Page 38 of Unmasked

My Penelope was all smiles as she devoured her breakfast.

After sleeping nearly fourteen hours, she awoke with a hunger. Not just for food but to see Katia. She was focused again, and just like she’d said the night before, her illness had passed and she was back to normal.

“You swear you haven’t gone in yet since she’s been awake?”

I looked down at Penelope as she kept a steady stride at my side.

“I told you I wouldn’t. I don’t lie. You know that.”

“What did The Magister say when you told him I was here?”

Again, I looked down.

“I didn’t tell him.”

Her mouth parted. “You didn’t tell him I stayed the night?”

“I was too busy watching you sleep. You snore. Not loud but softly.”

Her lips twisted. “I was tired and dead to the world. I had an excuse.”

I laughed. “You look better.”

“I feel better. Almost too much. I hate when that happens. Although, no fever this time, so that’s an improvement.”

My lids narrowed, but I stayed silent as we turned onto the hall and approached the guards stationed outside The Place of No Return. They straightened at our approach, opening the doors so we could enter.

Screams sounded in the distance, and Penelope looked down the multiple doors that ran the length of the hall.

“Is this where bad people come to die?”

“Die. Be tortured. It is for the condemned.”

I stopped outside of the door, grabbing the key from my pocket to unlock it.

“Smart,” Penelope said lowly. “I like that you’re the only one with the key. I do not want her to escape.”

“Oh.” I smiled. “She’s not going anywhere.”

I pushed open the large barrier, looking in to see Katia. She was sitting on the floor in the center of the room, her ankles and arms cuffed. She had enough room to stand but not enough room to move anywhere.

Penelope walked past me, arcing wide as she stared down the brunette who had dirt smeared over her face. Her hair was a mess, but her rage was unmistakable.

“I knew it.” Her head shook as her glare increased at my Intended. “Stupid girl.”

Penelope smiled, reaching over to grab a chair and pull it closer. She sat down, crossing her legs and sitting up straight with her hands poised in her lap. Still, she didn’t talk.

“You’re going to let me go, and you’re coming back with me. There’s still time to save yourself.” Disgust filled her face as she glanced to me but ultimately turned back to my Intended. “Penelope Taylor. Come over here and unlock these cuffs. I’ll take it easy on you. We’ll explain that you were… mistaken,” she said, cutting her gaze momentarily back to me. “He took you against your will. You can’t help that. The lie detector test told us everything we need to know. He took you. He raped you. You can’t help that time tricked you into believing he was the one.”

My stare went to Penelope, confused.

“Nothing I said in that interview was the truth. And yet, nothing was a lie.” Penelope’s head tilted. “The thing about lie detectors is, the longer you’re hooked up to one, the riskier the result. If one stays calm on the inside and chaotic on the outside, the interviewer doesn’t know what to believe. They get angry. They make mistakes. Their questions… alter.” She smiled. “It’s no longer, did your captor rape you? … It’s… were you raped? It isn’t… did he hurt you? It’s… were you hurt? It took me a little bit to catch on, but once I did, more tears. More hysterics. More… innocent, pitiful Penelope.”

“Bitch.”

Katia stood, jerking against the cuffs.

“I was never releasing you. You are pitiful. And weak. You are no queen.”