The line went dead, and I stepped fully into the room, crossing to where he sat by the fireplace in three quick strides.
He rubbed at the wound on his chest, the skin raw and weeping, but he didn’t flinch at the pain.
He hadn’t flinched.
I shook my head to clear it as Kingston let me guide his hand away, his voice shaky. “How much did you hear?”
“Enough. Another Maiden invoking the statute. What he offered the family. His threat.”
Kingston cursed under his breath, his jaw tightening as he fixed his gaze across the room. His blue-gray eyes glinted in the firelight, sparkling like the jeweled prize he’d become in his father’s twisted game.
“Every time I think I’m a step ahead of him, he…”
Grief-stricken eyes met mine. Emotions warred beneath the surface. Regret I couldn’t understand.
It weighed down his next words.
“Why are you here, Landon?”
I blinked at him, trying to process the question.
He’d never asked me that before. Never questioned my presence at his side. Until I’d made him doubt it.
Until I chose her.
And left him to wonder if I’d still be with him. By his side.
“The last time we talked…”
His hand shook, and he clenched it into a fist.
But I swallowed my hesitation. “I told you I don’t want to live in the dark anymore.”
His breathing faltered.
“You said I’ve been in this…half-life. Playing a role instead of truly living.”
He nodded, the movement stiff like it had taken effort. Head bowed, he wouldn’t face me.
He barely looked at me.
And I didn’t understand.
“I told you I love her.”
Standing abruptly, Kingston stepped away from me. “I can’t do this.”
“What?”
He shook his head, his hand trembling as he brushed it down the front of his shirt. “I can’t do this right now, Landon. I can’t?—”
Jerking away from my outstretched hand, he rushed to the doorway. But I followed him.
I always followed him.
“Kingston, I don’t understand. I’m trying to tell you?—”
“Landon, please.” His voice strained, tight with emotion threatening to escape. “That call—I can’t hear this right now.Please.”
