The King’s Maiden (Camelot Court #1)

Kingston

H e’s falling for her.”

Merle loved to point out things I was already aware of, as if I didn’t have eyes or a brain. He meant well, I was sure. The prior years’ kings might’ve needed help on a daily basis.

But I was a D’Arthur.

I’d been prepared for this. Merle knew that. How many evenings had he sat at our family home, talking with my grandfather and listening to the old coot drone on about my future?

Merle acting like I couldn’t relieve myself without his helping hand or pointing out the obvious—it just became so tiresome. Especially when he alerted me to problems I already knew were coming but wasn’t quite ready to address.

“And?”

Merle needed prompting. If I wanted to get his thoughts, rather than give him all of mine so he could store them away like acorns for winter, I had to lead him to speak.

“Landon. He’s falling for the girl. That could pose a problem.”

Tiresome.

And I needed more time.

Too many things were working against me. Conspiring against her. Setting her up with the hope that she’d fail.

She couldn’t fail. She wouldn’t.

“It won’t be an issue, Merle.”

“Overconfidence is foolish, . Remember what your father says.”

I hated when he mentioned him like that— my father.

“It’s not overconfidence if I’m stating facts, Merle. Landon is loyal to me. He knows the obstacles I face, and he wouldn’t jeopardize?—”

“But what if that loyalty shifts, ?”

Searching the crowd, I found them by the doorway. He zipped up her jacket, drawing the zipper right under her chin and staring down at her like…

That was a problem.

“I’ll see to it, Merle. But I think you’re wasting your time worrying over one Knight and his Maiden.”

“Not if you want that Maiden to be a D’Arthur Queen, .”

A D’Arthur Queen.

Closing my eyes, I prayed for patience.

I didn’t want her to be a D’Arthur Queen. But she’d have to be. The antiquated traditions of a raving old man dictated it.

And if I didn’t follow his orders, he’d take everything he’d given me, and I’d have no chance of doing what I set out to do.

Now, more than ever, I had clarity—certainty that I’d been right about her. The truth marinating in my bones had ossified, infusing into the marrow of who I was, and I couldn’t be turned away from it. That truth, integral as it was to my survival, wouldn’t just save me.

It would save Camelot Court and everyone in it.

She could do it.

With her by my side, we could change everything.

But if I couldn’t protect her from the snakes in my kingdom’s garden, she’d be lost to me as quickly as she’d been found. If I didn’t shield her from their venom, she’d leave before she let them poison her.

And if I didn’t convince him to see the greater good, we’d lose her. We’d lose everything.

“Honestly, Merle, it’s a party. I said I’ll take care of it. Can you let it rest for tonight?”

“Of course, son.”

I rolled my eyes as he walked off. Son.

He’d have saved me a lot of trouble by directing that moniker so affectionately in the appropriate direction. At this point, Max Dread’s feelings on me wouldn’t change, but his feelings got me into this mess.

Now, I might need them to get us out of it.

No one should’ve known about her. No one should’ve known I’d chosen her. By stealing that file, he cost me more than he even realized, and some days, I wanted to rid myself of all the problems he created.

But I had to remember it wasn’t his fault. I had to believe that maybe there was hope for him. That he could see the truth—if not about me, then about Landon.

And Landon…

It didn’t surprise me—him falling for her.

That much I’d expected. But it surprised me he seemed poised to do something about it. Move against me when he’d always been on my side.

We weren’t opponents in this battle.

And I still believed I needed him to win it.

I’d take him off the board, if necessary. I’d be the King who sacrificed his Knight to take the Queen and end the game for good. But I prayed it wouldn’t come to that.

Which is why I searched tirelessly for solutions. Ones that wouldn’t force me to drag up old wounds. Ones that wouldn’t force me to break through the protection in his mind. Something— anything— that wouldn’t force me to direct his hand and break her heart.

But if I couldn’t find one?

My next move had been written in the by-laws of Camelot Court at the start, and if I couldn’t find a way to alter my strategy—to avoid hurting even one of them—I wouldn’t have another choice.

I had to defeat the biggest opponent, or we’d all be wiped off the board.