Landon
T wo days after the Maiden Selection, the Knights gathered in the Round Tableau room. My time avoiding Kingston and what occurred the other night had come to an end.
I needed to face him. And the task laid out before me. In four days, I’d have no other choice.
This whole tradition made my skin crawl.
The Maidens joined The Quest with one goal—secure marriage within the Camelot Society—something I didn’t need or want.
I hadn’t wanted anything to do with The Quest. Period. I even refused to join the Knights, initially.
But, again, no one shirked an order from the King.
Not even his best friend.
If Kingston said he needed me, I had no choice but to agree. I took my duty to him, as the King of Camelot Court, seriously. And whatever qualms I had about The Quest, he’d asked me to prepare one Maiden for the challenge ahead.
He’d known my feelings on the subject.
Yet, he’d asked anyway.
I hadn’t been happy about it, but I trusted he had his reasons. Even if he hadn’t shared them with me at the time.
More often than not, Kingston kept his cards close to his chest by design. And there were some things I didn’t want to know. My panic at the pharmacy came to mind before I forced it away.
Some things, I couldn’t stand to remember.
Reservations aside, I wouldn’t fail him.
I couldn’t.
My initial approach involved boundaries. Keeping things as separate as possible. Maintaining lines to ensure no delusions arose over my intentions.
At least, that had been my plan going into the Maiden Selection.
Before I met her.
Before I found out the truth.
Kingston chose her for more than Camelot Court. He thought she could be a chance at happiness for him. Something that had seemed impossible given the stipulations his family placed on his future.
He deserved that.
I wouldn’t wish his life on anyone. I wouldn’t wish any of our lives on someone else. But if that could change…
Keeping her at arm’s length had become even more important. And more challenging.
The request already crossed the lines of a normal favor between friends. Quinn Everly would be right in front of me for twenty-one straight days. And I’d be expected to test and explore her limits, ensuring she could handle the second challenge within the first thirty days of The Quest.
Kingston accepted what I’d have to do.
He trusted me.
And that meant everything.
So, I’d have to trust him, too. While he kept his distance to dispel the rumors, I’d do my job as carefully as possible. Remaining aloof so she didn’t seek anything more. Avoiding getting too close while she lived in my room, shared my space, and slept in my bed.
Alone, of course.
In the hopes only one of us would spend the next three weeks fighting temptation.
But after meeting her…
Seeing the way she responded to even the slightest touch. Witnessing the war in her dark brown eyes as she obeyed my commands. I didn’t know if it would be her or me.
No. It wouldn’t be me.
It couldn’t be.
Inside the Round Tableau, Kingston waited in the center of the room. Surrounded by the other Knights standing at their doors, his head was bent as he talked quietly with Merle.
But his eyes lifted when I walked through the door, finding mine. His knitted brows and slight frown betrayed his concern. He let them slip from behind the mask before he shuttered his expression.
I took my place at the door beside his.
On the left, even as his right hand man.
Merle stepped forward to speak. “The twelve of you are the Knights of the Round Tableau. Over summer, your focus will be on Camelot Court. On the honor and duty placed on your shoulders. The Camelot Society created Camelot Court to prepare our young men for responsibility ahead. To teach you how to assess the women standing by your side.”
I fought to relax my jaw, my molars grinding loudly enough to be heard over his speech.
“The Quest’s final prize cannot be revealed or spoken about until the end. Remember that. Push it from your thoughts. Proceed honorably. So, the victor is rightfully chosen. While only one can win, failure in this, as in all things, won’t be tolerated.”
Kingston’s eyes flicked to mine—a reminder to rein in my reactions.
“Hopefully, you’ve chosen wisely. If not, then you must mold your Maiden into the woman she needs to become to serve Camelot Court and your aspirations.”
My hands clenched into fists at my side.
“Tonight, you swear an oath to uphold the by-laws of The Quest and the privilege you’ve been given. When Kingston calls your name, please step forward and hold up your right hand.”
Merle stepped back, bowing his head.
Kingston flicked his gaze to mine before training it steadily on the first Knight to come forward. His voice rang out, low and commanding, in the dimly lit room.
“Max Dread.”
I forced my lip not to curl.
Technically the twelfth in our line of brothers, the reverse order conveyed the Knights had no rank.
And yet, he’d been assigned the last spot by design.
Max Dread made no attempts to hide his intentions. He wanted to ruin Kingston’s plans, whether he knew them or not. His family benefited most from the antiquated traditions of Camelot Court, and despising him came as easy as breathing.
He hated me for things outside of my control—the failures of others. Always placed on my shoulders.
Kingston spoke the vow we’d all known since childhood, pulling my attention back to him. “Do you swear to uphold the integrity of The Quest, guiding your Maiden down a rightful path, and serving Camelot Court above all things?”
Max Dread sneered in Kingston’s face. “Do you?”
Whispers filled the room. More rumors about Kingston’s selection of my Maiden. They needed to be squelched immediately, but Max Dread was hellbent on preventing that.
But before I could tackle the asshole, I stopped my feet from moving forward.
“Everything I do abides by that oath, Sir Mordred. Whether you believe that or not is outside my concern,” Kingston responded, his voice unruffled—his demeanor calm. “Remembering your place should be within yours.”
Max growled low in his throat.
Kingston lifted the knife in his hand. “Do you swear?”
“I swear.”
“Do you vow to abide by the Knights’ Code, embodying all it means to live with honor?”
Max spoke the vow, spitting it like venom on his tongue. He didn’t flinch when Kingston sliced his palm with the Mordred family dagger. His blood spilled on the stone between them.
Seething, he retreated to his door, glaring at his father. Merle stepped forward and traded the Mordred family knife for the next. One by one, Kingston called the Knights to the center of the room.
Each swore his fealty to Camelot Court, Kingston, and the sanctity of The Quest. I scanned their faces for the truth. Until, finally, it was my turn.
“ Scott.”
Hesitation ran rampant through my body, but I approached Kingston as if I had none.
Blue-gray eyes anchored to mine, conveying a hint of doubt. A tell only I could see. But he echoed the oath, binding us to a dangerous path forward.
“Do you swear to uphold the integrity of The Quest, guiding your Maiden down a rightful path, and serving Camelot Court above all things?”
“I swear.”
“Do you vow to abide by the Knights’ Code, embodying all it means to live with honor?”
His eyes softened as I spoke the vow.
“Until my last breath, I pledge with trust to Camelot Court and to my King.”
The Lancelot family dagger sliced the center of my palm. My blood trickled down my wrist, falling to the stone between us.
When Merle handed over the final knife, Kingston brought it to his hand. He sliced his palm and joined his blood with ours. Holding his hand out to me, fear bled into his face before he could mask it.
I gripped him in a vise, eschewing tradition. Binding us. Uniting our blood as brothers. Sealing what we’d become a long time ago.
Kingston exhaled shakily, head bowing under the weight of the expectations and eyes on his back. But then, as always, he straightened his spine and did what he had to do.
“Until my last breath, I pledge with trust to Camelot Court.”