Page 70 of Uncrowned

Better. Cold. Disconnected.

“Penelope.”

Her body jolted at my deep tone and lashes fluttered. She was trying so hard to wake.

“Open your eyes. Look at me.”

Blue, so bright, flashed, only for her lids to drop almost immediately.

“Close, beauty. Come on. Listen to my voice and fight the sleep. I’m here now. But I need you to wake. We have work to do.”

“V…aughn.”

“That’s right.” I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her. A soft cry sounded, and her bottom lip rolled down and quivered. All I wanted was to stay in this room, to hold and care for her with the tenderness she deserved. But mercy couldn’t hold a kingdom together. It would not help me keep her—convince her. Only one thing would, and it ruled me. It had to rule her, too. “I know you hurt. I’m sorry, but revenge doesn’t sleep. It doesn’t feel pain. Wake up, my queen. Wake up and make them bleed.”

Penelope’s lips parted but she remained quiet. Finger splayed, and a cry left her as her legs jolted.

“That’s it. Good girl. Fight it. Wake up.”

“Vau—”

Pulling back the blanket, I took in the long white nightgown she wore. I knew it immediately as one of my mothers. My eyes jumped to Penelope’s face, and my lips crushed into hers brutally. She jumped, and I slid my arm underneath her back, grabbing her other arm to place around my neck. When I eased under her legs, Penelope’s body convulsed through the tremor.

“Vaughn? Vaughn.” She sobbed.

“I’m right here, love.” I stood, cradling her and heading for the door. When I threw it open, the guards stiffened, continuing to stare ahead as I put myself in front of them.

Flames from the torches swayed and flickered, casting shadows. I reined in the heavy breaths, feeling my features harden even more.

“Take a good look at the woman I hold.” Nervous eyes lowered to Penelope as she still fought to wake. Tears were running down the sides of her face. “Look at her.” I walked the distance of them, angling Penelope so they could see her as she struggled to wake. “Memorize every feature. Every detail. Because if after today you accidentally touch her, if you lay one finger on her, I will not just kill you. After I turn your body inside out with my knife, I will deliver you to hell myself. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Sire.”

“Follow.”

My order echoed from stone, imprinting a moment that would go down in Order history. This night would not be forgotten. Only once had a Masterson killed his own guard to set an example. Tonight, once I got my hand on the rapists, I’d do a lot more than that.

Every society had their own rituals. There were rules. Traditions. Some were the very foundation of what had created those societies to begin with.

The Order was bred from loyalty. Loss. Blood tied its members together, and those ties showed fealty to the supreme—to me.

Tonight, as I stepped closer to my title, I’d remind these men that loyalty wasn’t just a creed. It wasn’t a brand swearing the subject to a blacklined monarchy. The Order was life and death, and sacrifices weren’t necessity—they were obligatory.

CHAPTER 23

Penelope

It wasn’t sound that stirred me from the darkness. It was silence.

Had I ever experienced such absence? Had it ever been so quiet that it held weight?

The question was robbed from the heat along my side. It radiated into me in waves of welcomeness. Where it was warm and comforting, the arm and leg that was furthest away felt like ice and isolation. Cold was surrounding me, but the warmth felt consoling. It had me floating between a confliction I suddenly couldn’t make sense of.

My heartbeat seemed to take over my body. It had my entire being trembling. Air hitched in my lungs, followed by my muscles tightening.

Awareness.

Slow breaths.