23. Penelope
Penelope
It wasn’t sound that stirred me from the darkness. It was silence.
Had I ever experienced such absence? Had it ever been so quiet that it held weight?
The question was robbed from the heat along my side.
It radiated into me in waves of welcomeness.
Where it was warm and comforting, the arm and leg that was furthest away felt like ice and isolation.
Cold was surrounding me, but the warmth felt consoling.
It had me floating between a confliction I suddenly couldn’t make sense of.
My heartbeat seemed to take over my body. It had my entire being trembling. Air hitched in my lungs, followed by my muscles tightening.
Awareness.
Slow breaths.
They sparked in the darkness, leaking in as I tried searching out what was happening. The sound was slow. Barely even audible. It was almost one with the heavy stillness surrounding me. It triggered… something. There was… something.
Agony branched out, racing through my inside with an intensity that tore me from the darkness.
Memories assaulted me just as viciously as those guards.
I could feel my nails breaking under the impact of stone.
Muscles tore, and piercing pain had a scream forcing its way from my throat.
The strength behind my voice sent an echo so powerful that I could feel it through every inch of my body as it left me.
I flew forward, scraping in oxygen. Every breath.
Every gasp and whimper carried as I stared around the large, opened room with wide eyes.
Light flickered from the torches, casting shadows over the continuous long lines of guards.
They stood at attention, not moving. Barely blinking.
My legs drew up, and I sobbed through the fear.
Panic had me pushing into the hardness behind me, only for the heat to finally register.
My head spun, and I took in Vaughn. I was cradled on his lap, and we were sitting on a large, black throne.
Where I was looking at him, he was glaring murderously at the guards ahead.
Redmond stood in the front, his eyes on the both of us—emotion gone.
I felt trapped between two deadly powers. But these weren’t opposing forces. This man behind me was controlling them. Challenging them. And there was no question who reigned above them all.
“Vaughn.”
My lips shook as I spoke. The fragility amongst such strength caused me to shake even worse.
He still wasn’t moving, and I wasn’t sure whether to throw my arms around him or run.
The fear that came with both had a sob forcing its way out.
Consequences pinged, throwing off alarms. What was right or wrong no longer fit into those categories.
My world was rocked, and nothing made sense as I threw my arms up, holding around his neck so tight, I was terrified to let go.
“I want to leave now. I want us to leave, please.”
“Look at me, Penelope.”
No holding. No tenderness.
It took me seconds, but I let go, braving to look up and face him. I searched his eyes as a flash of something unrecognizable mixed with the coldness.
“We do not run from fear. We face it.” His thumb flattened against my chin, and the tip traced along my bottom lip. The action was soft and only for me as he kept the lethal stare in place. “Look at them.”
I blinked through the tears. I didn’t want to look. I wanted to disappear. To curl into myself and never see them again. But I knew better because I knew the man in front of me. He believed in me. He saw something in me no one else had.
Grabbing Vaughn’s suit jacket, I hesitantly turned to Redmond and the guards. The trembling was so bad that it moved from my arms and legs to my mouth. My teeth chattered through the need to flee. I clenched my jaw, trying to get it to stop, but that only caused my body to randomly jerk.
Vaughn lifted us, holding to my hand as he placed me down next to him.
When we walked forward, I stayed close to his side but kept my eyes on the countless faces until we made our way to the front and center.
Vaughn let go of my hand, turning his back on the guards as he stepped in front of me, cupping my face.
He didn’t speak, but he didn’t have to. The authority emanated from him like a beacon.
I looked to the throne and then back to him, feeling my heart race even faster.
Confusion was there, but I felt myself stand taller.
My hands clasped before me and he gave a nod of approval, stepping back and turning to face them.
“Look at her.”
The order boomed along the walls penetrating spaces so deep in me that I knew I’d never be able to forget this moment. Guards’ heads snapped in my direction, and I could barely catch my breath.
Clasping his hands behind his back, Vaughn began walking the length of the room. Every foot further away from me brought a twisted terror. I felt like a target—but I was the threat. All eyes were on me, and the weight of their gazes were just as heavy as the silence I’d awakened to.
I glanced at Redmond, looking down to see Vaughn. He made it to the end of the room, circling back to head in my direction. A tinge of relief flickered but got extinguished just as fast as his voice exploded through the room and the guards voices answered him.
“We are—”
“The shadows above kings!”
“We are—”
“In the blood that silence brings!”
I took a step back, jerking my head to Vaughn as he watched me.
“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!”
Hair spun around my shoulders as I looked back at the throne and back to Vaughn. Back and forth. Back. And. Forth.
Questions fired off while our conversations surged to the front. I took in the guards, trying my best to piece everything together, but the answers wouldn’t come.
Think.
Think!
Kingdom in disguise.
Kingdom.
“Some of you have known me since I was a boy. You watched me grow up within these walls. You served my uncle, your former High Master. Today, I do not stand before you as that boy. Today, you face the Unavowed in waiting—your future king.”
He walked past me, heading to the other side of the room.
“I’ve spent years learning. Watching. Waiting.” He paused. “The kingdom has always been mine to rule. But it’s not just mine, it’s ours. You are The Order, and I am The Unavowed. We’ve all bled to be a part of this. Tonight, so has my future queen.”
Tears blinded me. I couldn’t stop shaking. My feet were numb from the cold stone, and my body was screaming through pain. Worse… my fate was being handed to me, leaving me no choice in the matter. Queen… of this place? Or… if this was the kingdom in disguise, did Vaughn mean…? No.
I bit my lip, cutting off thoughts that felt damning—deadly.
Fight.
Fight.
Death.
A small sound left me as Vaughn reached the end, turning back to head in my direction. Dead eyes met mine blowing a hole right through the last shred of safety I felt. Lightheadedness hit, but I managed to stay standing straight. Strong.
“Her sacrifice, although not given freely, will forever be harbored in our history.” He pulled out a long knife from inside his suit’s jacket.
“But so will the reparations. I, as The Unavowed in waiting, vowed to keep her safe. I was sure, here, she was protected.” He got quiet, his anger thickening like a cloud.
“And more than one person failed in their orders. When one of us fail, we all fail. When one of us bleeds, we all bleed.”
His arm lifted and he drew a line with his knife. He stopped, letting the blade bounce on a soldier a few positions back.
“A sacrifice for a sacrifice. My blood for hers. You are my blood. Would you bleed for your future queen?”
Hard eyes jerked to me. No fear. No hesitation. The guard stepped out of line, walking to Vaughn, kneeling before him on one knee. “Yes, Sire.”
“Soon. Stand.”
Again, he looked out, pointing out a guard. Redmond walked over holding a torch but stayed quiet as Vaughn pointed to another guard on the far side of the room. He waited, running the tip of the knife through the flame. When the guards approached, he pulled it out.
“Will you bleed for your queen?”
“Yes, Sire.”
He turned to the other. “And you?”
“It would be an honor.”
Vaughn nodded, the response slowing as he turned to face me. “It would be an honor for me as well. I’ll go first. Penelope. Come forward.”
The floor felt like it dropped out from under me. My legs were shaking as I approached Vaughn and the three guards.
“We aren’t the men who hurt you. Those will face the Judic for their punishment, and you can rest assured they will bleed for you afterward if I don’t feel it is sufficient.
But for now, take ours as compensation—as an amends and reassurance that for as long as I’m alive, my blood, The Order, we will live to honor you, protect you, and serve you. ”
“For life.”
The words were spoken in a roaring unison that had me jumping at the room’s response.
Vaughn shrugged off his suit’s jacket, tearing down the buttons to remove his shirt. He let it drop to the floor, handing me his knife.
His stare searched mine, and I knew he was putting his trust in me. I could hurt him. Kill him.
I felt sick as he lowered to his knees before me.
I held tightly to the handle of the knife, trying to grasp the new world I’d been brought into.
This man—this… king? It still didn’t make sense.
And these guards. They respected him. They believed him to be something more than some random man.
And here he was, pledging it to me—bringing me in as his future queen?
“You can do this. Cut, Penelope. Right here.” He pointed over his heart.
“Vaughn.”
Even as I said it, I leaned closer, feeling myself sink to my knees before him. Tears blurred the room as I blinked them down my face. I lifted the knife, letting the tip touch his skin.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I hurt you by bringing you here. Penelope.” Pain flashed, and I saw the million things he wished he could say. “Take my blood and know that I give it to you freely. I want you to have it. Blood for blood—loyalty for life.”
I sniffled, looking around the room at the guards who watched. I turned to Vaughn, taking in his tattooed chest. I had to do this. I didn’t have a choice.
I bit my bottom lip, adding pressure, feeling the blade easily break his skin.
I brought the tip down, watching as a deep red began to bead and race down like a river.
Two inches. My lids narrowed, and I brought the blade back up to the top.
Vaughn didn’t move, but I could sense his surprise.
He watched as I broke through his skin again.
As I curved the slice around, forming a P, his breaths turned harder. Heavier.
There was a fire in his eyes as they jumped up to mine. He began to move in, almost as if he were going to kiss me, but stopped himself, nodding in approval. There was a hesitation as he stood, but I saw the other men were removing their shirts.
The first guard lowered, taking Vaughn’s place.
“Blood for blood—loyalty for life.”
I couldn’t stop shaking. “Blood for blood,” I forced out.
Leaning forward, I nearly gasped at the upside-down crown branded over his heart.
I swallowed the reaction back, reaching forward and cutting a two-inch incision in his chest. Crimson race down from the wound, and I dipped my finger in the blood, writing the P next to the upside-down crown. “Loyalty for life.”
The guard met my eyes, flashing me a quick smile. He was… happy? Yes. It had been there as he stood and was quickly replaced by the other.
“Blood for blood—loyalty for life.”
Blue eyes met mine, lowering just as fast.
“Blood for blood.” I pushed the tip in, dragging it down at an angle. Collecting the blood, I wrote in the first letter of my name. P. “Loyalty for life.”
The guard stood, and the third had my lips parting.
It was the large man who had grabbed me originally.
The one who stopped the rapes and brought me to Redmond.
He’d stood up to them through his uncertainty, and he’d saved me.
He didn’t have to. He served Vaughn in his heart.
His loyalty was unwavering. I’d felt that.
“Blood for blood—loyalty for life.”
“Keith.” Tears raced down my face, and I could barely keep it together enough to respond. “Blood for blood.”
I leaned forward, emotional as I marked his chest through the trembling. Blood flourished, oozing from the incision. I dipped in, drawing the P, and reaching for his hand. Our eyes held, and I gave a quick nod. “Loyalty for life.”
He smiled, standing.
Vaughn eased me to my feet, taking the knife and sliding it back in the holster he held.
The room was still silent, but the energy was amplified with a reserved excitement.
The guards were grabbing their shirts and heading back to formation, and I didn’t miss what I was truly witnessing.
This wasn’t just a configuration of discipline.
These men were more than guards. They acted as soldiers… for a king. For Vaughn.