Page 37 of Uncrowned

I took in her face—her confusion.

“A life with me.”

“What if I don’t want a life with you?”

“Not many do.”

Her lips parted and the confusion grew.

“Arms out.” I slid one of her arms through the gown, unbuttoning the sleeve of the other so it wouldn’t tangle with the IV.

“V?”

I reached behind her, tying the string at her neck.

“Yes, Penelope.”

“This is sort of like an adventure, isn’t it?”

Pausing, a slow smile came as I pulled back and looked at her, but it fell at the truth.

“You could say that, but I’m afraid this adventure isn’t going to be fun for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Grab the stand and pull it as I carry you.”

She didn’t argue as I eased her into my arms. She grabbed the IV stand, pulling it alongside us as I took her to the toilet and placed her to stand.

“Can you make it back to the bed by yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” I scanned her face. “I’m going to leave you for a while. Take a shower, brush your teeth, and get back to bed. I’ll be back later.” I paused. “You want to understand what you’re in for. I’m going to be blunt. While you’re here, you will learn to fight. You will torture and kill those I bring to you. And I will be hard and unfeeling every moment of it. You will hate it, and you may end up hating me. There is no way around it. It must be done. It is the only way to know for certain.”

“Know… what?”

“Whether you’ll survive.”

I turned, not able to erase the terror I’d glimpsed. I headed for the stairs, not looking back as I took the steps by twos. I unlocked the door, closing and bolting it behind me. I took the five steps, heading up the second staircase that opened to a secret bookshelf in my home office.

Pulling out my phone, I brought up the cameras for Penelope’s room. I headed for my bedroom, not looking down until I had my clothes stripped off and the shower was running.

Penelope was in hers as well, but she looked like a deer in the headlights. The hand with the IV held the towel and her gown out to her side while she tried to wash her body with the other. She was so worried I’d come in at any moment. She was trying to rush. She was so… innocent. So afraid. Time would change that. I almost didn’t want to think by how much.

Spilling blood had a way of changing a person. Causing death stole life. It took pieces, leaving more of a shell behind each time. As much as I wanted to spare Penelope a life with less humanity, this was the only way. I hated it as much as I needed it, but what I needed was her.

CHAPTER 14

Penelope

I did not need to see to know Vaughn was in my bed. I had the mask on again. That I didn’t even feel him put it on while I was sleeping scared me. And yet it didn’t.

The spicy scent associated with him had my head turning in his direction. How long had I been asleep? When did he come back? I’d been up for hours after the shower. It felt like an eternity, but I wasn’t sure the exact amount of time. Everything, especially my thoughts, were starting to blur together. Was it day? Was it night? Had an entire twenty-four hours passed while we were apart?

“V?”

I reached out, freezing in place as my fingertips connected with warm skin and… hair. The hardness had me hesitating, but as I made a path across the wide expanse, I knew it was his chest. The dips and definition had me swallowing back my apprehension. I’d never had the opportunity to explore a man’s body before, and there was something about not being able to see that offered bravery when it shouldn’t have.