Page 69 of The Devil of Hollywood

Penelope turned to leave, and I quickly grabbed her hand. The action had the guards reaching for their weapons. My eyes flew open wide through the fear, and I froze, feeling my legs grow weak at their nearness.

“I love you, too. Penny, this isn’t your fault. I don’t blame you for this.”

She was crying again, flying into my arms.

“Obey, Marian, no matter what he says. Be strong, but show him you can take orders, and he’ll show you mercy. Focus on the task, not on what you’re doing.”

All I could do was keep nodding. I clung to the clarity as she drew back and raced back through the guards. They parted, and I saw The Unavowed ordering men to strap Drayton to a large wooden X. He wasn’t wearing the tux’s jacket or shirt anymore. He was bare from the waist up. They were cuffing his wrists and ankles, and his eyes were fixed right on me and the guards who were circling in. Tears blinded me, and I blinked them away, feeling them fall down my face. I was supposed to take the punishment. I was supposed to spare Drayton. After all, didn’t I deserve this? Wasn’t this my doing? Now, he’d hate me even more. I hated myself. I thought I’d been so strong. So… untouchable as a shark. I was the mouse. I was the dirt. Dirty. Low. Mouse.

Squeaking sounded as two more Xs were rolled in next to me. I could see the fear in David and Simon’s faces as they looked between me and the St. Andrew’s crosses. I wasn’t naïve to what they were… or what they could be used as. Restraint. But why were all three men being strapped to them?

I fled the crosses as the two guards were marched my way. I collided with a stranger, but Bram quickly reached out and pulled me to his side. I clung to him like my life depended on it. Deep down… it did.

“Now we’re having fun!”

The Unavowed’s voice echoed through the large stone area. Chairs were being moved out of the way while the men in the black veils carried small torches, beginning to light ones fastened to the wall. The brightness from the large chandeliers above dimmed, and the glow from the fire increased. I could feel my body shaking as a whispered chant started from Masters who stayed to witness what was happening.

“We are⁠—”

The explosive words from The Unavowed left me jumping in Bram’s arms.

“The shadows above kings.”

“We are⁠—”

“In the blood that silence brings.”

“We are⁠—”

“The truth they fear to find.”

“We are⁠—”

“The wrath they left behind.”

“Once again⁠—”

“Born to rise.”

“Forever more⁠—”

“The kingdom in disguise.”

A loud sound roared from each of them sending my fingers digging into Bram. But still, The Unavowed continued.

“Nothing in our world comes easily. Nothing comes without a cost. When one of us dies, it is not without contribution to a higher cause. We come into this knowing someday we may be the sacrifice. We may be the currency that allows our world to continue. Tonight, we lose three, but what we’re gaining is unlike anything we’ve known.”

The Unavowed’s eyes locked on me, and I tried to pry my fingers free of Bram as he headed in our direction. Somewhere deep inside, I knew I had to be strong. At least pretend to be. But the fear—the consuming screams—they made it hard to let go and not cower. Somehow, I managed. The creed was sinking in. The words: Kingdom. Blood. Shadows. I was better than this broken woman. I was someone. I was a LaRoe. That used to mean everything. It still did, or I wouldn’t be here. I had to think. I had to find pieces of the Marian I was before this happened.

“I promised us progress, and I have delivered on that promise. We’ve gone too long hiding in the shadows. I say… No! More!”

A roar of cheers had me holding tightly to the skirt of the ballgown as I inched away from Bram. My eyes went to Drayton. To the terror in his depths as sweat dampened the hair falling at his forehead.

“I do nothing without reason or result. Someday, when my heir is king or queen, history will come back to this very moment. To two bloodlines so supreme that there will never be any action taken against them again. Pennington and LaRoe—Taylor and Masterson.” The Unavowed’s gaze narrowed as he kept eye contact at his approach. “Together, we are the future, and we’re going to prove that tonight. Aren’t we, Marian?”

Think. Think!

“We are…Unavowed.”