He flinched at the heat in my voice, grimacing as if the poker had seared into his skin again. I forced myself to take a breath, loosening my grip on his hands.
“What kind of monster?—?”
“A very old, very sadistic and evil man, who has had unchecked power for far too long.”
I shook my head. I wanted to understand butbranding?It was completely out of the realm of what any of us should be dealing with. Someone had abused him, and from what Dr. Barrow had said, it had been happening for most of his life.
“Kingston, why won’t you report this? Whoever did this—your father, I’m guessing? He has to be stopped. This is?—”
I stared at him, eyes wide as I tried to process it.
“Someone needs to do something about this.”
His sad smile broke my heart. “I’m trying, love.”
“What?”
My eyes jumped between the brand and his face as I slowly wrapped my head around his meaning.
He was handling this on his own?Thiswas part of what he’d been hiding? Not only that, but a piece of the truth he deemed safe enough to share?
The room spun.
“No. This is—it’s too much.” I shook my head, over and over like I might force this truth away. “Kingston, we’re in our fucking twenties. We need—We’re just kids.”
But even as I said it, the words rang false.
If I’d learned anything in the last year without my dad, my childhood had come and gone. The time for being young with someone looking out for me? That had ended.
Accepting that truth after the accident had been so daunting I’d avoided facing it at all. I’d hardly pretend I’d fully accepted it now, even though I felt more capable.
But it was an unavoidable part of growing up.
Eventually, we all faced battles that no one else could fight for us. I’d had to figure out my shit because no one was there to do it for me. I hadn’t been ready to survive on my own, but…
Life didn’t care if we were ready.
And it didn’t wait.
Sometimes, life threw us into the unknown without warning. Thrusting the worst upon us. Demanding we make a choice.
Fight with courage, or risk losing everything.
Clearly, Kingston had learned that lesson long before I had.
But it was too much. Way beyond bills and student loans. All the problems I’d believed I couldn’t handle on my own a month ago paled in comparison tothis.
I’d been thrown into a freaking kiddie pool without floaties, while Kingston had been forced to swim in shark-infested waters.
My voice broke. “You’ve been all alone. Surely, someone?—”
“Quinn, I’m the King of Camelot Court and a D’Arthur. No one else can stop this but me.”
“But—”
He gripped my hands tighter. “I know it’s a lot to take in, and that’s part of why I hadn’t planned to share any of this with you. Not yet, at least. But I told you, I need you to see—to understand—what’s at stake. This thing we’re all doing? The challenges and The Quest? They’re part of a much larger game. Everyone at Camelot Court is a piece on the board, and I—we areallpawns. The petty rivalries, jealousy, and competition? They’re nothing, really. Not compared to the opponent we need to beat.”
“Stop talking about this like it’s a game of chess. Kingston, you have abrandon your chest!”
