With that threat spurring them to action, the room quickly emptied, leaving me, Arthur, and Mayda, who sat unnoticed, impassively watching the proceedings. I motioned her over to us, and she sat on the step below the dais.
“I am sure you have had plenty of time to contemplate your fate,” Arthur said gently.
Her light blue eyes were sincere when she looked at Arthur. “You are a good king. I wish my husband was so, but all he and his brother think of is power and land. All they want is to rule the whole of the island, and they will do what they must to feed their ambition.”
She shifted her gaze to me. “I knew what I was doing when I made the decision to come to you today. I knew I was as good as dead no matter the outcome. If they caught me, if I was lucky, I’d only be badly beaten. But m
