My breath caught. “You mean, you?—?”
“Used your pesky feelings to lure you into the car?”
“But why?”
“The same reason I’ve said before.”
“So, this whole time?—?”
“Of course. I tried to tell you, didn’t I?”
As he sped down the mountain roads, my mind raced, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Everything became clear.
He hadn’t been lying to me since this challenge…From day one, he called himself the villain. The bad guy. The asshole.
I’d thought he’d been filling a role he never wanted to have. One that never quite fit him. Denying who he was and refusing to stand beside his King. But instead, he’d been shifting directions, playing both sides of the board, and carefully lining up his next moves.Not a Knight, but a…
“Rook.”
It settled in the air between us as Max’s smirk deepened.
He’d waited until he was in the perfect position. Ready to wipe out the threat. Poised to take Kingston’s only hope off the board. By eliminating the unsuspecting pawn, who hadn’t seen him coming, as soon as I set my sights on being Queen.
“The King’s Maidenis no longer part of this game,” he said. “And I’m finally done playing it.”
My face fell, and the truth hit home.
Max Dread was exactly who he’d said he was.
And he’d been lying to me the whole time.
Max Dread
She left me no choice.
It didn’t have to be like this. I didn’t want this.
But she wouldn’t listen.
She refused to see that she didn’t belong here.
So, instead of the easy way, we’d do this the hard way.
“Max, please. Whatever you think you need to do, we can figure out another way.”
I grunted. “I said I’m done playing this game, Quinn. The time for figuring it out is long past, and now, I’m doing what I need to do.”
“What do you need to do?”
She kept her voice strong, but she couldn’t hide the tremor of fear from me. Her doubt grew with each mile I put between us and Camelot Court. Anxiety bled from her body as she bounced her leg and fidgeted in her seat. Fear licked the corners of her mind, leaving drops of sweat at her temples.
Good.
It was about time.
The damn girl shielded herself from fear by charging forward, avoiding reality like she’d studied the subject since grade school.
But now? She let in the appropriate amount of fear.
