Page 49 of Dark Reign

So close now, I had to tilt my chin to meet his gaze as he towered over me, his presence causing my confidence to wane.

“Corina, or … whatever your name is,” he corrected, “I think you’ve misunderstood.”

My brow quirked with his statement. I didn’t understand, and my expression surely reflected that.

“No one’s taking you to a cell,” he added. A sigh passed between his lips as he organized his thoughts. “You’re not my prisoner.”

I blinked, startled, but said nothing.

How could Inotbe his prisoner?

“I’m not completely sure what to do from here, but I do know I put a huge lie out in the open tonight, and people will be watching my next move.”

After explaining, he began to pace, leaving me to stand in the center of the vestibule while he thought to himself.

“My father’s team will, no doubt, call an emergency meeting at the consulate tomorrow morning, so I suppose they’ll advise me, but … there’s no cell,” he reiterated.

I didn’t know what to say to that. “So, what are you going to do with me?”

My voice sounded hard, indifferent, but it was only a defense mechanism. Inside, my senses were going haywire, unsure what to expect next because everything up to this point had been completelyunexpected.

Julian didn’t answer right away, but when he did, I only hadmorequestions.

“If you’re dead-set against eating first … I suppose Elle will just … escort you to your room.”

Myroom. He saidmyroom.

“Did I hear my name?” Returning with that same smile, Elle stopped beside Julian and clasped her fingers in front of her.

Julian’s large hand gestured toward the steps. “Would you please escort our guest to the Blue Suite? And before you leave her, please see to it that her wrist gets bandaged properly.”

“As you wish,” Elle replied, gently taking my arm the next second. However, our steps halted when I turned to make one last plea, albeit one lacking the humility that may have gotten a favorable response.

“Wait.” At the sound of my voice, Julian stopped in his tracks and I had to admit to losing a bit of my nerve. “May I have my purse now?” The question flowed through my gritted teeth, staring him down without blinking.

He stood still as a statue, but didn’t turn to face me.

“I meant what I said, Corina; you’re not a prisoner here,” he reiterated. “But I don’t trust you either.”

Heat crept up my spine when my request was denied, feeling the cold fingers of his authority cinching around my throat. His steps resumed as he made his conditions abundantly clear.

“You’ll get your things,” he called out, “as soon as I get answers.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Roman

The guard gave a nod as we passed through the gate, entering the grounds of the Westower palace. The entire ride over, our discussion revolved around one thing.

How disastrous the evening had been.

Although, thatfelt like a bit of an understatement, considering how drastically Julian’s life was about to change if he stuck to his guns, if he kept up the lie that made this strange girl his.

None of us ever really considered taking Dolls. Yeah, we’d tossed around a joke or two about it, but wouldn’t have risked our reputations just to satisfy some primitive curiosity.

Human women were not made for Ianite men. Even considering it made me sick to my stomach. Their kind, as a whole, were pests I like to think we would have eradicated centuries ago if they weren’t our food source. Had it not been for that, I would have led a movement to kill them off myself.

They hadn’t known their place for some time now. The evidence of this was in the brazen way they stormed into our facilities and stole property that didn’t belong to them. They were savages who couldn’t be controlled, couldn’t be trusted.

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