Black Knight (Royal Elite #4) by Rina Kent

“No.” His sky-ocean eyes met mine. “You just like to eat and I like it when you eat.”

I hit his shoulder with mine. “Can you go with me to the grocery shop?”

“Later. I’m meeting Aiden and Cole for a football game.”

“But you did that last week.”

“We do that every week, Green.”

“But why? Who will keep me company?”

“You have Kir.”

“He’s a baby and I don’t think he understands when I talk.”

“I have to go.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Of course I can.” He pulled his hand from Kirian’s fist. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Green.”

I frowned, my forehead turning painful. He’d been saying all these things lately that made me want to punch him.

Since that day Mrs Knight left and never returned, Xan and I had become best friends. We had done everything together and had shared all our lives with each other.

Then he decided Aiden and Cole were more important than me.

“You can go meet Silver,” he said, watching me closely.

“Who I meet is none of your business.”

He pushed me out of Kirian’s room so we wouldn’t wake him up. Outside, he crossed his arms. “What are you being so angry about?”

“You don’t know?” I threw my arms around.

“No.”

Stupid tosser.

I wanted to be with him, but he wanted to be with his stupid friends. In that case, he could go to them and leave me alone.

I stormed to my room and slammed the door shut. I flopped on my bed, fuming, and attacked a bag of crisps I hid under the covers after Mum came to check on my room.

A moment later, a knock sounded on the door. “Open up, Green.”

His voice was steady, pleading even, and it almost made me want to let him inside.

I didn’t, of course.

Not until he knew what he did wrong.

“You’re being a baby,” he said.

“So leave me alone.”

“I don’t want you angry.”

Then don’t go to your stupid friends.

Whenever I was alone, my house felt so empty, like a horror film I had watched with Silver the other time. Ghosts had come out and had tried to suck the life out of any human in there.

Xan was the only one who kept those ghosts away when Dad wasn’t around. I didn’t want to be alone with Mum. She always looked at me as if she wished she’d never given birth to me.

Being with her was the worst, most real nightmare I’d ever had.

“I handpicked green M&M’s for you.”

My mouth watered, but I didn’t reply.

“I’ll leave the pack in front of the door. I’ll come back later, Green. We’ll watch a film together, okay?”

Don’t go.

The words slipped to the tip of my tongue, but I bit down on a mouthful of crisps to stop them from escaping.

I jumped up and watched him from the window as he headed to Aiden’s house down the street.

He really left.





Xan returned a while after and asked if I forgave him. I said yes, if he’d find Luna for me.

Which brings us to now.

Walking outside in the cold is his punishment for leaving me earlier. Once he spends some minutes out there, I’ll forgive him.

Silver said she came around here with her dad and that it was so freezing, she felt the cold and even sensed ghosts.

I grin.

Ghosts are good. Xan will be scared and –

Oh, no.

Ghosts.

Ever since Xan disappeared with Aiden and Cole three years ago, he doesn’t like to be left alone in unknown places.

I heard Uncle Lewis talking to Dad back then, and he said bad people kidnapped them. It took Xan two days of walking through an unknown forest until he could come home.

He snuck into our house through the servants’ entrance, got into my room, and slept with me for a month after that.

Although he didn’t like to talk much about that time with others, he told me how much it scared him to be alone out there.

That he called for his Mum’s help, even though he knew she wouldn’t come for him anymore.

I cried for him then. I just wrapped my arms around him and cried.

His pain is mine.

I feel it worse than he does because while he was simply telling the story, I felt every lash of cold against his skin and every tear he shed while he called his mother’s name in that unknown dark place.

I might have also kicked and screamed in my head at the people who took him to that place.

That’s how much I’m connected to him.

Why did I think it was a good idea to bring him to the cold and expose him to a situation similar to the one from that time?

Jumping to my feet, I follow the path he took. Twigs crunch under my shoes and I flinch as if someone grabbed me by the shoulder.

“Xan,” I call, keeping a straight line.

The more I walk into the forest, the colder it becomes, just as Silver said. Or maybe I’m imagining it.

“Xan, come out! Luna is home.” My voice breaks and I swallow.

There’s no trace of him, no matter how deep I get in.

“Xan!!” Tears fill my cheeks and my chest squeezes so hard, I’m afraid it’ll burst. “I’m so sorry! I won’t do it again. Please!”