Page 127 of The King's Maiden
But Vivian didn’t stop there.
“This was what you wanted, right? She’s standing between you and Landon, and she doesn’t belong here. That’s what you said, right?”
Elaine’s grip on my arm squeezed tighter. “I wasn’t expecting this. I wasn’t talking about anything like this, Vivian!”
“Oh, make up your mind, you big baby.” Vivian stepped closer to me, her hand clenching at the neck of my shirt. “Not that I even get what you’re worried about in the first place. You know Landon won’t sleep with her. No one shirks an order fromthe King. Not even his best friend. And she’s the prize he decided he wants at the end.”
Vivian sneered down at me, twisting her grip to tighten my shirt around my throat. I choked, and she twisted harder.
“Landon only picked her because he wasn’t given a choice. You know if he takesThe King’s Maidenfor himself, he ruins them both.”
My head throbbed. I groaned, unable to stifle the sound as what she said boomeranged in my head. Squinting up at her, the smug, satisfied smile that crept over her face sent a chill down my spine.
“Did you know that,Princess?”she spat Max’s nickname for me like it tasted vile on her tongue. “Did you know Landon won’t fuck you because he would never choose you over Kingston? He can have his way with you however he pleases. Tie you up. Explore your limits. Even put those pretty marks on your neck. But did you know that’s where it ends?”
I glared up at her.
“Oh…Of course, you didn’t. You’re probably so desperate for love you believed he wanted you.”
She patted my cheek softly before giving me a harder slap, keeping one hand on my shirt and using the other to grip my chin.
“Thought you’d waltz in here and take what belongs to one of us—what we’ve waited for since we were old enough to learn about The Quest? A poor little girl with no parents, no family? Please.”
Her nails dug into my cheeks as she pulled my head up, forcing it back until my neck throbbed.
I cried out when it finally became too much.
“He was never yours,” she hissed. “And in the end, none of them will be. Because all of this will all bemine.”
Throwing my head back, she let go of my face and grabbed me by the shoulders. She dragged me forward, down to the ground.
My head hit the shore. Black spots burst behind my eyelids as I landed on wet sand.
“Leave her.” Vivian’s steps retreated, but her voice snapped through the cold, quiet night. “Let’s go.Now,Elaine!”
Their footsteps faded. Their whispered voices disappeared as they argued over what they’d done. Slowly, the world fell silent. The only sounds around me were the lapping of the lake and the breeze through the trees.
And the pounding rush of blood past my ears.
I struggled to catch my breath. Water rushed into my face, and I almost inhaled more before it ebbed. Pushing up onto shaking arms, I used my legs to drag my body away from the shore.
When I reached the grass, I sank into the damp earth and waited. My head throbbed with pain and the weight of everything she’d said.
But eventually, I could breathe again.
Pushing past the pain, I got to my feet. I wrapped my arms around my body to keep from shivering. Soaked through to the bone, I couldn’t stop it.
My mind raced through my options.
Who I could go to after what had just happened.
Who had told me I could come to them.
I wanted to confront Kingston about what Vivian had said. I wanted to demand to know Landon’s secrets. But they’d already fooled me once and in that moment, I didn’t trust myself to face them and not be blinded by their lies again.
And I wanted them to pay for that.
Revenge made me think of Max, knowing he could help me hurt them back. I could hit them all with one move. And maybe that would ease the stabbing pain in my chest.
