But Morty didn’t look at him. His eyes remained locked on mine. “You should’ve left when I turned you away at the gate.” He nodded at the recognition dawning on my face. “That’s right. I tried to save you. Twice. But now it’s too late.”
Kingston’s grip tightened into a fist, clenching the fabric of his shirt. I caught sight of it, even though I couldn’t tear my eyes from Morty’s.
“You’re not the first outsider to believe you could change what’s rooted in the ground beneath our feet. Plans have been set in stone since our infancy. And now?”
The gleam in his eyes held fear and something…familiar.
“Only time will tell if you’ll avoidherfate.”
Chapter Three
As soon as I let Kingston take the syringe, which I did only because I risked stabbing Morty just for being a dick, he skipped out of the hidden passageway.
Swinging back to face us by the bedroom door, he looked far too pleased with himself. “Papa won’t preach ’til tomorrow, I reckon, so I’ll get out of your hair. Is my old room free?”
My mouth popped open to retort, and Kingston sighed, but before he could respond, Morty chuckled.
“What? I’m just assuming it is, since…you know”—he made a crude hand gesture and waggled his eyebrows—“bow chicka wow wow.” Then he winked.
Kingston pinched the bridge of his nose. “Morty, please, don’t make me stab you.”
Delight sparkled in Morty’s dark brown eyes, and he gave us a quick wave before flouncing out of the room. Nothing left to say except, “Toodles!”
In the aftermath of his presence, my head spun. I leaned against the wall, staring up at Kingston. “What the actual?—”
“I know.” He shook his head, releasing the pinch of his fingers and turning to face me. “He’s…well, he’s not harmless,but he’s neutralized, for the most part. He won’t do anything too out of line, but he’s become a bit moreeccentricin the last year. After what happened while he was King of Camelot Court and after, he hasn’t been the same.”
“What happened? And why did it affect him so much?” My brow furrowed. “Ishe affected? He seems flippant, at best.”
Kingston’s mouth twisted into a sad smile. “Guilt.”
“He was King then. Last year, when she—when Desi died?”
“No, he was King the year before, but still here last year. It’s more than that, though.” At the confusion on my expression, Kingston grimaced in apology. “Morty was in love with her.”
A soft gasp escaped me. “Oh, no.”
Although far too inadequate for the weight of a girl losing her life, and someone who loved her being torn over guilt from her death, I wasn’t sure how much more tragedy I could take. Considering the delirious laughter from earlier, overwhelm threatened with my every step.
My mind needed a break.Ineeded a break.
But I had a feeling I wouldn’t be getting one anytime soon.
Shaking my head, I refocused on Desi and Morty. “God, that’s awful. Were they together when she?—?”
“No,” Kingston said quietly, as he played with the charm on my bracelet. “He always admired her, had affection for her, but she wasn’t from Camelot Court. Best friends with Landon’s sister but still an outsider, so it never seemed like an option.”
I laced my fingers through his.
“When she joined The Quest, he was here, shadowing his father for his future role. My father’s plan was that I’d choose him when it came time for me to lead the Camelot Society, which would’ve made him the next advisor to Camelot Court.”
“That was a lot of past tense. I take it the plan has changed?”
“Yes, after Desi died, Morty went completely off the grid. This year, when The Quest began, he showed up, acting as if notime had passed at all. His father had to turn him away. Plans had changed. There was no room for him here anymore, but all that happened without my knowledge. I didn’t realize he’d come back initially, but later, I pieced together that he’d been the one to turn you away at the gate.”
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“With everything else you needed to know, love, it didn’t feel like pressing information to share.” Eyes filled with apology, he took my hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t, though. I wasn’t expecting him to come back here, to be honest. The last time he and I talked, after I found out what he’d been up to—Well, I ordered him to stay away.”
