Page 105 of Uncrowned

“Sire. Unavowed.”

The Reeve’s voice sounded through the door before the knock even connected against the wood. I paused in putting down the phone’s receiver, hanging up after my call with the Garden of the Gods’ second in charge, Melissa LaRoe. Just as I looked up, the barrier swung open. The Reeve stood there holding a medium-sized box. Right behind him, a winded Theodore fought to catch his breath as he stepped through the threshold.

“What the devil is going on?”

“Ms. Penelope had a package delivered to her parents’ townhome today. I believe she left it for you.”

I bolted around my desk, taking the box from his hands. Immediately, my head drew back in confusion.

Marian LaRoe GS Tower 123 Regency Row Kensington London SW7 3AB United Kingdom

“This says Marian LaRoe.”

“Yes, Sire.”

My head shook and everything felt like a blur. I could barely even function as I fought to make sense of what was happening. “I don’t understand. I just got off the phone with Marian’s mother. Why would Penelope have a box delivered to her parents’ address with Marian’s name on it? How would she even know⁠—”

“Because she’s at Grove Square Towers,” Theo said, still fighting to catch his breath. “I saw her. I saw Penelope. I raced over here as fast as I could. It was by pure chance, really. I’d only meant to see if I could question Ms. LaRoe over some interesting connections she had to the building you saw Penelope go into when the SLB took her. Marian’s family owns that building. Anyway, while I was talking to security at the front desk, I glimpsed them both from across the main lobby. They were heading into a bakery that sits inside the building.”

“Penelope is with Marian? They’re together?”

“Yes. I’m positive of it. Penelope looked right at me, and she was with the blonde woman with red highlights. It was Marian LaRoe.”

I blinked through the news, trying to wrap my mind around the coincidence of the two women being together. Marian LaRoe was almost the woman I had chosen before I knew about Penelope. What were the odds of them being together? And what about Melissa? I’d met her not days ago when she happened to be in town. But she hadn’t said anything. I wasn’t sure she even knew. Everything was strictly business. It had been since I’d chosen to work with her instead of Elec, the Garden’s Main Master.

My gaze lifted back to Theodore, and I pushed everything else away. “How was Penelope? Did she look okay?”

He hesitated before nodding. “I think so. She seemed suspicious of me, but she didn’t appear upset. I will tell you this.” His head shook. “You’re not getting into that building. I’m not sure I can either. I tried to pull every card I could. Especially after I spotted Penelope, but it’s impossible. They have it locked down. The amount of security is staggering. It truly makes me wonder what’s all going on there, because it’s definitely not normal.”

Racing took over my mind as I turned, placing the box on the desk. I grabbed the letter opener, breaking through the tape along the edges. When I pulled the top open, confusion had me looking back up to the men.

“It’s books.”

“Books?”

Theodore leaned forward.

One by one, I began taking them out, placing them flat across the top of the papers I’d been working on. As I scanned the titles, my heart began pounding.

“The Art of Solving Mysteries,” I read slowly. My finger trailed to the next. “Return When I Can. A Queen’s Own Journey. No Rescue Required.”

Theodore dove forward.

“Switch them around. Like this.” He moved the books, rearranging the order. “She’s smart.”

“I’ll be damned,” I breathed out. “The Art of Solving Mysteries. A Queen’s Own Journey. No Rescue Required. I’ll Return when I Can.” I looked up, meeting Theodore and The Reeve’s gaze. “She’s solving a mystery? Her own journey? What mystery would she need to solve by herself?”

Silence filled the room as we all looked at each other. The Reeve spoke up first.

“Whatever it is, your queen seems to know what she’s doing. She really is something else. You don’t think?” He stopped, seeming to analyze his own question. “Would Penelope be trying to help you?”

My head shook. “Very unlikely. I don’t see why she would. We didn’t often talk about my past.”

Theodore shrugged. “That doesn’t mean she’s not thinking of the future. She’s definitely up to something. Should we deliver the books? Ooh! I can do it. I’ll say I stopped by her parents to talk to her and came across the box which had this address. I can refuse to hand it over without personal delivery.”

“I don’t know. That could jeopardize her sending another message in the future if they find out.”

“But she’ll have me,” he insisted. “I can give her my card. It’ll have my phone number and email address. It even has my office address on there in case she needs it. Penelope needs to know that she has rights. As a barrister, I can provide her with those.”