He took a wide step back. “Yeah, well. Now, you do.”
His icy tone, the judgment in his eyes, and the way he scolded me—it should’ve made me indignant.
But it only filled me with shame.
Because my fire always matched his. It flared to meet his passion, whether it was rage, frustration, or something more. And this time, there was no heat in his words.
He was cold.
Stating what he wanted clearly, he wasn’t fighting with me. Only trying to make me face the truth.
I hid my face, head bowed as tears slipped down my cheeks.
He stood there for a second, and I couldn’t look up.
Then he walked away.
Somehow, I returned to Camelot Courtyard.
I walked in a daze, pulling out of it only when I passed Morgan on my way and she called out to me.
“Hey, Quinn! Thanks for the tip on Kingston.”
I blinked a few times, clearing the blur of tears and focusing on her. “Did he have what you needed?”
“Not exactly, but he sent me to the only other place we’d been with art supplies, so he still helped.” She winked, and I filed that information away for later. “Did you get what you needed from Max?”
Numbly, I shook my head.
I’d gotten the exact opposite, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Especially when I realized I’d gotten so caught up trying to get answers out of him, I forgot to get a clue while I was at it.
Tears filled my eyes, and I hastily swiped them away.
Her brow creased with concern. “What happened? Did he do something? Quinn, if something?—”
I forced a smile. “I’m fine. You need to get moving on your next clue. Don’t worry about me.”
“Are you sure?” She eyed me warily. “He has a reputation, Quinn, and things don’t change unless we speak up.”
“Oh god, no! It’s nothing like that, Morgan, I promise. Whatever you’ve heard, Maxisn’tlike that.”
She touched my arm. “I’m here if you need a friend, okay? Ifanyoneever crosses a line, you can always say something to me.”
Exhausted—mentally, physically, and emotionally—I nodded. “Thank you.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Bright and early on morning number five, I stepped out onto Camelot Courtyard to spot Max in front of his room. When he caught sight of me, he walked straight to Vivian’s room.
Confusion twisted my stomach.
And to make matters worse, Morgan stepped out of her room and witnessed my masochistic staring contest.
The sympathy written on her face when she looked at me, compared to the disgust aimed at Max, hit like a fist to the ribs.
Everything was getting harder and harder to handle.
When I got toEndurancetraining, I didn’t want to talk about it, and Landon expertly veiled his surprise and concern over how focused I was during our session.
