Page 64 of The King's Maiden

And okay.Maybe there was a tiny bit of gallantry in him.

He took the chair beside me, resting his elbows on his knees as I got comfortable. I squirmed a bit and crossed my legs under me. Planting my hands on my knees, I nodded to signal I was ready.

“The goal of The Quest is to test the Maidens.”

“Why?”

He shot me a look that clearly said he was getting to that, so I grinned and mimed zipping my lips.

He was too easy.

“The Camelot Society was formed around the idea of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Obviously. And according to the legends, or at least a few versions of them, Arthur married Guinevere and made her his queen.”

“But she fell for Lancelot, too.”

He nodded. “And it led to the end of Arthur’s reign. His kingdom, all the good he had done or would have done, was brought to ruin because of Guinevere and Lancelot’s treason.Some believe that if Arthur picked differently or made sure she could handle the responsibility of being Queen, his reign would’ve endured.”

I snorted. “Or King Arthur could’ve learned to share.”

Landon’s eyebrows rose. “You don’t think it was wrong what they did?”

“On principle, I think Guinevere got a bad rap in that whole love triangle debacle. I’d like that stated for the record.”

“Noted.”

“Do I think it’s wrong to commit adultery when you’ve promised to be faithful to one person? Sure. But I also have a hard time judging their actions based on some old guy’s version of their story. We don’t know what happened. We don’t know what they were like. Or what Arthur was like. What if it was written into their marriage vows—to love, honor, and cherish thy husbandandhis best friend?”

His throat bobbed.

When he didn’t immediately squash the idea, my heart beat a little faster in my chest. Then, I reminded myself to settle the fuck down.

Landon cleared his throat. “I, uh, don’t think I’ve seen that version of their vows in any of the history books.”

I shot him an exasperated look. “Of course, you haven’t. But either way, it’s just a story. A cautionary tale where a woman brought down a good man or a great king before she lived out her days in shame at the nunnery.”

“You don’t think it was fair.”

“She did what any man in her time would’ve been allowed to do simply because he had a dick. Of course, I don’t think it’s fair. It sounds like the bullshit narrative of a bitter man to me.”

“You blame Arthur.”

“I don’tblameanyone,” I grumbled, getting worked up even though I had a sneaking suspicion he was baiting me with his responses. “Except maybe the guy telling one side of the story.”

“They do say history books are written by the winners.”

I rolled my eyes. “Maybe it’s time for a woman to get a turn. Let us write the history books from here on out. Or, I don’t know, be an equal voice in the dialogue.”

Landon huffed but put his hands up when I glared at him. “I’m not disagreeing with you. Actually, quite the opposite.”

“Well, it’s good to know you have some sense under all that seriousness. But what does all of this have to do with The Quest?”

“The Quest was built around the idea that if Guinevere had been tested, Arthur’s reign would’ve continued. So, The Quest is designed to test the mettle in the Maidens.”

“But why?”

“You’ll see.”

I squawked in outrage. “Seriously! That line again?”

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