Camelot's Crow | ✓ [BOOK 3]

~ 10 ~

THE JOURNEY TO THE castle took longer than Kit wanted it to. The sun was down by the time the building came into view, and he supposed he was glad for that. He knew he'd lose himself to homesickness for something he'd never have again, that he would drown in the longing for his home, one he never truly got to say goodbye to. He could feel it creeping up on him already, but he forced it down. He had other things to think about.

They'd made their plan long before they arrived. Quinn would make herself a distraction, Eurion would disguise herself as a guard and get inside, where she'd get Selene and Kit inside somehow. It helped, having someone on their team who hadn't been declared a criminal. She had every confidence Crane would protect her, too, should something happen.

That was how Selene and Kit ended up with all-black suits that covered them all the way to their necks, with hoods to hide their heads and faces. It would help them blend into the shadows as best they could. The moon was gone tonight, to their luck.

"Morgana would love this," Kit murmured as he examined his outfit, trying to sound displeased, but the faint smile on Eurion's face told him it was obvious he was yearning.

"I imagine he'd be all over you if he saw you in that," Eurion teased, looking him up and down. He suddenly felt shy, like she was hardly dressed instead of covered head to toe in a form-fitting assassin's getup.

"Oh, let him breathe, Eurion," Selene scolded playfully, then clapped Kit on the back. "You ready to go?"

Kit let out a breath and adjusted the blade on his hip. "I guess."

That was good enough for Selene. She took his arm and led him away from the others, pulling him behind the thick trunk of a tree. He glanced over his shoulder at the castle before them. His old bedroom could be seen from where they hid, and he bit back the longing that crept into his heart. He didn't grow up happy, so why did he miss it so much?

No, it wasn't the castle that he missed, or his life when he lived there. What he missed was normalcy. He missed a familiar bed to return to every night. He missed routine, he missed being ignored instead of having a target painted on his back in bright, burning red. Selene was all he had left of that familiar life, and even then, she wasn't the same as she used to be.

"You okay?" Selene asked in a low voice.

Kit swallowed back the lump in his throat. "No."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Now isn't the best time," he murmured. As much as he wanted to let it all out, he knew it wasn't a good idea to ignore the task at hand. It needed all of his attention, and it needed all of Selene's.

She pulled a knife from her belt and twirled it against her finger. "Fair enough," she said. "Just don't let it fester too long."

"Says you," he teased.

"Listen," she defended. "I am a grown woman. I am not obligated to tell anyone about my feelings."

Kit snickered. "Of course, Selene."

They sat there in silence for a long time. There was no sign of Quinn or Eurion for almost an hour, and Kit was growing worried. But then he heard the commotion coming from the castle, loud cries and thudding footsteps from the guards on the walls. Kit watched with a pounding heart, waiting for any sign of the girls. Nothing.

"Hey!" someone hissed, and Kit jumped a foot into the air. He scrambled to his feet, resting his hand on Excalibur at his hip.

"Who's there?"

"Relax, it's just me."

Eurion. Kit let out a breath of relief. "Right. How'd you get clear over here?"