Page 49 of The King's Maiden

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.”

Chapter Fourteen

QUINN

Ihad a week between the Maiden Selection and when I had to return to Camelot Court. Most of that time, I divided between my finals exams, reading up on Arthurian legends, and wavering in my resolve to return for The Quest.

I hadn’t heard from anyone at Camelot Court.

No one was more shocked than me to realize that stung a tiny bit. I mean, it wasn’t like I’d been expecting a heartfelt apology or edible fruit arrangement from Landon, and Max could take a long walk off a short bridge. But not even ahey girl, you goodfrom Kingston?

Fortunately, the sting lasted all of two seconds. I reminded myself that Kingston’s come-on-strong approach wasnotsupposed to be a turn-on. Laying out his intentions clearly was supposed to freak me out and send me running for the hills because I had no desire to go there.

When that stopped working, relief over not having to face what he’d said overruled any feelings of rejection by his lack of follow-up.

That, or the anxiety over going back, distracted me.

Or maybe I’d learned to appreciate the unexpected, beautiful, and painful moments of my life without needing to overthink them.

That sounded mature. Evolved, even.

I went with that.

“You’re sure you don’t want me to drive you?”

Gia had been clucking after me like a mother hen, waiting for my protective shell of denial to crack. She spent the week replenishing my mental stockpile of positive affirmations. I found Post-its with crowns, messages like “You’re a Bad Bitch,” and crude stick figure drawings littered around the apartment.

Each drawing had one figure in a triangle skirt holding a rose, and three taller figures with outrageously disproportionate cock bulges on their pencil thin frames.

I had to go back to Camelot Court knowing at least one of the stick figures might live up to the drawing’s exaggerated penis size. But I had no intention of finding out for sure with Landon. Or finding out at all with the other two.

Max’s hot-and-cold behavior told me everything I needed to know. He was a distraction, and getting involved with him wouldn’t help me win The Quest.

I planned to avoid him at all costs.

Plus, if I wanted someone to play with my feelings by offering and then withholding affection, I’d get a cat.

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