I scoffed but couldn’t help laughing. “Yeah, he doesn’t seem like the type to take orders.”
Kingston chuckled, exhaling a breath and shaking his head. “Yes, that’s actually a family trait. Although Merle has proven there are ways to keep a Dread in line, their family has always been known to eschew orders from the King. Mordred was the usurper, so it’s fitting in a way.”
From what I remembered of the legend, Mordred married Guinevere after he betrayed King Arthur and stole his throne.
“It’s interesting how the legends being passed down almost became a part of your stories. Not the greatest legacy to tie your family history to, in their case, but generational trauma is an insidious beast.” When his eyebrows rose, I shrugged. “I read about it in a book my therapist gave me after…”
I bit my lower lip.
I hadn’t thought about the therapy my dad made me do after my mom’s death in a long time, and if the goal remained to reduce my mental load, I had no intention of starting now.
Kingston, as if sensing that, thumbed my lip free from my teeth and traced the marks I’d left behind. “I like the idea of usbreaking tradition and going in a different direction than our family lines, don’t you?”
My heart squeezed with relief before my pulse quickened at his touch. “I do.”
His smile, the way he ran his hand across my cheek, and tucked my hair behind my ear—it recentered me.
It cleared my mind in a way I’d desperately needed and confirmed my next move. “I’m going to find Max.”
Kingston furrowed his brow. “Yes, we should warn him about Morty’s presence here.”
“Yes, that.” I grimaced, about to pull a one-eighty on what we’d agreed before all this. “I’m also telling him anything his psychotic brother might know. Aside from just being shell-shocked, in general, I’m not sure what I was thinking, keeping secrets between us, but—Consider me shucked, or whatever. I can’t hide things from him. He needs to know what’s happened between you and me, and Landon.”
“But—”
“I know. Trust me, I do. But…” I gripped the lapels of his shirt, meeting his gaze and pleading with him to understand. “He deserves to know. And there’s no way I’m leaving it for Morty Dread to rub in his face.”
Kingston’s brow furrowed deeper, but he didn’t argue.
“There’s so much bad blood between the three of you—so much history—and these secrets are just going to make it harder to bring us all together. I believe there’s a chance for forgiveness between the three of you. I believe you can all let the past go, because it was out of your hands. And that he’ll understand why I didn’t tell him sooner. But this? If he finds out from his brother and learns we kept something from him that everyone else knew? He’ll never?—”
“You’re right.”
Kingston cupped my face, resting his forehead against mine as my pending arguments left me in a rushed exhale.
Relief lifted my spirits, but concern lingered on his face. “Are you sure?”
“No, not really.” He sighed, shaking his head. “But weighing the damage of the two outcomes, and my reasons for wanting to keep the truth from Max initially, I need to reconsider. My plans have gotten thrown off track so far from where I started, I think, I didn’t want to risk any more changes.”
The weight of Kingston’s secrets pressed heavily on his shoulders. He’d put so much effort into finding a way to get out from under his father’s control, trying to keep Landon and me safe the whole time, and doing it alone.
It had to be hard, letting that control go, but he’d opened up to me about what he’d faced, sharing his father’s cruelty when they were children, how Landon lost his memory because of their bond—and love—and the larger stakes in The Quest.
I gave him time to process as he released more weight.
After a few minutes, he nodded. “I need to have faith in Max, too. Trust that in the end, we’ll figure out whatever comes our way. So, if Max doesn’t react well, I do trust at this point he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize your safety because of it. I’m at least partially convinced he won’t actually kill Landon. Although I’d like to be there, when they see each other for the first time after you tell him, to make sure of that.”
I chuckled to lighten the moment, even though there was a very real possibility of a fight.
“And on the other hand, if Morty tells him…you’re right. He could react far worse given their history. So, it’s worth the risk. He deserves to hear it from you.”
Closing my eyes, I smiled and pressed my forehead into his. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
I nodded. “But I want to. I know it’s not easy for you—trust—but I believe we’ll figure out whatever comes our way, too. And we’ll be better for it, if we’re together. All of us.”
He released a breath, nodding, too. “It’s easier to trust you. To have faith you’ll help me find a way through it. You already have. More than you know.”
