Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
L andon was still asleep when Kingston and I reentered the bedroom.
My stomach rumbled, and Kingston cocked his head toward the door.
I nodded, letting him lead me out of the room.
We shared a secret smile as we reached the first-floor landing, and Pendragon changed from our quiet sanctuary to a madhouse.
Miss Alice rushed past us, stopping briefly to pass her gaze over where we stood close together.
Her eyebrows rose as she took in my sleep shirt, but she shook her head and smiled at us before panic resurfaced. “Kingston, he?—”
Kingston had already pulled out his cell phone, glancing down at a notification he must’ve missed when we’d been in the bathroom. I searched his features, fear flooding his eyes before he brought them to mine.
I followed his gaze to the open doorway behind me, and he jerked a nod. “Quinn, go. Now.”
My heartbeat quickened, and although I didn’t want to release his hand, I heeded the command.
Right as I stepped through the doorway, a booming voice shot off like a cannon in my wake. “Where is my son?”
It was too late to shut the door, so I ducked around the corner. Plastering my back against the wall beside it, so I remained out of sight. Miss Alice squeaked, and Kingston whispered, “Go,” before soft footsteps retreated down the hallway.
A second set stomped heavily, growing closer to where we were, and my heart clenched.
He was out there alone.
“Where the hell have you been?” I realized exactly who that voice belonged to and instantly hated it. “I messaged you to meet me in the parlor five minutes ago.”
“I apologize for keeping you waiting, father.” He steadied his voice. “There was something I had to take care of first.”
“Something more important than cleaning up your fucking mess?” Drake D’Arthur snapped.
“Yes.”
The word rang out, clear and firm. And my heart gave an odd little thump in my chest. The beats erratic as his hidden message to his father reached me. But it faltered too quickly.
A loud slap followed. The crack of a palm against his cheek. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t see it. I recognized it, and I covered my mouth to avoid making a sound.
Kingston’s father, who had already dethroned Vivian as enemy number one , managed to make me hate him even more.
He spewed venom at his son. “Listen here, you ungrateful little shit. If you don’t want me to throw you out on your worthless ass, then you better remember my problems are your only priority. The fucking mess that girl caused, and that fool Landon by saying no?—”
“I tried to assure you he was loyal to me without your requested test, father. You weren’t convinced. But neither of us could have predicted that the Maiden would be attacked right before he did it. Or that she’d go to Merle and find the by-laws.”
His father hissed, spitting with rage. “I should’ve gotten rid of her when I had the chance. Your Knight, too. ”
Outrage clawed its way past my lips, but I smothered it before I reacted and made things worse for Kingston.
“Father, you made it perfectly clear what you’d do if I was working against you. I’ve assured you I’m not. Unless you believe my goal was to select the Maiden, give her information in the by-laws, and set up her reveal of it to the others, all so I could tie myself to the Astolat family.”
His father muttered a curse. “Lucky for you, boy, I do believe you have more sense than that.”
“So, then why are you here?”
Indignation cracked like a whip, his father seething. “Excuse me?”
“Respectfully, father, Pendragon?—”
“Is your home.” His voice dripped with venom. “I’m perfectly aware. But I have a right to come here if the situation demands it. Elaine Astolat winning The Quest threatens more than your future, boy .”
“But I thought you appeased them with the betrothal.”
“Her father is lording that prize over my head, saying she’d have rights to it anyway if she ends The Quest. He’s willing to allow the games to continue to keep the other families happy, but he’s made it clear he might change his mind at any time.
And he’s confirmed who Elaine’s choice will be if she wins The Quest. She’ll choose Peter, giving his family the power I’ve withheld from them for a decade. ”
A beat of silence followed, and my brow furrowed as I tried to keep up with what Kingston’s father had revealed, albeit unknowingly.
The prize none of them could tell me.
The winner of The Quest selected the next year’s King.
What importance that held, and why Drake D’Arthur was so worked up about it, remained a mystery. But it was clearly a problem, one I could only assume stemmed from who his family was, based on my experiences with his twin sister.
He was a Valencourt.
“But how does that benefit them? Why align?—”
“If I knew that, you fool, I wouldn’t be here,” his father spat. “Apparently, her father had something to offer the Astolats worth more than you.”
I gritted my teeth.
“There’s something I’m missing, and you need to figure out what it is.”
“What do you want me to do?”
Before he said more, their footsteps retreated down the hallway.
It sounded as if his father dragged Kingston away, and my hands shook at my side where I’d clenched them into fists.
The urge to follow—to lie and claim I could invoke the statute right then—coursed through me with surprising intensity.
But everything Kingston had shared warned me away from acting rashly.
I needed to talk to him once his father left.
As I stood there, panting against the wall and trying to catch my breath, I pieced together everything I’d gleaned so far.
The biggest piece of the puzzle came from none other than Drake D’Arthur himself.
The Quest, this seemingly frivolous sex-filled fraternity game was tied to their larger society.
During my time with Landon, he’d told me that the King of Camelot Court was different every year, but he hadn’t been able to say how the King was chosen.
Kingston had revealed that the position always fell to a D’Arthur, whenever one was of age, but I still didn’t know what that position granted whoever held it.
All it seemed to bring Kingston was an enormous headache and weight to carry on his shoulders.
My head spun trying to make sense of it.
I had to find out what being King of Camelot Court meant. What that seat brought to the table. Getting insight from my three broody men would be a struggle, but maybe with what Kingston’s father had revealed himself, they could share more.
Shaking, as my body came down from the rush of adrenaline, I strained to hear movement or voices in the hallway. The desire to run back up the stairs and warn Landon about Kingston’s father came on quickly, but thunderous footsteps crashed through the house as Drake D’Arthur returned to the foyer.
“You’re lucky your mother was such a conniving bitch, but sleep with one eye open, son .
I’ll return when Alumni Weekend begins, and then, you won’t be able to keep me from that girl.
Or the boy.” His voice was sinister and cold.
“You can’t hide from me forever. Not even here, and if I need to have Merle return, I’ll do it. ”
“She’s still having nightmares,” Kingston blurted, surprising me and his father.
“What?”
“The Maiden. All three of us can confirm it.” Kingston’s voice held an undercurrent of fear, but he leveled it, infusing disdain in his tone, before speaking again.
“Even Max Dread, who you know will stop at nothing to get in our way. They’re getting worse as the arrival of the other Ladies grows closer.
She doesn’t want to stay in Camelot Courtyard. ”
“I don’t give?—”
“She mentioned getting a lawyer.”
A crash echoed through the hall, plaster splintering and falling to the floor, and frames shaking on the nails hanging them up. “She?—”
“Can’t be touched if we don’t want problems for The Quest and Camelot Court.”
A heavy footstep fell, Drake’s voice growing closer. “You?—”
“I’m just relaying what I know, father. I’ve been trying to figure out a plan, and I believe I can convince her to let it go. If not me, Landon or Max. We can get her on our side.”
His voice was steady, no trace of wavering, but I reminded myself who he was dealing with. What his father had done already, and the part he had to play.
Whatever Kingston had to say or do to get his father’s eyes off my back, I trusted him.
“Keep her away from the other girls until you do.” His father’s low voice growled, his hands effectively tied.
“I don’t want her poisoning their minds with any more talk of free will .
And I’ll squash the fight out of her, or anyone else who dares to threaten our world, Kingston. You know this better than anyone.”
Kingston swallowed. “I do, father. I won’t let you down.”
His father hummed. “See to it that you don’t.”
And without another word, he left. Slamming the door to Pendragon behind him as he went. Leaving me stricken with fear against the wall when Kingston finally rounded the corner and found me there.
He clutched my face, breathing in my presence and the fact that we were safe as deeply as I did.
“Kingston…”
“I know, love.” His eyes pressed shut as his forehead rested on mine. “I’m so sorry.”