The King’s Maiden (Camelot Court #1)

Kingston

T hey’d built the Round Tableau with good intentions.

Originally the first building on the property, its lower level had been living quarters for members of the Camelot Society. Over time, membership grew and the property expanded.

Over time, it became corrupted.

The obvious choices, however, hadn’t been responsible.

The addition of stocks, racks, and St. Andrew’s crosses weren’t its darkest elements. The suspension hooks in the ceilings, and the whips and chains on the walls, weren’t its greatest sins.

When practiced safely, they weren’t dark sins at all.

In my humble opinion, the cameras had crossed the line. Instead of a place for exploring dark fantasies, the Round Tableau dissolved into something sinister.

Because the Maidens weren’t explicitly informed of the recordings.

And the feed transmitted to a server outside Camelot Court.

All for the viewing pleasure of the Camelot Society.

There had been discord following the installation. Knights didn’t agree and refused to participate in The Quest. Now, knowledge of it passed only to the new King. With strict instructions to keep the secret to himself.

Prior Kings of Camelot Court reveled in their private showings. My predecessor nearly soiled himself in his gleeful haste to share it. Not everyone believed it was wrong.

I was not one of those people.

Informing Landon of the cameras’ presence had been a necessity. The first night in the Round Tableau with the Maidens being a requirement, he had to know how to shield her. Barring that, he could limit their time to his room.

But he’d still been against it. Still questioned my intentions once he learned her secret. Confused by my expectations, because I’d known better than to share them.

To say it shocked me when he came to me tonight, with plans to bring Quinn there, would be an understatement.

Until he handed me the file he’d stolen from her doctor’s office. He hadn’t looked inside it, but he told me what she’d hidden from him and why he needed her to share it with him herself.

I hadn’t looked at the file yet, either. The last one on Quinn Everly caused enough trouble. And I expected to learn the truth as their evening played out.

The grainy camera feed didn’t reveal everything, but it showed enough.

Landon’s eyes changed his normally stoic expression. As he led her into the room, he kept them trained on her face. Brimming with repressed need.

I closed mine.

His unwavering voice contained a harder edge, echoing through the room. “What do you say if you want me to stop?”

She responded instantly. “I yield.”

“And if you want me to slow down?”

“Mercy.” Her voice trembled. “I ask for mercy.”

But I sensed the underlying current of excitement in her soft voice.

“Good girl.”

And I reveled in the pride in his.

The satisfaction derived when she obeyed—her control brought the same pleasure to me.

Landon had never believed he deserved to hold power over another. He couldn’t see how beautifully he wielded it. He wouldn’t.

But I had always seen it, and a shiver ran through me when he commanded her again.

“Undress me.”

The rustling of clothes and clink of his belt followed the command. Then, he ordered the same with her attire. And laid out what he’d planned for her next.

Shibari was an art form. Not simply tying someone up.

As Landon cast the ropes around her wrists, I couldn’t help but glance back at the screen. His focus, care, and efficiency made it seem like he’d studied the process for years.

But all of it was because of her.

She received the ropes eagerly, her posture slowly reflecting the change within her. Her spine straightened as her confidence bolstered. It grew stronger as Landon spoke, explaining as he went. Teaching her to find the bight of the rope. Wrapping it twice around her wrist.

Praising her for doing so well.

He touched her with respect, but something more…treating her as if she were precious. Responding to her slightest reaction. Staring at her with a hunger in his eyes I hadn’t seen in…

It had been a very long time since the last time.

When he finished, he led her to the cross at the back of the room, securing the ropes on a hook above her head. Cuffing her ankles in the shackles at the bottom—a medieval touch the founding members had insisted on adding. I panned the camera up to study his face.

I searched for something I wanted to find, but somehow, couldn’t bear to see.

He deserved it. Of everyone in this place, he deserved it most. But I might not be able to give him everything he wanted.

It was better if he stayed detached.

The rumors, recirculating after the dance, continued to force my hand. A choice loomed that I didn’t want to make. One I wouldn’t have to consider, if he didn’t cross the line.

So far, he made no move to kiss her.

He showed no obvious signs of swaying in his resolve. But I believed Quinn Everly could change everything at Camelot Court. Even my most loyal Knight.

Even my best friend.

The only person I trusted to guide her to the end, the one I needed by my side, but who I claimed I’d committed to sacrificing, if needed to reach the end.

As I watched them together, a different plan formed in my mind, until I couldn’t bear witness anymore. I muted the sound and angled the screen away, waiting for the darkness to signal the end. Then, I would erase the recording before it could upload.

And, alone, I would leave the Round Tableau.