Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
My mind raced as I returned to Camelot Courtyard.
Max’s complete change in behavior over the last few days had left me reeling, unable to make sense of what was going on with him. I wanted to think about it logically, but the emotions of it all were catching up with me.
I couldn’t breathe.
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know what to do.
A small part of me wanted to listen, to submit to his demands that I leave Camelot Court for good and never look back, but I couldn’t do that. I had more to think about now.
Two other pieces of my heart that I had to consider.
Lost in my thoughts, I stayed away from the others. I met Izzy’s worried gaze and forced a smile to reassure her, then paced until Landon appeared with the other Knights, so they could escort us into the parlor.
As soon as we entered, I found Kingston and searched every inch of him for harm after being near his father. The sharp navy blue suit he wore for the unplanned occasion hid most of his bare skin.
That did nothing to ease my concerns.
He caught my probing gaze and gave me a secret smile.
I returned it, but the concern didn’t fade. I wanted to ask him if he was okay before going over to him and checking for marks myself. I was seconds away from doing it, too.
Before my anxiety got the best of me, Max appeared.
His onyx eyes met mine the second he entered the room, his features tightening and a jumble of conflicting emotions filling his gaze. Anger, pride, indecision—all compounded by his factory default setting for indifference when in a crowd.
I swore I caught a hint of regret, too.
But I must’ve been mistaken because the emotion vanished a second later. Right as Vivian walked into the room behind him, and together, they blew my goddamn mind.
Vivian put her hand on Max’s arm and glanced up at him, noting his attention was across the room. She followed his gaze to me, and her ice-blue eyes narrowed to slits before she schooled her features and straightened her spine.
Then, like I’d done at the second party, she smirked and brushed her hand down his arm.
I nearly launched myself across the room.
I’d had enough of her to begin with. I couldn’t believe I’d been naive enough during the last challenge to see her as anything more than a conniving wench.
She was exactly who I’d thought she was from the beginning, and there was no way I’d let her get away with whatever scheme or power play she and her parents were trying to pull on Max.
Before I went for her throat, Landon, who stood at my side, tightened his grip on my arm.
I remembered where I was, and reluctantly, forced my feet to stay put. Reminding myself Max was a big boy. If he didn’t want her hand on him, he’d take care of it. He’d done it once before at the Honor Ceremony.
When he tensed beside her, I thought he’d do it. Throw her hand off and soak my panties again. Instead, his eyes darted down, and his next move shriveled up my remaining hope.
He took Vivian’s hand, smiled at her, and led her to their spot in the circle. Right across from Landon and me.
And he didn’t meet my eyes again.
I gripped Landon’s arm to steady myself. Anger, betrayal, and—let’s be honest—fucking whiplash made my head spin.
Max had sat in that room and claimed he didn’t want her to give him his gift, but the way he looked at her now made me think whatever she’d given him had changed his mind.
Even at the party he hadn’t wanted to attend, he’d at least had the decency to look miserable about it.
Right now, he didn’t look miserable at all.
He looked like an exotic Ken doll, happily standing next to his true love, Black Widow Barbie. Especially when he leaned down and brushed his lips against her cheek.
“What the actual fuck?” My muttered curse echoed Landon’s harsh whisper beside me. “What the fuck?”
My eyes flashed his way as he stared at the pair of them before he turned to me, checking to see how I was taking it—the first appearance of the happy new couple.
I shook my head, my body vibrating with a fury I wanted to unleash immediately.
Landon tightened his grip on my arm. “I’m so sorry, Quinn.”
Biting my lip, I nodded once, fighting to keep my emotions in check. It helped that my White Knight, who still had a split lip from Max, sounded genuine in saying that. It also helped that I had two members of Camelot Court with no doubt in what they felt for me.
But it still gutted me.
I forced down the emotion lodging in my throat, said watermelon three times fast before remembering that only prevented an oncoming sneeze, and swiped hastily at my eyes.
While I struggled to lock up my emotions, Kingston cleared his throat and pulled our attention to the center of the room. “Once my father arrives, he’d like to address everyone, but until then, I’ll provide details about your final challenge.”
I forced myself to breathe and pay attention, but the screaming rang loudly in my head.
He’d had the motherfucking audacity to make it seem like my mistrust between us was a me problem? To act like it didn’t make sense that I struggled to trust him as he kept his secrets?
Gaslighting son of a bitch.
“Welcome to the Nobility Challenge, Ladies. When training begins, you’ll be paired with each of the Knights throughout the day. Each one is responsible for teaching you a skill. You’ll need each of these skills to make it through the Final Trial—The Quest for the Holy Grail.”
Max chose that moment to start a staring contest with the side of my face, and I glared as I kept my eyes forward, trying to tell him to fuck right off while also trying to catch Kingston’s explanation. But eventually, I met his persistent stare.
He smirked, clearly just being a dick and hoping to distract me. I scowled at him while half-listening, but noting how Kingston’s tone shifted as he finished his speech.
“Before the Final Trial, the parents will arrive. They’ve delayed Alumni Weekend to be here for the main event.”
Max flicked his gaze over my body, and I ignored the effect that had on me.
“During this challenge, you’ll have another Bonding Day, the fourth party, and an opportunity to learn from the Knights. You’ll rotate through ten training sessions. The blocks before and after lunch will be combined with a second Knight and Maiden, so you can learn from each other, too.”
Vivian’s obnoxiously shrill voice pulled my focus from still glaring daggers at Max to her, right as she shifted her eyes to mine from him. “The only thing I need to learn from Quinn is where to take out the trash.”
The brute wanted to piss me off with his one-sided staring contest, and she decided to take that out on me instead of him.
After everything with him, and what she’d said on the patio about my parents, I’d had it.
I snapped. “Max’s bed is the usual place for it.”
She narrowed her eyes, flicking them quickly to Max before returning to mine.
His jaw clenched, and he bristled before opening his mouth. The thought of him defending Vivian to me in front of everyone made me see red.
“That’s probably why it was so easy to stay away from him during the Honor Challenge. A lingering odor doesn’t really do it for me.” I ran my gaze over her. “Or the concern over what I might catch from wherever he’s been.”
Knights and Ladies around us stifled their laughter, but—because one had to have a heart in order to care—Vivian only smirked. It was easier to ignore her, since with their history, everyone knew her unaffected act was clearly for show.
But I couldn’t ignore Max’s expression, taunting and cocky, morphing into a glare.
“What?” I shot at him. “Don’t glare at me, man whore. I said what I said.”
Despite his claims of wanting a nickname, when I gave him one, hurt flashed across his face.
My eyes narrowed on the fickle bastard.
Whatever emotion I’d drawn out of him vanished quickly. But before I could question it further, a loud clap drew everyone’s attention to the parlor doors.
“Ah, so this must be the infamous Quinn Everly I’ve heard so much about!”
Landon’s posture went rigid beside me.
Max immediately stopped staring.
I girded my loins to face the last person I wanted to meet.
Too worked up to feel the appropriate amount of fear, a spike of dread still pierced through me before I forced it away.
Deflection Mode: Full Steam Ahead.
Just a typical day at Camelot Court, meeting a lying, no-good villain who wanted to get rid of me. Just another asshole. Just another bad guy.
That reverberated in my head, like an inappropriate pop soundtrack playing at a funeral, seconds before I had the great displeasure of meeting the infamous Drake D’Arthur.
But as he drew closer, Landon tensed, bracing as if he wanted to throw me behind him. Something about that reflexive reaction to Drake’s presence forced me to face reality.
A chill raced down my spine at the sudden shift in the whole room. Fear ran palpably through everyone and down my Knight’s arm beside me. With a gulp, I straightened my spine and forced myself to lift my gaze.
Then, I laid eyes on Drake D’Arthur for the first time.
“Holy shit,” I breathed.
Where Kingston’s lean, muscular physique still commanded attention, Drake D’Arthur’s massive build and wide frame made it impossible to overlook him. As soon as he’d entered the room, the air thinned.
Each step he took sucked more out of it.
He was nothing like his son.
While they shared the same posture, poise, and charisma, Drake D’Arthur’s slicked-back dark hair and his cruel, soulless eyes were nothing like Kingston’s. If they matched his blue-gray hue, the elder’s had dulled where his son’s sparkled.
Seeing him so close to Kingston after everything I’d learned, my mind fought to shield itself from panic. Panic that might lead to rash actions, so I had to look away again.
I’d promised Kingston I wouldn’t do anything to make things harder for him once his father arrived at Pendragon, and I wanted to keep that promise.
I needed to keep it.