A Knight's Purpose (Book 1) ✔️

Interludes III

Maia

"Alright, Maia, you've had your lunch and your fun. Time to stop singing and pull out your homework." Cam finally told her as she finished singing along to the song on the radio.

"Awwww, Cam," She begged.

"You don't even like country music, Maia," He snorted. "Reach around to the back for your work and hop to it."

"Sorry kid, I thought your singing was great." April offered her a wink before turning back to face forward.

Grumbling, Maia reached around for her backpack, pulling it over the seat from the trunk to rest against her leg. Opening it, she felt a book tumble out and reached wildly for it before it hit the floor and fell out of reach.

"Cam, did you get me a present?" She wrinkled her brow as she pulled it into her lap.

"What? No." He turned to look at her curiously.

"There's a book that isn't mine in my bag." She read the cover and began flipping through the pages.

"Is there a name on the inside cover? I don't remember seeing it at the Heartford Vale Pack house. Did you grab it by mistake off the nightstand when you packed?"

"April packed my backpack not me." They both turned to look at her.

"I didn't pack a book other than your school work. There weren't any others in the room." April tensed. "What's the title?"

"Tales of Avalon: Stories for Children by Gwen Vashjior."

Camden pulled the car over on the side of the road. Luckily they'd left the highway behind an hour after they'd had lunch so it wasn't a problem. "Check for an inscription."

Maia flipped back to the cover and saw words written in a flowing script on the inside cover. "I can't read it." She handed it forward to April.

Her indrawn breath didn't put anyone in the car at ease. She handed it to Cam who glared.

"What's it say?" Maia finally couldn't contain herself anymore.

"It says 'My Dearest Sereya. While I cannot be with you, I cannot leave you unaware of the world you are in. There are dangers here, dangers no one else will understand. And so I leave you with this book. Never forget that what Camden knows is not the be all end all. There is more out there than you could possibly imagine. All my love, Atti.'"

Maia could hear his teeth grind together from where she sat. "Why couldn't I read it?"

"I haven't taught you cursive which we'll clearly have to rectify as soon as we get home." He let out a huge sigh and she cocked her head at him.

"You've been sighing a lot. Why? You don't normally sigh."

"There's just a lot going on now that your Aunt is here." He said cautiously. "Don't worry about it, Maia. Do you mind if I keep this and read it first? I just want to make sure I know what you're reading." He asked gently.

"Okay." Her head hung.

"I'll give it back soon, promise. Now, pull out your workbook and start your homework." He handed the book to April and pulled out onto the road again.

"Can I read the first chapter? I want to know what's in the book."

She watched as he and April shared a look. Cam finally relented.

"If you read it out loud and stop if it gets scary or if we tell you to." Yet another sigh escaped him but he passed the book back and she happily took it from him.

"Okay, here goes..."

...

The excerpt will be in the next chapter. It is also pretty short so I should have it wrapped up by next week so you get one more weekly chapter post before they go back to every other week!

If you're liking the little peeks into Camden and Maia's life, give that star button a little love!

~M