Kiersten White

The second book in a new fantasy trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White, exploring the nature of self, the inevitable cost of progress, and, of course, magic and romance and betrayal so epic Queen Guinevere remains the most famous queen who never lived. EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE IN CAMELOT: King Arthur is expanding his kingdom's influence with Queen Guinevere at his side. Yet every night, dreams of darkness and unknowable power plague her. Guinevere might have accepted her role, but she still cannot find a place for herself in all of it. The closer she gets to the people around her--Brangien, pining for her lost love Isolde; Lancelot, fighting to prove her worth as Queen's knight; and Arthur, everything to everyone and thus never quite enough for Guinevere--the more she realizes how empty she is. She has no sense of who she truly was before she was Guinevere. The more she tries to claim herself as queen, the more she wonders if Mordred was right: she doesn't belong. She never will. When a rescue goes awry and results in the death of something precious, a devastated Guinevere returns to Camelot to find the greatest threat yet has arrived. Not in the form of the Dark Queen or an invading army, but in the form of the real Guinevere's younger sister. Is her deception at an end? And who is she really deceiving--Camelot, or herself?

The Camelot Betrayal

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Sometime after dark, Arthur climbed into bed. She had half expected him to be gone all night and was surprised. She was even more surprised he pressed his body against her back. "You did what you had to do," he whispered, cradling her. "Once we return to Camelot, it will be easier. Guinevach is gone. We knownwe can match the Dark Queen in whatever she attempts. You hurt people, yes, but you hurt bad people. Men who hurt you and others. Let these things you had to do go. Do not think on them anymore. As your king, I command it. "

She let out a small laugh, closer to a sniffle. "Oh, you command me now?" 

"How do I look?" Guinevere asked, surprised at how nervous she both sounded and felt. She wished she could see herself, wish she could tell whether or not the crown looked like she deserved it. 

"Like my Guinevere," Arthur said, reminding her of their conversation. If she did not know who she was, at least Arthur knew who she was to him. And he saw it when he looked at her. 

"I am ready," he said. "I am ready to be husband and wife. King and queen. Rule together and be together. I do not care who you were, or why Merlin sent you here. I am not saying it does not matter, because I know it matters to you. But whatever circumstances brought you into my life, I am glad they did and I would not change them. All I care about is that you are here, we are together, and I do not ever want that to be different. So. That is - those are my feelings. I am ready to be whatever you want us to be."

Guinevere searched his face, his warm brown eyes, his strong jaw, the assurance there. He was not terrified. He was ready. For whatever she said. 

She opened her mouth, but he squeezed her hands. "Do not answer me now. Take your time to think about it. Maybe all this pain has been because you have been trying to be so many things to so many people. Queen and protector and witch and wife and sister. So many secrets, so many identities. It is too much for anyone. When you chose me before, in the meadow, you chose Camelot. And I love you for that, because I will always choose Camelot, as well. But now I want you to choose me."

Arthur was not right. She had not chosen Camelot. She had chosen Arthur. But she had chosen Arthur the king. What he was asking her now was far more intimate, and in a way far more dangerous. She believed him when he said he would continue as they had been. He would not lie. And when she was with him, she was happy. It was a joy to be in his company, at his side. 

The Camelot Betrayal quotes

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