Black Knight (Royal Elite Book 4) Read online

  Black Knight

  Royal Elite Book Four

  Rina Kent

  Black Knight Copyright © 2020 by Rina Kent

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  Also By Rina Kent

  TEAM ZERO SERIES

  Lured

  Crowed

  Ghosted

  Shadowed

  Misted

  Team Zero Boxset 1-3

  THE RHODES SERIES

  Remorse (FREE)

  Ruin

  ROYAL ELITE SERIES

  Cruel King

  Deviant King

  Steel Princess

  Twisted Kingdom

  Black Knight

  Vicious Prince

  Ruthless Empire

  LIES & TRUTHS DUET

  All The Lies

  All The Truths

  HATE & LOVE DUET

  He Hates Me

  He Hates Me Not

  To you.

  Yes, you.

  You matter.

  Author Note

  Hello reader friend,

  It’s safe to say Black Knight is my most emotional book to date. It strikes a deep cord within me and I didn’t hold back; not with the visceral details or the graphic description of the deterioration of mental health. I stayed true to Kimberly and Xander and told their story the only way possible.

  If you haven’t read my books before, you might not know this, but I write darker stories that can be upsetting and disturbing. My books and main characters aren't for the faint of heart. However, this time, it’s different. It’s deeper, rougher and can be a lot scarier on the emotional side of things.

  This book deals with depression, eating disorder and cutting. I trust you know your triggers before you proceed.

  To remain true to the characters, the vocabulary, grammar, and spelling of Black Knight is written in British English.

  Black Knight can be read on its own, but for better understanding of Royal Elite world, it’s recommended to read the previous books in the series first.

  Royal Elite Series:

  #0 Cruel King

  #1 Deviant King

  #2 Steel Princess

  #3 Twisted Kingdom

  #4 Black Knight

  #5 Vicious Prince

  #6 Ruthless Empire

  Don’t forget to Sign up to Rina Kent’s Newsletter for news about future releases and an exclusive gift.

  Blurb

  Love is impossible. Hate is an open game.

  Kimberly

  He was once my best friend, now he’s my worst enemy.

  Xander Knight is heartbreakingly beautiful.

  Ridiculously popular.

  Brutally cruel.

  He’s a knight but won’t do any saving.

  Xander

  We started as a dream, now we’re a nightmare.

  Kimberly Reed is pathetically fake.

  Terribly innocent.

  Secretly black.

  She can hide but never from me.

  Playlist

  I See You – MISSIO

  Ghost– Badflower

  Magic – Coldplay

  Drink To Drown – Stand Atlantic

  Hollow – Icon for Hire

  Shattered – Trading Yesterday

  Under Your Spell – The Birthday Massacre

  Therapy – All Time Low

  Those Nights – Bastille

  Zero – Imagine Dragons

  Birds – Imagine Dragons

  Green Eyes – Coldplay

  Princess of China – Coldplay

  Say Something – A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera

  The Reason – Hoobastank

  Past Life – Trevor Daniel

  Kids – OneRepublic

  Rescue Me – Thirty Seconds To Mars

  Breathe Me – Sia

  Someone You Loved – Lewis Capaldi

  You can find the complete playlist on Spotify.

  Prologue - Kimberly

  Age six

  Sometimes, stories end the moment they start.

  Nana used to tell me that when I spent summers with her in Newcastle. At least back then, I could stay away from Mummy and how she looked at me.

  As if she hated me.

  Now, I have no Nana. There’s no one to take me away from here or tell me stories that transport me to other worlds.

  Worlds with princes and knights. Worlds filled with so much magic, I dream of them.

  I trot down the house’s stairs until I’m outside. The sun is so bright today, casting a bright hue all over the garden and the fence.

  The sound of Mum and Dad’s fighting follows me until I close the door behind me. No one can hear them now, not the staff, not the neighbours.

  Not even me.

  I flop down on the step and lick on the pistachio gelato stick Dad bought me earlier. Silver says all gelato tastes the same, but Silver is stupid sometimes. Pistachio gelato is the best. It’s green and sweet and delicious.

  If I weren’t so upset, I would’ve gone to her house and played with her Barbie dolls, but I don’t want to go anywhere.

  Except for…

  My gaze strays ahead to the huge mansion across from ours. It has an ancient feeling, like those castles from Nana’s stories – the ones where knights and princes live. I want to go there, knock on the door, and ask him to come out.

  My knight.

  We agreed on that last week – that from now on, he’s my knight. I even blessed him with a bamboo stick as the queen does.

  Silver doesn’t care when I’m upset, but he does. Because he’s my knight. He always tickles me and tells me jokes until I break down in giggles.

  The boy with golden hair and magical blue eyes, like the stories in Nana’s books.

  Still sucking on my gelato, I rise to my feet and take slow but determined steps until I’m out of our garden’s gate. It’s the afternoon, so maybe he’s with Aiden and Cole. Maybe he doesn’t want to play with me today.

  I hate it when he chooses the boys over me.

  Their garage door hisses open and I freeze. A red car comes out, slow at first, then it gains speed on the exit.

  Aunt Samantha.

  She’s the one who plays the role of the queen in Nana’s stories with her golden locks and big blue eyes that are so kind and caring.

  Aunt Samantha, who invites me in whenever my parents are fighting and gives me snacks and food. She sits with me and does my hair because Mummy doesn’t have time to. She tells me Mummy has an important job and that I shouldn’t hate her for that.

  She’s also my knight’s mother.

  Her face is blank, without its usual warmth. She appears upset, but she’s not crying. Or maybe she’s not upset at all. She’s like Mummy when she locks herself in her art studio, not wanting to see anyone.

  I’m about to wave at her when I notice who’s running after her car.

  Xander.

  The boy with golden hair and blue eyes that he stole from the ocean, the sky, and the magic in books.

  Tears stream down his cheeks as he screams his mother’s name. His entire body shakes, but he doesn’t stop chasing her.r />
  For a second, the whole world freezes. It’s a moment, just one moment in time. It’s so weird how all bad things happen in just a moment.

  Nana left me in a moment, too. She was sitting with us one minute, and the next, her heart stopped. She was there, smiling at me, giving me gelato and telling me a story, and then my only grandmother was gone.

  Now, it’s only me, Mummy, and Daddy.

  I hate it when it’s only me and them. Because Daddy works a lot and I don’t get to spend much time with him. And Mummy…well, I don’t exist in front of her, not like when I existed with Nana.

  She was my world. Now, I have nothing.

  As I stand there watching Aunt Samantha’s car rolling away and Xan running after her with his short legs, my chest becomes painful, the same as it did when Nana left.

  My heart beats loud and hard in my ears. I’m not hearing Xan’s cries and screams. I’m hearing mine when Nana dropped to the ground, closed her eyes, and never woke up.

  I knew then, I just knew I’d lost something that couldn’t ever be retrieved.

  My life changed forever.

  Just like Xan’s is.

  He hits the car’s boot, but instead of braking, the red car makes a loud sound as it revs down the street.

  “Mum, don’t go!” Xan runs behind her, his flip-flops slapping against the street. “Don’t leave me, please. I’ll be a good boy. I p-promise.”

  His words bleed into each other, mixed with his tears.

  My feet move of their own volition, slow at first, then I’m running as fast as Xander behind the red car.

  That car resembles a monster with flaring nostrils and red horns, but neither of us stop.

  He’s still screaming and crying, the sound loud in the silence of the street. His shoe slips from his right foot. He kicks the other away and keeps running barefoot, uncaring about the small pebbles on the asphalt. I stop for a second to gather his flip-flops in one hand as the gelato melts in my other. It’s starting to get sticky and make a mess, but I don’t let go as I follow Xan.

  He’s in pain and I don’t like it when he’s in pain. I don’t like it when anyone is in pain, but I hate it more when it’s him.

  I taste salt, and I realise my cheeks are soaked with tears, too.

  “Stop, M-Mum!” Xan trips, but he catches himself and continues sprinting. The sounds he makes are winded and so guttural, it’s like an animal breathing.

  The car disappears around the corner. Xan doesn’t stop. He keeps running and running, even when Aunt Samantha and her monster car vanish from sight.

  Even when it’s only the two of us on the long road adjacent to our neighbourhood.

  His foot catches and he tumbles forward, falling to his knees, crying so loudly, I feel every sound in my bones.

  “Muuuum!”

  I rush to him but stop a small distance away, hugging his flip-flops to my chest. Then slowly, too slowly, I crouch and put them on each of his feet. The skin has turned dirty and one of them has a cut from which blood coats his small toe.

  “G-Green?” He stares at me through the tears that glisten as they flood his eyes.

  Xan calls me Green because it’s my favourite colour. Where other girls have pink bedrooms, I have a green one.

  “M-Mum is g-gone.” He sniffles.

  I force a smile. “She’ll come back.”

  It’s a lie. I also said Nana would come back after I slept, but when I woke up, she still wasn’t there.

  Adults don’t come back when they leave.

  “S-she won’t! She said she doesn’t want me and Dad anymore.” His lower lip trembles, even as he tries to stop crying by turning away from me.

  “Xan…” I reach a hand for him and wipe his tears with my sleeve.

  For a moment, he lets me as they become fatter and never-ending.

  The gelato is now dripping on the ground, and I would usually devour it all, but my entire focus is on Xan and how he can’t stop sobbing.

  I also thought I’d never stop crying about Nana. That I’d cry like a princess in one of her books and the tears would kill me.

  I eventually stopped, though.

  Daddy says nothing is permanent. Everything changes.

  He’s wrong. Xan and I will never change. I’ll always be his Green and he’ll always be my knight.

  We made it official after all.

  Xan places a hand on my shoulder and shoves me, then stares at the ground. “Go away, Green.”

  “No.”

  He glances up at me. “No?”

  “I don’t want to leave you alone. You didn’t leave me when Nana died.”

  Slowly facing me, he watches me closely, his blond brows pinching as more tears slide down his cheeks. “Why are you crying?”

  I sniffle, wiping my face with the back of my hand, mixing his tears with mine. “Because you’re crying.”

  “Don’t cry, Green.”

  “You don’t cry.” I sniffle.

  He hiccoughs. “I hate it when you cry.”

  “I hate it when you cry, too.” I inch closer and put my arms around his neck, keeping the one with the melting gelato away so I don’t make a mess out of him as well.

  My knight is beautiful and can’t have dirt on his armour.

  Xan wraps his arms around my waist, hides his face in my neck, and sobs. He sobs so hard, I feel the vibration against my skin.

  I cry, too, because his pain feels like mine now. His pain is so real and close, it’s as if I’m the one hurting, not him.

  When Nana left, Xan hugged me while I cried. He stayed with me until I fell asleep and didn’t leave my side.

  Now, I’ll hug him until the pain goes away. Until he can smile and show me his pretty dimples.

  “Green…” He sniffles in my neck. “Promise you’ll never leave me.”

  “Never. You’re my knight, remember?”

  He nods.

  “From today onwards, we’re one.”

  “We’re one.”

  1

  Kimberly

  I’m not good enough.

  I’ll never be good enough.

  You know that feeling when words keep hammering in your head until they form a suffocating fog? Until they’re all you can think about and all you can breathe?

  When you wake up in the morning, they slowly condensate around you like they’re your life-long companions.

  They’re the first thought you wake up to and the last thought you sleep on.

  That’s how it’s felt for years now.

  That’s how my battle starts, and every day, I tell it not today.

  “Kimmy!” A small hand pulls on mine as my baby brother drags me towards the entrance of the elementary school.

  Kirian reaches my waist now. His pressed uniform has a wrinkle on the shoulder that I smooth with my hand.

  His sun-kissed blond hair is in a short bowl cut that he takes pride in because it’s ‘the thing’. His bright brown eyes are so shiny, you can almost see the world through them. A world so pure, you’d want to mass-produce it and freely distribute it.

  “What is it, Kir?” I ask.

  “I said, you’ll do me mac and cheese later, right?”

  “I can’t. I have school until late.”

  He pouts, his hand turning lax in mine. If there’s anything I hate in the world, it’s killing that spark in his features.

  “Marian will do it for you,” I bargain.

  Kir loves our housekeeper and spends time with her when I’m not around.

  “I don’t want Mari. I want you to do it.”

  “Kir…” I crouch in front of him, making him stop walking. “You know there’s nothing I want more than to stay with you, right?”

  He shakes his head frantically. “You disappeared the other day.”

  My lower lip trembles and it takes everything in me to pull it together. This is the reason I wake up every day, why I fight that fog, why I get into the shower and then put on my uniform.

  People sa
y nothing can stop those thoughts when they strike deep. You need therapy, you need meds, you need all the fucking things.

  I only need this little man with his huge eyes and small pout. His face is the first thing I try to see in the morning. His voice is the one I want to hear as soon as I open my eyes.

  Kirian is my own special pill. My happy pill.

  But he saw something he shouldn’t have last week. Or rather, he witnessed it and when I woke up, I found him bawling by the foot of my bed, hugging me and begging me not to leave him.

  “That will never happen again, my little monkey.”

  “What if it does?” His lower lip pushes forward as he widens his eyes. “What if you disappear and I have to stay with Mum?”

  “Never, Kir.” I pull him to me and crush him in a hug. “I’ll never ever leave you alone with Mum. Do you get that?”

  He pushes away from me and sticks out his small finger. “Pinkie swear?”

  “Pinkie swear, you baby.” I curl mine around his.

  As soon as he’s sure of the promise, he shoves away and glares up at me, pouting. “I’m not a baby.”

  “You are my little baby. Deal with it.”

  “Whatever.” He widens his eyes once more. “Are you going to come home early?”

  Seriously, he has a puppy look that I’m ready to commit a crime for.

  I stand up and ruffle his hair. “Fine. I’ll try.”

  “Yay!” He hugs my legs. “I love you, Kimmy!”

  Then he’s running in the direction of the school, clutching the straps of his backpack.

  “Love you, too!” I shout after him. “Don’t run.”

  As soon as I make sure he’s made it inside, I head back to my car. Other kids hop from their parents’ vehicles, kissing them before heading to the school.

 
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