Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
W ith our hearts heavy, bound by secrets and shared hope, we walked out of the cemetery.
Together.
My heart broke for the little boy raised by a monster, who’d somehow managed to keep going—keep fighting—trying to do good, even though his world was riddled with evil.
Kingston struggled to hide how difficult the moment was for him—saying goodbye.
And, while I understood why he’d wanted to let go of the past, I hoped he wouldn’t have to in the end. That the future remained open. And that our path, the one we’d begun carving for the four of us, wasn’t decided yet.
I hoped things might play out in a way that healed all the pain and every scar Camelot Court had caused before we all came together.
Once Kingston clipped the helmet strap under my chin, he tipped my face up to his, and I answered the question I expected before he asked it.
Pushing up onto my toes, I kissed him.
Without urgency.
Without fear.
I kissed him softly, steadily, to remind him I was with him.
Patient through whatever came next, because I believed we’d get there.
I had no idea what was coming when Drake D’Arthur arrived at Pendragon, and keeping my promise would be a struggle.
But I’d do it, because of what Kingston had shared with me.
Because I refused to be another thing Drake D’Arthur took from his son.
So, I’d do whatever it took.
And when the time came? I hoped it meant burying his father in an unmarked grave. So the world, and everyone in it, would forget his name.
“There’s one more place I want to show you,” Kingston said as he double-checked my helmet. “If you don’t mind staying with me for a little longer.”
At my nod, he touched my cheek before securing his helmet and climbing on the bike. He helped me climb on after him. My skin tingling from his touch, I pressed my cheek against his back.
He kicked the motorcycle to life, and as we left the cemetery, it felt like a lifetime had passed since we’d entered it.
We drove until the sun began to set, pulling off the road and taking an unmarked path.
When the trees cleared, nothing lay ahead but the mountains and a lake. The still, deep blue water stretched between twin peaks of the North Carolina mountains. Rocks along the edges of the lake guarded it from fallen leaves and rubble from the cliffs.
“This is Midnight Lake.”
I stared out at his secret place, my lips parting in awe as the hidden depths of the water drew me in. “It’s beautiful.”
Following his lead, I got off the bike and took his hand.
As I gazed out at the view, my heart ached at the connection it made. “Landon’s secret place overlooks the mountains, too.”
Kingston nodded. “Nanny used to bring us to see them. He doesn’t remember, but he still holds onto that piece of the past. She used to say the lake and the grounds at Camelot Court were beautiful, but they lacked a decent view.
She had grown up in the mountains a few states away, and she missed her home while she was at Camelot Court. ”
“What happened to her?”
“She’s gone. She left shortly after everything happened with Landon’s mother and his memory.
Said she needed to get away for a while, but that she’d send help or come back for me.
” His sad smile broke my heart. “I knew she had no way of doing that, even when she said it, but…she was being kind. Trying to give me hope. And I was glad she’d gotten out before my father could hurt her, too. ”
He walked back toward the bike and rested on it, staring at me as I looked out at the view and fought my hardest not to cry.
Kingston released a breath. “Do you regret peeking behind the curtain yet?”
I whirled to face him, staring at him with protectiveness flaring in my chest again. “No, Kingston.”
His posture relaxed slightly. “I’d understand if you did.”
“Because a terrible man groomed you to believe no one will ever stand by you or survive it if they do.” I walked back over to him, taking his face in my hands. “That won’t happen with me, I promise.”
“I thought you don’t make promises you aren’t sure you can keep.”
“I’m making this one. And keeping it. I came here for a reason.
I’ve felt that way from day one. At first, I thought it was about the money, about surviving on my own, but it—Nothing about this place turned out to be what I expected, and that feeling is still there.
I could never leave now, knowing what you’ve shared, without trying to help you change it.
We’re going to find a way around this. Around him. Or a way out. I know we are.”
That storm I’d seen in his eyes once, when he walked in on me with Max and Landon, returned with a vengeance. A hurricane of emotion sweeping in and clearing away everything else. He grabbed my face and pulled me to him, his lips crashing down on mine while my heart thundered in my chest.
Clutching him tightly, I kissed him back with every drop of rage inside me. A kiss fueled by a protectiveness I’d never experienced before. Fierce and urgent with the need for more. Intensified by what we’d have to do to get it.
When I deepened our kiss, I needed him to feel it . Right then, without a single doubt, that he wasn’t alone anymore.
We finally pulled apart, and Kingston drew me into his chest. Holding me there as we watched the sun set over the mountains. When the last of it faded from view, he turned away and faced the bike.
“Once we arrive at Pendragon, you’ll need to go in while I put the bike away, but…if you’re willing to stay with me tonight, you can go up to my room, and I’ll come find you.”
I nodded, but then I arched a brow. “You don’t lock your room door? I don’t know why, but you strike me as the type.”
“Of course, I do. But…” He fingered the charm on my bracelet. The one he’d given me. “The lock is electronic, and this opens it if you hold it up to the sensor.”
Caught off guard, my voice squawked when it came out. “You gave me a key to your room on the first day?”
He arched a brow. “Of all the things I’ve shared with you, I’m touched you saved that frequency in your voice for this particular secret.
” When I blushed, he laughed, and I ran my hands over his shoulders to feel the tension leave them.
“And yes, Quinn. I gave you a key to everything that day. I just haven’t told you where to find all the locks. ”
And though my heart nearly burst, I scoffed, feigning offense to that. “Rude.”
“I plan to show you all of them.”
“That’s just the extended version of you’ll see .”
When I huffed, mostly playfully, he released a soft laugh.
“I promise. I’ll share more soon.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a slightly forced smile. “But, once you know all my secrets, what will you do then, love?”
If, knowing a love of answers was in my blood, he truly worried about that, I didn’t want him to. So, I wrapped my arms around his neck and reassured him as best I could, a nickname slipping out with his accent on my tongue.
“Whatever we want, darling .”
He stole my lips in another electrifying kiss before pulling away too soon. As he buried his face in my neck, a shudder tore through him, and I held him as tightly as I could. I hated that I couldn’t end all this for him, but I was determined to find a way through it together.
The thought of letting him go, now, felt impossible.
And while nothing could’ve prepared me for what Kingston’s secrets would be, no part of me regretted finally seeing his truth.
His story wasn’t a fairytale.
Neither was mine.
On the drive back, my thoughts drifted to Landon and Max, to the pain and regret we’d each experienced in one way or another.
Landon’s mother and his memory, the secrets Max still couldn’t bring himself to share, and what had happened between them in the past, leaving a wake of guilt and resentment they still fought to get past.
Nothing about The Quest, or Camelot Court, was a fantasy.
But I had to believe that a King, two Knights, and their Maiden, Lady, Princess—whatever the fuck they called me—could overcome the obstacles and slay the monster in our story. Get the happy ending we all deserved.
The one Kingston had been fighting for silently, and alone, for far, far too long.