Max’s arm tightened around me, the heavy weight dipping into my waist as I faced him on my side. He slipped his hand between me and Landon, fingers pressing gently into my lower back, and he pulled me against his chest.
My brow furrowed as he jostled my body, but I couldn’t catch the thread of a thought my brain wanted to unspool. And I let something go without knowing what it was, slowly waking up. It would come back to me, though.
At that moment, all I could think about—all Iwantedto think about—was the warmth of Max Dread’s arms.
When I came to Camelot Court, my college’s elite fraternity and brotherhood of Knights, the last thing I expected to do was end up in bed withoneof them, let alone two.
Especially the Dark Knight I’d claimed to hate.
He’d seemed like a reclusive asshole. The villain with a stupid, smug smirk on his face, ready to use me like a pawn after luring me in with lies and dark promises.
I’d been in a protective shell of denial.
But then the Honor Challenge changed everything.
For six days of The Quest—my ticket to what I’d thought I needed to survive—I shared a cabin with Max, where I learned he hadn’t been lying about a whole slew of things, and he pushed me to face my truth.
I wanted more than the cash prize offered by The Quest.
Answers. Three broody assholes. And a chance to burn Camelot Court to the ground—literally—if needed.
Two out of three broody assholes slept soundly in my bed. Operation yeet Camelot Court into a raging inferno brewed steadily in the back of my mind. And the answers…
Well, I was still working on those.
I didn’t know everything yet, but I’d learned enough after Landon caved and revealedsomeof the truth.
At the end of our twenty-one days together, he’d stood up in front of everyone at the Knights’ Quorum, and he claimed I didn’t have what it took to continue The Quest. He betrayed me for reasons he couldn’t seem to stand. Making a move directed by Kingston D’Arthur, the King of Camelot Court, who’d sworn he’d be waiting for me at the end.
The closer I looked at what they’d done, the less it added up.
So, I hunted for the truth myself.
After bluffing my way back into their game, I got the answer I’d needed.
Landon and Kingston believed openly betraying me was their only move. A way to protect me from unseen threats inside their world. One I had shaken up simply by entering it.
A worldsomeonewanted me to leave, whether by choice or by force.
And the list of suspects was long.
The other eleven pairs of Knights and Maidens had grown up together, along with Kingston and Landon. Their families had been members of the Camelot Society long before they were born. And they hadn’t rolled out the welcome mat when I’d arrived at the Maiden Selection.
In fact, I’d been turned away at the gate.
Maybe if I’d grown up with them, I would’ve been accepted with open arms. Maybe if I’d gone to Camelot Academy for high school, or spent my life preparing for The Quest, I wouldn’t have ruffled any feathers.
If I would’ve followed the rules without question, maybe the other Maidens and I would’ve become friends…
It didnotplay out like that.
But I secured my place in The Quest through the end, anyway. All for a chance to win the biggest prize. The one my Knights still couldn’t reveal without jeopardizing my ability to win it.
Stupid complicated rules.
Stupid sworn oaths.
Camelot Court had a lot of them, so I’d accepted that my Knights and Kingston couldn’t tell me everything right away. But I’d agreed to stay and see The Quest through the end, as long as the secrets were put on the table, so I had a choice in what I could live with or without. So I could decide when—ifI had to walk away.
