevere. What happened in the library hadn’t changed anything. It only made the inevitable heartbreak worse, knowing that he burned for her, too. And of course she’d found out moments before King Uther and King Leodegrance had announced the royal engagement.

Arthur must have known it was coming. That was why he’d led her away where no one would see. Why he’d been in such a hurry to return to the ball.