Page 27 of Unmasked

A deep breath left her. “The king invited me to the Highland Hunt at Glenbrae Estate in the Scottish Highlands.” She paused, her tone softening. “I’ll be there for a few days. I accepted the invitation from the palace, but then he called. I told him I’d go, but I couldn’t stay the two weeks he wanted. I agreed to four days. I refuse to miss the Holy Night ritual. Vaughn… you know I couldn’t decline.”

“Two weeks.”

Reaching to the mantle of the fireplace, I closed my lids, trying to get control over the rage that had me wanting to destroy everything around me.

“Don’t be mad at me.”

“…I’m not. Not at you. It’s… he fucking made it impossible for you to reject. The Highland Hunt? That’s… The hunt is full of the highest elites. He’s putting you on their level. He’s making you their equal.” I opened my eyes, feeling my fingers dig into the wood. “There’s no more pretending that this isn’t happening. King Lawrence has decided, and he’s chosen you.”

Silence.

“I don’t want this. I don’t want to go.”

“Don’t. Don’t go.”

“Vaughn. We both know I have to. If I reject his offer, we might as well put a neon sign outside The Order signaling where you are, because dead or not, he will make it his mission to figure this out, and he will find you. Think about it. My rejection would only make him angrier. That puts you in even more risk. I won’t put a bigger target on your back.”

“What if Theodore can’t be bought. What if he loves you and tells the king—” Coughing had me looking over to Theo as he choked.

“You wish to make your friend a target?”

“Fuck.” I exploded. “Of course not but… Penelope. This goes against everything in me. Against who I am. You don’t understand.”

“We don’t have a choice.”

“We have a million choices. You attending is not one of them. You spending days in Scotland with that bastard, Lawrence Evans, is not a choice I will allow. I can’t. I won’t.”

Silence. And it was drowning me. Penelope was mine. I didn’t want her around that sorry excuse for a king who thought his good looks could get him anyone he wanted. If he flirted with her… If he so much as touched her⁠—"

“Vaughn.”

“I…can’t.”

“If I call back and cancel, he will know something is off. He’s barely buying the Theodore story. We can’t risk it. This isn’t just about you, Vaughn. What about The Order? What about everyone who is depending on you? You are king.”

“And you are my queen.”

“Not yet. Maybe not ever if I alter our path. If I say no⁠—"

“Enough. Stop.”

“I know you’re upset. I don’t want to do this anymore than you want me to. But we have to think of everyone else. There’s too much risk. I can’t cancel. Let’s look at this strategically. Who is going to be there? Do we have any Masters who are attending? We have options, we just have to utilize them. We have to make this work best in our favor, not his.”

I let go of the mantle, running my fingers through my hair, squeezing the curls before I let go.

“When do you leave?”

A sigh. “In nine days.”

I’ll check our connections. We’ll go from there.”

“I think that’s wise.” She paused. “Able is waiting. I have history lessons. I will call you tonight. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The line went dead, but still I held to my phone. My head shook. And shook. And shook. Theodore or The Reeve didn’t ask questions. They waited the minutes it took for me to calm enough to speak. I turned to The Reeve, trying to hold the rage from my tone. I failed.

“Find out if any of our Masters will be attending The Highland Hunt. There’s no way in hell I’m allowing Penelope to go to that hunt without protection. She may manage to bring a guard or two, but there’s no way he’s letting her bring a team of them. He’s the king. He has his own damn guard.”