Chapter Fourteen
QUINN
I had 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 a hey girl, you good from Kingston?
Fortunately, the sting lasted all of two seconds. I reminded myself that Kingston’s come-on-strong approach was not supposed 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.
And since Kingston said he’d be waiting for me at the end, I assumed the time for me to explore what lay beneath his belt would be limited over the next month.
Which was good.
I’d already replayed our kiss about a hundred times in my head, and while it had been brief, it reinforced my first impression of him. What Kingston presented outwardly fell vastly short of everything he hid inside.
Whether that applied to other parts of him…
Best not to tempt myself to dig deeper and find out.
That left Landon, who could play my body and my emotions like a goddamn violin. Or that obnoxious fiddle in the song about the devil in Georgia. It played on an unavoidable loop in my head when I drove through the state to North Carolina, and similarly, I couldn’t exactly get away from Landon during The Quest.
But while I may be forced to interact with him—long enough to let Kingston’s appeal on his behalf sink in, at least—I didn’t have to give him access to my body or submit to anything involving his.
I could and would use my safe words to keep him at bay.
Gia and I re-read the contract, and it prevented the Knights from doing anything if a Maiden said I yield. So, I decided my limits had become a bit harder in the last week.
And if Landon couldn’t touch me?
Well, then, I didn’t have to worry about feeling anything for the moody, sadistic bastard.
“I’m seriously good, Gia. I’m going to make The Quest my bitch and come back with enough rent money to make it rain on you.”
I laid out my palm and swiped the other over it repeatedly, sending imaginary dollars into the air as I danced around her.
She laughed, her eyes wary, but she ultimately gave in and shook her hair out, running her hands over her face and body like rain was pouring down.
When our impromptu dance session ended, she pointed a finger at me. “Call me if you need anything. I’m serious. I’ll come get you immediately.”
I hugged her. “I know you will. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I pulled my suitcase up to the wall and wrought-iron gate separating Camelot Court from the rest of Mosaic Falls. Pressing the button to buzz the intercom, I perched on top of my suitcase, my feet tapping out a random beat on the sidewalk as I waited. An odd whirring noise came from above me, the security camera on top of the wall rotating in my direction.
“Name?”
“Quinn Everly. I’m one of the Maidens.”
Silence followed. I tapped my fingers on the sides of my suitcase, stretching my calves and cracking my neck. My admittance through the gate sorely lacked the urgency from the Maiden Selection party—in that there was none. At all.
After a few minutes, I pressed the button again.
“Hello? Can you hear me? My name is Quinn Everly.” I gritted my teeth and begrudgingly claimed the broody asshole for myself. “Landon Scott’s Maiden. I’m here for The Quest.”
Static crackled.
“Your presence won’t be required anymore, Quinn Everly. You’re free to go.”
The sound cut off.
“What the?—”
I pressed the button again. But nothing happened. Staring up at the camera, I lifted my arms in a clear what the fuck gesture before pushing the button repeatedly.
After the amount of pep talks it had taken to go through with this, they planned to just dismiss me at the gate?
I hit the button again. And when there was still no response, I got pissed. “Oh, no fucking way.”
Did they have any idea how many positive affirmation Post-Its Gia had crafted for me? Okay, probably not. But I had too much riding on winning The Quest.
Not to mention, the simple matter of pride.
I refused to take their dismissal sitting down. No, fuck that.
I was scaling that goddamn wall.
Dropping the bag on my shoulder, I secured my crossbody over my chest. I stepped back, eyeing the wall and the gate. Left with absolutely no other choice, I grabbed the iron bars and hoisted myself up.
A voice crackled over the intercom. “Miss, you’ve been asked kindly to leave.”
I secured my hold on the fence with one hand and lifted my other—middle finger straight up—to the camera. Climbing the rest of the way, I bypassed the pointy rods at the top of the gate and grabbed onto the brick wall beside it. Swinging my leg up and over, I pulled myself to straddle it before repeating the process onto the other side of the gate.
If anything, these rich assholes should’ve thanked me for highlighting a clear failing in their security system.
But thank me, they did not.
As soon as my feet hit the ground on the other side, a low and vicious growl rumbled behind me. I turned around, finding a giant dog licking its jowls across the lawn. Black fur rose along the ridge of its spine. Saliva dripped from its mouth.
“Holy shit.”
Glancing quickly at the gate, I tossed the idea of climbing back over. Before I could even lift my leg, the dog whizzed toward me. His massive body moved faster than I expected. I panicked immediately, bolting away from the gate.
A scream tore from my throat as I sprinted. His huge, heavy paws thudded into the ground behind me.
But I didn’t look back.
I wasn’t a complete idiot, even if the last five minutes said otherwise. Running as fast as I could, I beelined straight past the side of the main house.
“Help!” I screamed, pumping my arms and legs harder.
My lungs burned. My airways constricted as I fought to pull in air. Skidding around the back of the building, I cried out in relief. A tree with low-hanging branches heralded safety.
If I could get there in time.
As soon as I reached it, I swung my leg up and over the first branch low enough for me to grab. Momentum brought the rest of my limbs with me.
Teeth snapped beneath my foot. I pulled it up and scrambled quickly to get higher. The beast jumped at the tree, his claws digging into the trunk and shredding the bark when he slid to the ground.
“Good doggy! Go away, boy!” I wheezed, wrapping my arms around a branch out of his reach. Sweat dripped down my face. And my heart pounded furiously.
I tried to breathe, coughing as my airway constricted.
My inhaler, stowed away in the bag squashed between my breasts and the branch, might as well have been back at the gate for all the good it did me. I needed it, but I had no idea if the branches could bear my weight. The fear of slipping and ending up as puppy chow kept me from maneuvering the bag out from under me.
But if I passed out, I’d fall.
He’d get a nice little snack, either way.
The branch shook as I wiggled one arm between my body and the tree, holding as tightly as I could with the other. Something dropped to the ground, landing with a thump.
I would’ve rolled my eyes at the predictability if not for being scared for my life. It was just so perfectly fitting.
Fucking lemons.
The dog barked, bounding after the fallen fruit before giving up and returning for the bigger treat. Loud and jarring howls came from the ground as I shifted, finally reaching the zipper of my bag. I wrapped my fingers around the plastic canister and wrenched it free.
But my sweaty grip fumbled over the inhaler.
“No!” I cried out as it fell to the ground.
Panic crept in, tightening like a noose around my throat.
The giant black hound pounced on the tiny bottle, stepping on it and knocking it away. Bounding after it, I used his distraction to think. A little harder with the lack of oxygen filtering to my brain, only that explained my half-cocked reasoning.
If the dog ate my inhaler, I’d be screwed. I had no choice but to try and get to it first.
As soon as he pawed the canister back in my direction, I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed to whatever higher power watched over idiot Maidens prone to poor life choices.
Was there a patron saint of monumental idiocy?
Maybe when I died, they’d give me the job.
I let go of the tree before my spiraling thoughts could talk me out of my plan, landing on the ground with a painful oof and lunging for the tiny canister.
Grabbing it, I wrapped my body around it right as the dog’s hot breath hit my cheek, and screamed, “I yield!”
The dog sat.
“Brutus!” a sharp male voice barked, footsteps racing down stone steps. “Brutus, yield! Come here, you big oaf!”
The dog sprinted away, and I would’ve sobbed my relief if not for the darkness creeping in at the edges of my vision. Curled into a ball, I put the inhaler to my lips and breathed. When I released that breath, I instantly inhaled a second, shoving the medicine back in my bag as a dreaded voice sounded above me.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Rolling onto my back, I glared up at the last person I wanted to see when I got here. I dragged in as many ragged deep breaths as I could—ready to unleash them in a stream of curses at his audacity.
These assholes sicced their guard dog on me and Max Dread wanted to know what I’d been thinking?
Of course, he had to be the one there to find me on the ground, too. Weak and desperate for air. If I hadn’t been able to use my inhaler, he probably would’ve enjoyed watching me gasp for breath at his feet.
Max bent over and gripped my upper arms, hauling me up to stand. As soon as I got my bearings, I wrenched out of his grip and turned my back to him, tucking my inhaler away and zipping up my bag. I straightened my clothes and brushed the dirt and leaves out of my hair.
Without a word, I took off for the gate.
“Hey!” he shouted, his feet pounding into the ground behind me. “Where are—Stop running!”
He snatched my arm and whirled me around to face him. I hit his chest and almost bounced off, but his grip tightened. He looped his other arm around my waist to keep me upright.
My hands planted on his chest, pushing against him.
But, of course, the oversized Neanderthal was too strong for me to get away. I wriggled in his hold.
He huffed a laugh as I struggled against him. “Easy, Princess. Or you’ll get me excited.”
I glared up at him, but immediately stopped moving. “Let me go, asshole.”
He released me, and I stumbled back a few steps before regaining my balance. His eyes raked over my body, darkening as he scrubbed a hand over his face.
My chest heaving, I stepped back farther, suddenly needing more distance between us.
The glimmer in his onyx eyes would’ve been beautiful under the sun. If I didn’t know his soul was as black as charred earth.
He smirked. “Aw, what’s wrong, Princess? Does the thought of getting me excited turn you on?”
“No,” I snapped. “I don’t have anything to worry about, remember? You don’t fuck quitters or crybabies.”
Spinning on my heel, I stalked away from him.
But his voice rang out before I could get far.
“That’s right, Princess.”
I glared at him over my shoulder.
“But you came back, didn’t you?” Shoving his hands into his pockets, he stepped backwards and didn’t even try to conceal the wicked gleam in his eyes. He shrugged his shoulders. “Guess you’re not a quitter or crybaby, after all.”
“Yeah, well, too bad for you, I don’t fuck assholes.”
His eyebrows rose. “Noted.” The wide grin on his face made me instantly regret my word choice. “That can be my job, then.”
My mouth gaped at the suggestion before I had the wherewithal to snap it shut and glare.
But of course, Max Dread had to notice. And decided to be a crude assh— dickhead— about it.
“I bet there are a lot of dark places we could explore, Princess.” He walked away, calling out over his shoulder. “When the White Knight leaves you high and dry, come find me.”