Free Quest - Book 2 of Queen's Honor - YA + Adult Fantasy Romance and Adventure by Mande Matthews Page A

the
sky, and the sea. You are Love, Honor and Protection.”
    “But I have failed
everyone.” My words spewed out of my control. “I failed Elibel. I failed
you. I failed myself. I am not sure what made me think I could cause a change and
help the people I loved. Because of me, Elibel will never find happiness. And
your only chance will be to escape me. Happiness cannot exist with a queen’s
duty. Becoming Queen of Camelot breaks everyone I truly love, and there is not
a single thing I can do to remedy the situation.”
    “You see others so clearly, but you fail to see yourself.
You cannot fail when you are true to yourself. You’ve honored your feelings. You’ve
seized love because it spoke true in your heart, even though the world tells
you otherwise. You’ve courageously stood up for your friends in spite of your
own needs. You are a queen, through and through. And you will be the most
honorable queen Camelot has ever seen.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “Because it is who you are.”
    We stared at one another for several heartbeats before I
said, “You are in danger if you stay
here.”
    Lancelot smiled,
revealing his bright row of teeth. “My only danger comes from leaving you. Let
me decide what brings me happiness.”
    He pressed the
triquetra into my hand. “You have a quest to attend to.” Then he turned, and
strode into the crowd.
     
    * * *
     
    Lancelot’s words revived me, and strength returned to my
limbs—and my heart. I mounted the steps and sat myself next to Arthur.
    King Arthur, my husband and best friend’s lover, gestured to
a servant who delivered a cup of mead to me. Arthur raised his glass in the
air. His voice boomed out over the crowd. “To my wife! Queen of Camelot!”
    A wild roar rose as citizens cheered, assembled in semi-circular
stands around an arena. “Long live the Queen of Camelot!” came the answer to
Arthur’s toast.
    Arthur stood and cheered along with the civilians, clanking
my glass, and the cups of nearby knights. His smile spread his face. His azure
eyes lit with merriment. He never looked so alarmingly beautiful.
    I noticed Elibel emerge from the crowd, making her way
toward our stand. She wore one of the dresses I had purchased for her at the
merchant’s booth upon our arrival to Camelot, along with the matching silver
necklace and circlet set, inlaid with carnelian and pearls that I had gifted
her. The lacing up both sides of her torso accentuated her womanly curves, and
the peachy color of the gown heightened the healthy glow of her skin. She
looked breathtaking—a fairy goddess from another realm.
    Arthur’s line of sight fell directly upon her as she swayed
toward us. His smile froze. His eyes remained stunned as he viewed her, and I
realized that must be what I looked like when I stared at Lancelot.
    My cousin kept her gaze on me, though. She gestured toward
her gown, and then nodded toward me—a thank you for the presents. I bobbed my
head back in acknowledgement, and a tentative smile spread her lips.
    A boom resounded in the center of the arena, jangling my
bones with its loudness. The crowd screamed, then cheered as Merlin appeared
out of a whirl of white and black smoke. All eyes fell to the attention of the
old druid.
    “And so ends King Arthur’s valiant quest for knights.”
    The crowd roared again.
    Arthur raised his goblet, yelling, “Here, here!”
    “How shall this mission end? Will the hound be able to
protect his white hind?” Merlin’s gaze sought me out in the stands and settled
upon me. A quiver ran up my spine as his stare leveled me. “Or will the
questers conquer all and bring back the fair prize, so they can be smote by the
mighty King Arthur and his sword Excalibur, and join our chivalrous knights at
the Round Table?”
    Cheers sounded again as the crowd banged their fists against
the wooden benches beneath them, calling for the questers fates to be revealed.
    A raven circled overhead, and I assumed the creature was
none