28. Vaughn
Vaughn
“Open …the fucking…door!”
My throat burned with every word. Every inch of me screamed as I kicked and pounded into the door.
Hours upon hours had passed.
A day? Two?
I was disoriented.
I wouldn’t stop. Not until they let me out so I could get to Penelope.
“Magister! Able!”
I threw my weight into thick wood, feeling air lock in my chest at the force as I slid down the door.
Fire engulfed my eyes. My lids were swollen.
From the lack of sleep? From the tears that wouldn’t stop?
I didn’t know. I lived in the second. To think on the future left me sick.
It left me spiraling in a vortex of emotions that didn’t feel human.
My head ached. All of me cried out. My lids drooped through the exhaustion. That only had me turning to slam my fist into the wood again. With my bang came another. It had my entire body locking up as I listened.
Footsteps.
They were slow. Nearly silent.
And keys.
I scrambled to my feet, beating into the door harder.
“Open! Open this door right now! Magister!”
My heart was racing. I paced, moving back and forth, cutting a path in the floor with my jerky movements.
“Hurry up!” I roared. “Open the fucking door.”
The key slid in. A click sounded, and I jerked back the wood. For a second I saw nothing but an empty hall. Then… I looked lower. My breath caught, and the sob that tore from me sent me crashing to my knees.
Dark hair was wild around Penelope’s shoulders.
Her face was splattered with blood, and she looked dazed or medicated.
She wore a black silk nightgown, and her chest was raw from the new brand of a sword stabbing through what was underneath the material, my crown.
She took a shaky step towards me, and I dove forward, wrapping my arms around her waist as I buried my face into her stomach.
Fingers pushed into my hair while her other arm wrapped around me.
“G-God.” Tears raced down my face, and I barely got the word out through the tightening in my throat. “I was so scared. I tried to come—I’m—sorry. God, I’m sorry.”
She didn’t speak. Her hold was loose. It was almost just as dead as she appeared to be as she stared ahead in a daze.
“Penelope? Where is he? Where’s King Lawrence? Did you kill him?”
My hands wrapped around her waist as I looked up. She was still gazing ahead. Still, not quite here.
“No. I think he let me go. I’m not sure.”
I wiped the wetness from under my eyes, standing and pulling her into my arms. Her body convulsed, and she cried out, locking into place as her nails dug into my chest.
“You’re hurt. You shouldn’t be here… alone…” My eyes searched the hall. There was no one. No guards. It was empty.
“Where?” I angled her face up, smearing the crimson over her cheek. “What the hell is going on? How did you get here? Where is everyone?”
“Waiting.”
Again, I looked. My arm scooped under her ass, and I picked her up, walking. Stalking.
I reached for my knife, remembering how the guards had taken it when they overpowered me and forced me into the cell. But not easily. Not at all…
I’d fought them.
Killed a lot of them.
“Where are they, Penelope?”
A few seconds passed. “Throne Room.”
Her arms wrapped around my neck and wetness from her tears met my cheek. It was enough to slow my thoughts from the murderous wrath. I stopped just outside the Great Hall, leaning back to look into her face.
Blood.
Think.
“What am I walking into? What is happening? You have to tell me. I know you’re not okay right now. I know you’re hurting and … confused, but I’m confused too. I need you to tell me everything.”
She sniffled. “No one… came. No one came to the airport. No one came to get me in Scotland. I.” She sobbed.
“I woke up alone. I got on the plane… I got here and…” Her arms tightened around me.
The Magister met me in the Great Hall. He’s…
dead. I killed him. I kept asking for you.
When he said he’d had you locked up, I lost it.
I…I—I slit his throat.” She took in a broken breath, exhaling slowly.
Grounding herself. “The guard is holding The Judic at gunpoint until you arrive. I took control. I had to.”
My lips parted. Her voice had broken up at the end, but there wasn’t a shred of weakness to her.
“You killed The Magister… and the guard obeyed you?”
“Able.” She sniffled. “I—” A sob tore from her.
“To harm the Intended is a death sentence. The Magister said so. He killed the rapists. He said—and I—Our baby. You kept telling him. You went to him, I know you did. You knew—” Harder she cried.
“You tried to tell me—tell him—you knew… and n-now our baby. Vaughn… our baby.”
This didn’t seem real.
I held her to me tighter, burying my hand in her hair and bringing her forehead to mine.
“Shh. Summerlyn told me. Love, no. Shh. That wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t.”
“He killed The Reeve. H-He killed Rowan and Mark, all for me. Our b-baby.”
I sat on the edge of a bench, putting her in my lap as I rocked in a slow motion.
“None of that was your fault, either. You weren’t conscious, Penelope. The Reeve… he adored you. He asked to go—to protect you. He did his job, and with honor.”
Her sobs were so heavy it shook us both. I glanced toward the door that led to the hall of the Throne Room.
“Look at me.”
I cupped her face, but it was her that reached up, wiping tears I hadn’t even realized were leaving me.
“We finish this. We go in there and put down our ultimatum. They all heard me. You might have killed The Magister, but had they let me out, I would have done it myself. I warned him that if anything happened to you or our child—” The word got trapped in my throat.
More of my dream left me as it clawed its way free from inside.
“The Magister would have died. The Judic either accepts that and we start over, or I kill them, and we start over. They can decide.”
Penelope nodded, shifting on my lap. I didn’t care that carrying her showed weakness. I scooped her back in my arms, heading to The Throne Room. The echo of the doors slamming into stone was the only sound to greet us as I barged inside.
All the guards were in attendance, and they all surrounded the veiled Judic. I didn’t slow or hesitate as I got closer. And I didn’t look at anyone but them.
“She killed him.” My voice was deathly calm as I stopped before the kneeled men. “My Intended did what none of you had the courage to do. She. Killed. Him.”
I finally lifted my gaze, letting it sweep across the guard that kept their focus on us. Able didn’t budge. He didn’t let them sway him like they’d done before.
“You follow all these rules, and yet you forgot one of the biggest ones. To harm the Intended… is death.”
Silence.
“And yet, you let it happen. Look at my Intended. See what King Lawrence did to her.” My teeth clenched. “My Reeve is dead. They murdered him in cold blood. Mark is dead. He murdered him too. My child,” I growled out. “My child is dead.”
The room changed as the guards looked at each other, feeling the weight of my rage set in. They hadn’t known Penelope was pregnant, but they did now as I pointed at The Judic.
“You had one responsibility. To protect The Order. She. Is. The. Order. My child was The Order. And you failed.” My head shook. You don’t get to question what comes next. You… don’t get to deliberate or decide what happens. I warned him. I warned you all.”
My gaze flickered to where The Magister would have been.
“I told you she was in danger, that King Lawrence would hurt her or my child… and look what happened.”
I turned, showing them a glimpse of the brand on her chest. A sound left me, and I shook my head, walking over to put Penelope in the queen’s throne.
When I turned back, I took in the hard stares of the guard who glared down at The Judic.
They were ready for my word. Ready to do whatever I asked of them.
“The only reason you breathe is because I allow it. You exist because I have chosen not to tear this entire structure apart. The Order stands because of me. So hear me clearly when I say… if any of you speaks against what happens next… I will make good on my threat.”
Pausing, I looked up to my guard.
“The Judic remains… but under me.” My stare dropped to take in the veils. “You will answer to me. You will act through me. You will do whatever I say.” My voice lowered. “Or I will kill you.”
I stepped forward.
“Choose. … Do you accept my terms? Yes. Or no.”
Able pulled the hammer back on his gun. The click had the first Judic fisting the robe into his hands.
“Yes.”
The next, nodded.
“Yes.”
The third paused, and the guard behind him pulled back the hammer on his gun.
“No.”
Bang!
No hesitation.
Pressure from the shot sent the veil blowing outward. Blood sprayed onto the stone as the member pitched forward, falling face-down.
The fourth Judic bobbed his head. “Y-Yes.”
When the fifth came around, he didn’t even need to be asked.
“Yes.”
“You will converge and choose a new Magister. In the following weeks we will go over the rules and fix what is broken. This… will never happen again. If I get one suspicion that any of you are thinking of turning on me again—just one—a bullet won’t find you. I will.
I lifted my attention to the guard, moving my gaze to Able.
“I don’t care if I am on a suicide mission or not. If you ever—” He lowered to his knee, bowing his head. “Think to stand against me again, the guard will not back you. I will have them tear you apart. My decisions—my rules—my consequences.”
“Yes, Sire. Never again.”
I let the silence get heavier as they looked on at me.
“I make the rules. You follow the rules. There are going to be a lot of changes in the next few days—maybe weeks. We. Are. At. War.”
My voice roared through the large room—scratchy—hoarse—determined.
“We… Are…”
“The Shadows above kings.”
“We … Are…”
“In the blood that silence brings.”
I held up my hand, closing my fist so they stopped.
“Listen to it. Feel… it.”
I continued.
“We… Are…”
“The truth they fear to find.”
“We… Are…”
“The wrath they left behind.”
“Once… Again…”
My finger pointed at them.
“Born to rise.”
“Forever… more…”
“The kingdom in disguise.”
I nodded. Looking around and taking in their pride.
I wasn’t na?ve to politics. Katia’s insight told me exactly what I was walking into. The Council was already spinning their web. They looked at me and King Lawrence like a game. They were about to find out that it didn’t matter how many pieces were on the board… I didn’t lose.
Mine and Penelope’s blood had been spilled one too many times. I wasn’t letting it happen again.
Not for them.
Not for anyone.