The Ladies’ wing sat opposite to it, with rooms closer to the lake and separated from the Knights’ row by what they officially called Camelot Courtyard.
Terracotta bricks, like the ones on the lemon tree terrace, created a central space where we’d be able to gather, and gray stones lined the walkways in front of the Ladies’ wing and wove through the terracotta center in spirals and loops before lining the walkway on the Knights’ side.
Landon’s room was right across from mine and Izzy’s, and I spotted Max across the way. His room was diagonal from mine. Gratitude for our seclusion in Kingston’s wing came swiftly, even with how I’d ended up there.
But that thought hit too close to home with everything that happened with Kingston, so I pushed it away.
When Landon had to leave, I went into my future room and called Gia. We’d barely said hello when the door reopened, and Izzy walked inside.
“Hey, Izzy.” I smiled and angled the phone in her direction. “This is Gia.”
She waved at the screen. “Hi, Gia, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Girl, your eyes are so damn green. It’s unreal. Now, tell me. What’s your stance on trying to drown people in lakes, and do you run with bitches named Vivian and Elaine?”
Izzy’s eyes widened, but she didn’t miss a beat. “Only for egregious behavior, and no. I only run if I’m being chased.”
Gia laughed. “Same, girl.”
But I suspected they meant different things.
I handed off my phone and explored the room as they chatted. Where I kept to myself around new people, observing first before rushing in, Gia was the opposite. We became friends at dance camp while I’d been standing like a wallflower in the corner of a room. Gia had walked right up to me, declared us best friends, and looped our arms together to pull me into the group activity I’d been avoiding. And that was that.
Friendship had been so much simpler then.
While I peeked in the bathroom and checked out the view from our window, I trained one ear on their conversation.
Gia asked, “How much we talking for you to give us all the dirt you have on them, Izzy?”
“I’ll tell you what I know free of charge.” She laughed, setting the phone on her dresser to grab a change of clothes from her drawer. “We’ve been in school together since sixth grade, when we all started at Camelot Academy. Vivian was your typical popular girl, and Elaine was boy obsessed. I sat next to her in English. We shared a love for glitter pens, but she usually used hers to write love letters to her crush of the week.”
“Yikes.” I chimed in from across the room. “How’d she end up so attached to Landon?”
“He was the only one who was nice to her about it.” Izzy grimaced. “Most of the other guys laughed behind her back. Orto her face. But not Landon. He thanked her for writing to him, and I think she took that and ran with it.”
Gia winked at me. “Total green flag energy.”
Izzy turned and gave me a tentative smile. She didn’t know Landon and I had done way more than kiss and make up.
“Landon has always kept to himself. Aside from Kingston, of course, but even that was more outside of school because Kingston was a year above us. Anyway, in school he was pretty aloof, but he’d go out of his way to help or be kind to people.”
Gia whooped. “See! You were right to forgive him! Just likeIwas right about him.”
She had planted the idea that something bigger was going on with Landon’s actions at the Knights’ Quorum than I’d originally wanted to believe. I had to give her that.
But that was also how we’d come up with our plan to use the statute at the Maiden Appeal, the source of one of my current problems, which made it hard to reciprocate her enthusiasm.
Izzy reached out, and when I didn’t flinch away at physical contact from another Lady this time, she touched my arm. “I’m not sure what happened between you two at the end of the first challenge, but if Gia meant you worked it out, I’m glad.”
At that, I smiled. “Me too.”
“Me three!” Gia added. “Now, gimme dirt on those bitches.”
Unfortunately, moredirt on those bitcheshad to wait. Izzy and I both got texts alerting us our day was about to begin. We said our goodbyes to Gia, and two seconds later, Max Dread knocked on our door with more details.
“You’re kidding me, right?”
He laughed, leaning against the doorway. “Oh, I wish I was, Pr—Quinn.” He glanced sharply at the bathroom, where Izzy was out of earshot of his near slip. “I’m here to escort you toBonding Day.”
