“Well, shit.” I frowned.
The black lockbox I’d practically ignored for two full days haunted the back corner of my mind. Was I already making the wrong choice? Picking the bear when the way to survive was choosing the unknown man.
That couldn’t be right.
But Tristan had said he suspected nine out of ten girls would pick the bear. Was there something one girl knew that the rest of us didn’t realize?
When I asked Tristan about it duringEscapetraining, he confirmed he’d been right. Nine out of ten Ladies had picked the bear. He also confirmed that poking a bear was not a recommended approach, but he couldn’t add to my internal debate about my current life choices.
Instead, he covered theFlightresponse, the instinct to run away from a threat or desire to escape and avoid a situation.
Then, during mySabotagelesson with Austin, I tackled obstacles he’d set in my path to slow my progress.
As I made my way through his miniature training course, I worried over my next lesson with Max. I half-expected him to mirror Austin’s lesson. More obstacles.
Instead, he mirrored Tristan’s.
When I walked into the training room, nothing but a scrap of paper waited on the middle of the mat. Initially excited, thinking he’d planned a tiny Scavenger Hunt for me, I followed the instructions scrawled on it to twelve other scraps of paper.The first six clues filled me with giddy anticipation, as each one revealed a new clue.
But I never found him.
He’d sent me on a wild goose chase, and I grew so frustrated I convinced myself he’d ditched me just to shack up with his future wife. Ridiculous as it was, my anger flared. First, at him, that those thoughts were even possible. Then, myself, since I spiraled with anxiety and assumed the worst.
If Max and Vivian had made it through high schoolandthree years of college without having sex, I highly doubted they’d finallydo the deedin a fit of passion duringmytraining session with him.
Although…
That did reek of petty.
I shook my head, nearly ripping out strands of my hair and scowling at the maddening way things with him and her were getting in my head. I’d wanted to avoid thoughts of their bogus betrothal entirely, and I’d spent the end of the day with it smacking me in the face at every turn.
All because I couldn’t shut down my masochistic brain.
Thankfully, when the twelfth clue wanted to send me to my apartment, I pulled out of my spiral.
I gave up on my search to meet Kingston in his office.
He had check-ins scheduled with each of us midway through the week.
“It’s not much, but at least, it’s a bit of time together.” He closed the door and led me inside, my favorite secret smile gracing his lips. “I wanted to see how your training and the clue solving were coming along. Discuss any issues.”
Still frustrated, I launched into my issues with Max. “He’s not teaching me anything! This is the third session where he’s run off.” My shoulders sagged, hating that complaining was myonly option. “Can’t you do something? Remind him of his duty or whatever. There have to be rules!”
Seconds away from stomping my foot, I forced myself to breathe. Kingston placed his hands on my shoulders and guided me to the window beside his bookshelf.
“Subterfuge is about evasion, Quinn. I can’t really go to Merle or my father and say Max isn’t teaching you anything. Not when he evaded you for an hour.”
“More like three days,” I grumbled, making his point, as hopelessness bled into my voice. “I’m running out of time.”
“I know it feels that way, love.” He thumbed my cheek. “But a lot can happen before the Final Trial. Tides can change when we least expect it, right when we believe there’s no hope. The moon wanes and the sun rises, and you’ll see it’s often darkest before the dawn.”
I frowned, hating how beautiful his words were when they just reminded me I was stuck in the dark. “Is there anything coming up in our sessions, or the Final Trial, that will keep Max from running away from me? If the rest goes as spectacularly as it has so far, then I’ll get nowhere.”
Kingston grimaced. “No, not really. The Obstacle Course is more intense and hands-on. The Knights have worked things into your lessons, but you’re on your own at that point.Unlessthe Knight is a step in your particular solution.”
As he chose his words carefully, I perked up. “Well, that gives me some hope, at least.” But it was short-lived. “I’m just so frustrated. He won’t talk to me.”
“Whatever Max is dealing with right now, it might be too risky to share.”
