Kingston darts his eyes back up. “What?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Maybe I’m crazy, but I don’t think it is.”
Kingston frowns.
“Okay, well, obviously you can’t rat anyone out,” I rush on. “That’s going to have to be table stakes. But do you really want to write a formal letter to a bunch of old French monks telling them that all your boys are getting laid butyou’renot?”
“That’s not what I…” Kingston works his jaw. “No.”
“Right. So, yeah, the way I see it…” I pause. I’m kinda building the airplane as I’m flying with this line of reasoning, but there’s a distant point I think I might actually be able to make. I squint. “The way I see it, the vows are supposed to keep us focused on the quest, right?”
“And keep us worthy,” Kingston says. “Pure.”
I wave a hand. “Okay, well, that ship has sailed.” I smooth the sides of my hair, regrouping. “Point being, it’s all in service of finding the grail. But we did. Ish. It’s found—she’s found.” I lift a shoulder. “So did wereallymess anything up?”
Kingston exhales hard. “This is a pretty willful misinterpretation of the vows,” he says.
“Okay, well, Lanz and Cal apparently beat me to the ‘alternative reading’ game,” I retort. “And kudos to them for finding a loophole, by the way. Honestly kind of mad I didn’t think of it.”
Kingston’s eyes widen. “You’re gay?”
“What? No.” I shrug. “Just…any port in a storm, I guess. Not the point.” I steeple my fingers in front of my face. “What I’m trying to say is that the ends justify the means, I guess. Besides, who’s going to know?”
“God,” Kingston deadpans.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake.” I roll my eyes. “Literally. God knows people fuck, Kingston. He gave us all the parts to do it. You thinkyoucame about from Immaculate Conception or something?”
Kingston doesn’t say anything to that. And—fair.
Alluding to his mom, even tangentially, is kind of a dick move.
I blow out a breath and wait.
Kingston stares and stares and stares. Then blinks. “What if one of us breaks rank?”
“And narcs to the Consistory, you mean?”
He nods. I shake my head.
“Then you rig up some kind of mutually-assured destruction, I guess. An eye for an eye.”
Kingston’s brows knit. “Like how?”
“You’re the smart one.” I say, getting to my feet. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” I take a few steps towards the door, then look back. “You’re not going to tell on me,” I say slowly. “Right?”
“I…no.” My foster brother shakes his head. “Just…don’t mess with her feelings, Kai.”
A surprise rush of relief comes over me. That’s it? That’s all he asks of me?
I nod. “Wouldn’t fucking dream of it.”
And I mean it.
TWENTY-EIGHT
GWENNA
It ishard to play it cool around Morgan.
