Black Knight (Royal Elite 4)

“Thanks.” I take it, then steal one last glance at the Knights’ house.

Will we meet on holidays now? Or will he cut off any relationship he has with Lewis – and, therefore, this place?

Lewis is my father. Uncle Lewis is my…father.

I shut down that idea before I can focus on it.

“He’s probably watching,” Cole says.

“W-what? Who?”

He leans against the counter and crosses his legs at the ankles. After Xander, Cole is probably the most attractive of the horsemen. His beauty is that calm, refined type. The kind that can belong to a handsome professor or a hotshot CEO.

His green eyes are dark and he gives off a composed façade – façade, because from what Elsa says and what I’ve noticed, Cole runs a lot deeper than what meets the eyes. While he’s kind and doesn’t talk much, he seems to know everything, and he has moments where he completely changes – like when he smirked as Silver ran away to hide her fear.

No good person would enjoy that. I’m not even close to Silver anymore and even I didn’t like seeing her that way.

He’s her stepbrother. He’s supposed to care more, not take pleasure in it.

“He can’t stop watching. It’s an impulse. He used to control it better in the past, but the alcohol is screwing up his judgement,” he continues in his neutral tone. “Xander, I mean.”

“Is his drinking issue bad?”

“Bad? He’s becoming an alcoholic.”

I swallow, my fingers shaking around the bottle. “Maybe it’s better he leaves then.”

“Better?” Cole’s eyes light up as if he’s a dog who found a bone. “So that means you’ve thought of another option to the situation.”

“Y-you know?”

He nods. “So does Aiden.”

Oh. That must be why Aiden said he might have information that explains Xander’s hatred. It was around the time he started getting involved with Elsa, but he never told me anything.

“Since when?” I ask Cole. “Why the hell did he tell you but not me?”

“He didn’t tell me. I connected the dots myself. He did tell Aiden, though, when he was drunk and vomiting his gut. He was complaining about how close you got to Knox after he beat him up.”

“Xander did that?” I release the bottle and it falls on the counter with a thud.

Knox, Teal’s twin, had come to school with his face beaten up and Elsa was dead sure Aiden had done it because he was jealous of him. I never imagined it was Xander. Although I should’ve suspected it since he snarled in my face to stay the fuck away from ‘the new boy’.

I would’ve laughed if it were under different circumstances.

But all of that doesn’t matter now.

It’s done, finished, over.

“About that second option,” Cole repeats. “What did you have in mind?”

“N-nothing.” I swallow. “How can there be a second option in our situation?”

“I see.” He appears thoughtful for a bit. “But before you close all doors, remember, the impossible is nothing if you decide it isn’t.”

He reaches the threshold, then glances over his shoulder. “Oh, and he leaves tomorrow.”

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