Page 41 of Uncrowned

“I wanted to meet you. I wanted—” I stopped, hating how the words left me with such desperation. “Go back to my question about someone hurting us. You really think they will?”

Silence. It was as if he wanted to continue and not answer my new question. “I don’t think, I know.”

“That doesn’t make sense. In what world would us being together require us to fight to live? To survive?”

“It’s sort of like hell… but not so hot.”

Frustration sparked. “I feel like this is a big riddle. I don’t understand.”

“Not yet, but someday you might.”

“Someday, because you don’t know if I can… survive?”

V was quiet so long, I felt myself shift under his gaze. I hated not being able to see his eyes. It was the electric kettle that had him turning away from me.

“Tea. Excellent.” My gaze lowered only to lift back to him. My throat was so tight, I could barely talk. “Do they know yet? About my parents?”

“They know something. They don’t know much.”

“Rose would have found the bodies first thing in the morning.”

“There were no bodies, Penelope. No evidence.”

My head reared back.

“What do you mean? Of course there were bodies. I saw them.”

“And they were gone just as fast. There were no bodies when your cook arrived. No blood. No scattered papers or disarray.”

“But—How?”

V finished making the tea. He turned, reaching behind and scooping me up to sit on the table.

“The world is not what you think it is, and almost everyone you know are not who you believe they are.” V picked up the cup, pausing before handing it to me. “If you’re going to make it through this, you have to see into the secrets. You have to realize that everything you’ve ever been told is a lie. And I’ll show you. The truth is darker than any figment of your adventurous imagination. In the next few weeks or even months, you will do things you can’t stomach. Your brain won’t even be able to process what you face. But you will do them because I think you’re probably the only woman who can. …And you’ll do them for me.”

CHAPTER 15

Vaughn

Hope… or a lie?

I replayed my words to Penelope on a loop for days. I dissected them. Twisted them in every interpretation that I could.

Did I believe her to be the only woman capable of stepping into the role of my future queen? Or did I want her to be the one so badly that I was trying to ignore the doubt that I feared she’d be killed attempting to try?

I didn’t know this woman, and she didn’t know me. Sure, I’d watched her for the last few months. We’d talked and I discovered everything I could. The true test would come with action. It would be trials and force-feeding her information to see how she could handle the stress and danger associated with taking over the Crown. And it may come down to that. I prayed for evidence, but the truth was, I wasn’t letting another generation go by without seizing what belongs to me. To my family. To my own heirs someday.

There was something between me and Penelope. Chemistry, absolutely. But something more. Comfort. An ease. Familiarity as if the two of us were made for this moment. I could not shake the certainty how in my bones I was made for this woman. I wanted her to be my queen. I needed her to be, and if that meant I’d destroy every piece of her to force her into the role, I just might. If I was going to lose her, shouldn’t I still have her with me? Even if she were only a shell following my every order? My every need? Protecting me like I planned to protect her?

Every hour we spent together, our bond only grew. She’d wake up crying from nightmares, and I’d hold her. She’d tease me about something, and I’d laugh. I’d almost kiss her…and the eagerness to make her mine in all ways tore my insides apart, looking for a broken piece of me to sink into.

“I can’t stand this. Do you think I ever loved them?” Penelope looked up from the book she was reading. A book I’d gone out and bought her because I knew reading was her passion. “V, I thought I did. I used to love—I’m a horrible daughter. I hated them. I was ready to marry anyone just to escape, and now they’re dead, and I feel… nothing. Nothing but relief.”

Her eyes lifted while she took peeks at me. “I’m such a horrible person. If I wanted to be honest, I feel better than I ever have. Am I the monster? I used to think it was them but.” She stopped. “I think it’s me.”

I shifted in my chair. I was across the room where I was going over new reports from The Order. Sweat was covering my face, and I knew my hair was drenched under the mask. Even though it was cool in the underground room, I couldn’t focus when all I thought about was whether or not I was making the right decision.

I could let her go. It wasn’t too late. I could pretend this never happened and go on with my quest for the perfect queen. One I felt nothing for but trust and commitment. But then what? Did I just live my life while Penelope used her family’s money to secure a title? The king didn’t have to worry about her father’s reputation now. If Redmond was right about whispers of his interest, he’d come for her. I felt it in my gut. King Lawrence would want what was mine if he ever discovered our link, and he’d do whatever he could to take it. To destroy it.