Page 103 of Unmasked

Slowly, I nodded. “I love him.”

Silence.

“Can I please take your hand? I need to do this because it’s important for you to feel how genuine I’m being when I say this.”

Seconds went by, and I hesitantly eased my hand forward. He took it, holding soft, yet securely.

“I know Vaughn was the masked captor who took you. He told me. Penelope.” He stopped. “What you’ve gone through, being with him—” He seemed to weigh his words. Instead, he flipped my arm, tracing over the scars from the cuffs. “You see these, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Do you remember how you felt when you got them? It had to have hurt to cut yourself so many times. You wanted to escape. You fought with everything you had, didn’t you.”

It wasn’t a question.

My eyes lowered to the scars, and the terror I’d felt when I discovered the truth of Vaugn’s world came rolling back through. My hand twitched, and my fingers trembled in King Lawrence’s hand. I quickly jerked back my arm.

“I don’t have to point out what just happened. Penelope, they don’t say love is blind for nothing. He kept you for four months before you escaped. After a year of being away from him, he came back for you. He took you again. I know, I’ve asked. The Council told me what happened.” His brow creased. “Does any of that seem normal to you?”

“Vaughn can’t live a normal life,” I ground out. “He is hunted. You know that.”

“No,” King Lawrence said, quietly, shaking his head. “I didn’t know that. I didn’t even know he was alive, Penelope. Are you sure he’s hunted?”

“Yes, I’m sure. His parents are dead. His uncle who raised him is dead. They’ve all been murdered.”

“By whom?” King Lawrence’s face was thick with confusion. I felt my defenses rise as I battled his questions. “No one that I sent, that’s for sure. Could it have been those within The Order? Traitors, or those in favor of the Crown?”

My lips parted, but I couldn’t speak. The truth was… I only knew what I was told.

“You know what?” King Lawrence waved away the question. “It doesn’t matter. These are questions for you and Vaughn. I just want to be clarity in any darkness you may have. My intentions are with you. You know that. And I can make you happy. I would make you happy. Penelope.” He stopped. “I’m not going to pretend I know anything about Vaughn’s world. But what I’ve been told.” Blue eyes kept scanning my face. “If you went through the trials to be his… queen… would you be happy? Would being part of The Order make you happy?” He scooted a little closer, lowering his voice. “Have you shed blood there? There’s talk of barbaric behaviors. Rituals. Killing. Is that what you’re being exposed to? Is that what you want your life to be?”

I widened my eyes, letting them round out as I let innocence flood in.

“Is that what they say?”

Confusion.

“Is it not true?”

“Not in my experience. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh.” He paused. “Maybe you’re not exposed to that part of the life yet. But if that’s true, could you take part in something like that? What if it’s forced on you? What if⁠—”

“Lawrence.”

I kept my voice sweet. Luring, even. Anything to get his mind off The Order.

“I don’t think I’m going to have to worry about anything like that.”

“But what if he doesn’t leave you with a choice? Everything I’m learning. He’s a savage. I truly fear for you.”

My lips tugged back. “Vaughn would never hurt me. He’d never force me to do something I didn’t want to do.”

“You think that now. You never really know someone until it’s too late. You don’t have those scars for nothing.” Once again, he studied me. “You were assaulted. It’s in the reports.”

“He did not do that to me. I ran—I… shouldn’t have.”

“Shouldn’t have tried to escape? Do you hear yourself? And you got raped for running? At The Order?” Horror masked his face. “If that’s what you meant, he allowed it to happen, and that is a failure on his part. He can’t protect you. Dammit… it is dangerous there. I can keep you safe. God, I want to. I am afraid for you. The more I uncover, the more I don’t like it.”