Page 33 of Unmasked

“He is. He’s a good man. I believe him and Theodore have gotten rather close lately. Not publicly, but here, at The Order.”

“Excellent. I will speak to Theodore about him over dinner. We have a date tonight.”

A sound left me and she paused.

“Vaughn, is that a pout I detect?”

“What? Of course not.”

“It is. You’re jealous of my date.”

“I am.” I smiled.

“But I only kiss you.”

I leaned forward, biting against my lip. “…Which makes me the luckiest man in the world.”

“It does. Do I get a repeat of last Holy Night, because if that’s the case, I may come a little early again.”

“And stay the night like before?”

She licked her lips. “I’m going to get in more trouble if The Magister finds out. I’m okay with that.”

“I won’t tell if you don’t.”

Something flashed over Penelope’s face causing my brow to draw in through her emotion.

“What is it?”

“I miss the days where we’d lay in bed for hours and just talk. The basement room. You have a home. From what I can remember of it when I escaped, it was beautiful. Do you miss it?”

My lips parted, and those days barreled through, filling me with warmth and love. With… longing for how things had been so much easier then. She had been so innocent but strong.

“I do miss it. I bought the house just before I took you. I haven’t been back since you left. At first, I couldn’t bear to be there without you, but then with Redmond dead and The Order… I’ve been so busy."

“It had the underground room.” She paused through her thinking. “Can we tie it into the tunnels?”

My lips parted. “I… I don’t see why not. They run relatively close. What are you thinking?”

“I think if I were to live there, we’d have access to each other whenever we wanted. I’d have access without anyone ever seeing me leave at all. I will be running The Order while we try to win you back the Crown. I think it’s a great cover. It would be quite the journey underground, but we could figure it out.”

Have Penelope any time I wanted? Share a life with her, a home—be somewhat normal?

It was a dream. A dream I could make happen. And I needed this. Not just for her, but for the part of me that craved a life like my parents used to have. We once had a home as well. Had my mother had direct access to The Order—had guards posted at the entrance just below, would she have lived? Could she have escaped and survived?

Penelope’s safety came first.

Things were going to change, and I’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.

“Bring movers in. Have them pack up your things while you’re gone. I will have our home ready by the time you return.”

My jaw tightened as the thought settled in.

She was leaving in five days, and nothing would stop her from walking into his world.

I wasn’t ready.

I prayed she was.