Page 125 of Uncrowned

I was scooting my chair back before he finished. Theodore was looking between us, and I rolled my eyes, waving him along as I began to follow The Reeve. We headed down the halls while anticipation ate at me.

The Reeve shut the door behind us, and I took my place to the side of my desk as Theodore stepped in next to me. Neither of us could sit. We could barely stand still.

“I just got word that King Lawrence has once again sent an invitation to Grove Square for Ms. Penelope.” He paused and my breath caught as I waited. “She’s rejected it in record time. Faster than the times before.”

Theodore gripped my bicep, but I wasn’t sure how to feel.

“He’s getting worse. This isn’t good.” I bit the inside of my lip. “The king doesn’t like rejection. This is numerous attempts in the span of almost a year, not to mention the increasing urgency in the last two months. He’s not giving up. Hell, he’s more persistent than ever.”

The Reeve nodded. “Exactly, Sire. It is the reason I wished to talk to you. I also got word concerning Ms. LaRoe’s upcoming trip to the states. The details could play in our favor concerning both women. I don’t think we can wait much longer. I’m worried about Ms. Penelope. We’ve watched King Lawrence for years. He’s never been this focused on a match before. The time to strike is now. I don’t think we can risk waiting any longer.”

“You’re right.” A spark flickered, but excitement faded as fear extinguished it. “She’s out of time. We both are. We can’t risk the queen’s safety anymore. The timeline isn’t looking good. Penelope has to come home no matter the cost. Tell me about Marian. Do you think we can have her taken in America?”

“I do. I’ve been looking into her lodgings in association with how many guards will be attending. Elliot, of course, but Bastian will surely have some she won’t know about. We can easily take them. That gets both women here if our plan works with Penelope.”

“And if we can’t…” An evil smiled began to form. “Perhaps they’ll want to trade women. I like the sound of that. Then, I can finally start preparing her to undergo The Trials of The Order.”

“Trials?”

Theodore’s head shook, confused.

“What trials? I thought she was already part of this place?”

My face hardened. “She is part of The Order, and she always will be, but to be with me, she must go through the queen’s trials. She wasn’t prepared before. She’s still not. I’m going to have to train her all over again. It’s going to take time. We can’t marry or get the blessing of The Order until she passes.”

“Shit. Is it hard?”

The Reeve looked down, and I sighed.

“Yeah. You can say that.”

“Do…” Theo looked between us. “Do you think she can pass them?”

“There’s a lot she still needs to learn, but she’ll pass. It may almost kill her, but Penelope doesn’t know how to fail. She’ll fight—she’ll live... she has to.”

Theodore’s eyes flared and worry sparked in their depths.

I held up my hand, feeling sick. “We’re not going to worry about the trials right now. First, we need her here. We have to focus on that.”

“I agree, Sire. What of the other women—Melissa LaRoe and Katia Marchase? We also need to talk about what you want us to do about Marian if we get her.”

I stepped back, heading to my desk to sit down. “All I’ve had is time to think over what I want to do about these women. Months… of time. They all need to pay. They need to feel pain. But they’re all elite blood. That can be just as much of a problem as it is a blessing. First, Marian. Her blood is key. It’s why I almost chose her as my queen. I want it for my heir when the time comes.”

The Reeve’s lips parted in surprise, and Theodore looked towards the floor, deep in thought.

“We take her in Miami. She’s engaged with Bastian Allard, and they’re due to marry in less than a year. Together, their bloodline is sufficient. I will force them into a future betrothal of their heir with mine, and they will accept. I won’t leave them a choice. In the process of her being here, she will pay. Not only for her harboring of my queen, but for her mother’s schemes against me and my Masters. That’s one woman I’ll never get my hands on, but if we do happen to run into Melissa LaRoe or get access… death.”

The Reeve nodded in agreement.

Everyone here at The Order had been affected one way or another. What we had learned of Melissa LaRoe over the last few weeks were horrifying, even for me to grasp. And it was all thanks to Lord Oxley and Lord Summerlyn for making me aware.

Marian’s mother was a psychiatrist, a hypnotist, and the second-in-command for the US’s Garden of the Gods. It was their trafficking city, very much like The Order. But it was more focused on celebrities and glamour and not honor or ritual. I should have never worked with Melissa over the man who supported Redmond’s death.

Elec was the Main Master, and I’d refused to keep communications with him. It was a mistake. On her trips to London, Melissa had been somehow messing with my Masters’ minds, not only manipulating large amounts of money from them, but also full-on estates, vehicles, and even stake in their companies.

It had me pulling up past conversations just to see if she’d gotten to me too… and she had. If the calls would have not been recorded, I wouldn’t have remembered giving her my Masters’ names and telephone numbers. It went against the privacy and security our trafficking communities believed in.

I had raised hell with the Collective High Council numerous times over the last few months. I told them what would happen if I saw Melissa LaRoe again. Mr. Prescott swore my silence to other Main Masters would be rewarded, and I meant to put it to the test. I might not get my hands on Melissa, but Marian was mine. She was vital to my plans, and not even The Collective High Council would stop me once I got the ball rolling. All I had to do was act… and that’s exactly what I was about to do.