Chapter Two
I scanned the room for the fifth time, flipping the light on in the closet to search again. Dropping to the floor, I felt around the back corners for a sign of the shirt.
Or its ashes.
That yielded nothing, but I took advantage of my new vantage point and crawled out of the closet to hunt under the chaise. Nothing there. Or under Landon’s desk.
“What the heck?”
Shuffling over to the bed, I triple-checked underneath it.
Again, nothing.
“Where the hell are you?”
The bedroom door opened, and I sat up quickly. Getting caught muttering to myself under Landon’s bed had not been on my bingo card for the day. Hastily pushing my hair out of my face, I ignored the hint of crimson hidden within the strands and braced myself for an incoming fight.
But I refused to even look at him.
He didn’t say anything.
My stupid heart clenched painfully in my chest as I got up without a word and went back to shoving things in my suitcase. Zipping it up, I had no choice but to face him.
Camelot Court really needed to invest in adjoining rooms.
As it was, I had only one path out, and six feet of one so-called White Knight blocking my exit.
He stood frozen, one hand on the doorknob and his eyes on my suitcase. Tension radiated along the strong line of his jaw, and his nostrils flared. But the slight dip between his eyebrows brought a crease to mine. Confusion over my actions...
I hated that I even noticed it.
Maybe he’d expected me to be gone already. Maybe he had no idea where my missing sleep shirt was.
Either way, since I didn’t know how to ask him even a simple question on its whereabouts without starting a knock-down-drag-out fight, I decided to leave it.
The scratches from Vivian’s attack were still too fresh to risk reinjury by whaling on him, even if it might prove what he’d said about me at the Knights’ Quorum wrong.
I’d win The Quest and prove him wrong that way.
Not like this.
Not when it didn’t matter.
I rolled my suitcase in front of him, staring pointedly at the way out and waiting for him to get the hint.
He didn’t move.
“Merle made arrangements for me to travel alone to Pendragon today, so if you don’t mind…” I nodded down the hallway. “I can get out of your hair.”
His throat bobbed with a deep swallow, highlighting the stubble on his normally clean-shaven face. My throat tightened as he put his back against the door to let me pass.
Not exactly what I’d had in mind, but I could get around him, so I let it go. Towing all my stuff behind me, I turned back and waited until he lifted his eyes to mine.
My voice cracked, but I pushed past it. “Did you tell him?”
His features tightened, but he didn’t say anything.
I frowned, unsure why I’d even asked.
Then, the doorknob creaked. As if standing in for crickets that should’ve filled the silence between us, no doubt. And I shouldn’t have looked down at the noise.
Because it changed nothing .
His white-knuckled grip on the door just drove home what I already knew. By standing up in front of everyone and saying he didn’t think I had what it took to win The Quest after?—
He’d made his choice.
And it hadn’t been me.
“Well, see you on the other side, oh gallant Knight of…” I clicked my tongue on the roof of my mouth. “Whoops. Almost forgot.”
He’d lost that title at the word no .
His knuckles blanched as he gripped the doorknob tighter, but still, he didn’t say anything.
Shaking my head, I walked away. Maybe karma had taken his vocal cords in exchange for what he’d done.
I doubted it, though.
His door didn’t close until long after I rounded the banister to the stairs. I didn’t look back, but even from that distance, the loud slam echoed down the hall and inside my head. I forced it out and focused on my breathing instead.
Weaving my suitcase through Winchester Hall, which I’d learned was the name of the main fraternity house, I passed the kitchens. I made my way down the hallways where I’d once gotten lost, right before I let my guard down. Right before I let Landon start preparing me for the challenge ahead.
I spotted the suit of armor outside Merle’s office, the one I’d knocked over right before Max Dread kissed me so Landon could see it.
Was that when he’d started doubting me?
If it had been, he’d given no indication of it then, either. Maybe I should’ve dubbed him Lying Bastard Number One much sooner than I’d thought.
Maybe he never had faith in me at all.
Forcing that thought out of my head, Lying Bastard Number Two spoke as I approached Merle’s door.
“…has to be a way around this.”
“Kingston, she came to me with a legitimate complaint. She asked for her contract and then to see the by-laws referenced in it. Our hands were tied in several ways, and there was no choice but to side with her.”
“She planned to be gone after thirty days, but winning the appeal locks her in through the end. I don’t like it. Any of this.”
“So, you’ve said. But even your father agrees we did the right thing, and the appeal only means she must get to the end to win anything. Chances of that are slim, at best. She must know she doesn’t have what it takes to see this through, so we simply let her succeed or fail on her own. Call her bluff. A problem that takes care of itself isn’t a problem, Kingston.”
At Kingston’s growl of displeasure, I’d heard enough. I pushed inside Merle’s office.
Their heads snapped to me, Merle clapping his hands and calling me Gwen because of-fucking-course he couldn’t be bothered to get my name right. And whatever Kingston had been ready to say died on his tongue as he shut his mouth.
I glared at Kingston, feigning politeness. “Oh, please. Don’t stop on my account.” I refocused on Merle. “I just came to get the key, Melvin . And a map to Pendragon if you have one.”
Kingston coughed lightly, taking the key from Merle before I could grab it. While Merle bumbled his way through an apology, Kingston sighed, his voice bored.
“I can take you to it.”
“Wow.” I smacked my lips together. “As thrilling as the resignation in your tone makes that offer sound, I’ll pass.” I snatched the key from his grip, my tone perfectly pleasant even as my hand shook. “I’d rather get lost than follow you, Your Highness.”
Other than the slight tic of his jaw, Kingston’s expression remained neutral. If anything, he appeared more bored once I spoke. He shrugged and sat back down, raising an eyebrow at Merle. A clear message for him to get on with it because the King didn’t have all day.
Prick.
Ugh. Were all my expletives for these dickheads phallic?
Must. Expand. Vocabulary.
I clenched the key in my fist, looking at Merle expectantly. He came around the desk and took hold of my elbow to guide me from the room. His grip was gentle but unnecessary, and I almost asked him to remove it.
But when Kingston’s eyes narrowed on Merle’s hand, I decided to let it stay.
In the hallway, Merle handed me a map, told me where the golf cart was parked, and advised me to call if I got lost.
Thankfully, I had a good general sense of direction and a knack for figuring shit out as I went, so I thanked him, but I had no plans to take him up on the offer.
Sure, Merle had helped me out in a pinch, but I still didn’t trust the guy. And if the brief instruction he’d just given me was the advising he did for Camelot Court, I had a sudden understanding of why Kingston had his head up his ass.
That just pissed me off.
Empathy for the jerk being the last thing I wanted to feel, it decreased the likelihood I’d ask for Merle’s help again.
Although I did have the two vague Secret Questions I’d won during the first challenge, which meant I could ask Merle for answers at some point. But I had no idea when I won them. Or what use they were within The Quest, since nobody had bothered to explain that yet.
Secrets about Secret Questions was just too many fucking secrets, in my opinion. Hence my hunt for the truth in the by-laws. But if more things didn’t clear up soon, I’d dig deeper.
I’d come back for answers, after all.
At that thought, rage and regret churned in my gut, and my breathing grew more erratic. I left the main house as quickly as my legs would carry me.
Outside, I went around to the back and found the golf cart where Merle said it’d be waiting.
After throwing my suitcase in and strapping it down, I climbed into the driver’s seat. Ready to head north to Pendragon and get this shit show on the road. Ignoring the way my hands shook, I unfolded the trifold map of the grounds and set it on the seat beside me.
But then, since being a bad bitch didn’t mean I couldn’t have emotions, too…
I put my head on the steering wheel and cried.