Page 40 of Dark Reign

The word ‘human’ left his mouth like profanity, as if it was the dirtiest phrase he’d ever uttered from the English language.

I kept my eyes trained on the scene before me, as I shrank into the shadows.

“We caught her trying to escape over the boundary wall,” Bryson tattled.

“And she nearly got away,” Embry added. “It appears she had usallfooled, Sir, weaseling her way into the gala undetected.”

“Even convincingyoushe was one of us,” Bryson added.

Julian flinched when it was implied the pair witnessed us stealing away to the second floor together, implied that I’d gotten over on …everyone.

Including him.

His cold glare sliced my way, a look that let me know he hadn’t appreciated the slew of lies he’d been told tonight. From his perspective, I was certain I’d caused him considerable embarrassment—to his title, his manhood.

He circled once as his brothers gawked. Roman’s glare was, perhaps, the most jarring, the most penetrating. Each step Julian took was painstakingly slow and I could feel his gaze dragging over my skin. Tension hung heavy in the air, clinging to every particle I breathed.

“No mark, no brand, no proof of ownership,” Embry offered, reminding me of a dutiful dog awaiting his master’s next command.

“I assure you we’ve done nothing contrary to protocol,” Bryson explained. “Before either of us laid afingeron her we checked for a mark, a brand. She’s no one’s property, sir.”

My stomach churned as they discussed me as if I weren’t even present, like I was more of an object than a person.

Julian’s icy gaze never left mine when his steps brought him straight toward me. His broad shoulders heaved and instinct urged me to inch back, but it did little good compared to his long strides. The distance between us slowly disappeared. Eventually, I was in his shadow. Unlike before, there was no chemistry, no connection like there’d been on the terrace.

This time, as I stared up at him, there was no mistaking his awareness of the distinction between his kind and mine, his belief that I was beneath him, that I was disposable.

And … I was afraid.

“We’ve got a feeling she’s from one of the fringe operations we’ve heard so much about lately.” Excitement nearly had Bryson salivating. “It might be worth letting the Butcher have a night with her, see if he can extract some information before she’s taken to the gallows in the morning.”

A shiver scurried down my spine, but I held my composure. I was no stranger to that term—The Butcher. He was among the oldest Ianites in the dynasty, once a physician before undergoing the change, the one that set Ianites apart from humans. His background came in handy when tasked with keeping victims alive while they endured the unthinkable.

There were stories of how his particular brand of torture had broken even the most loyal figures in our operation. Among his favorite methods was progressively scalping his captors over a period of hours to extract information. These acts were heinous and were all performed in his personal dungeon.

And then, there were some so stubborn, he subjected them to what was known as“A ride-along with Betsy”.Betsy being his genetically altered Clydesdale, fully capable of reaching a staggering speed of seventy miles-per-hour.And a‘ride’consisted of being tied behind the mare and dragged up and down a self-constructed road of dirt, sharp stones, and glass shards. The idea was to bring his subjects within inches of death, all with hopes of extracting answers—names, locations, objectives.

Me.

The Butcher had never seen my face, but he’d been on the hunt for the elusive Blackbird for quite some time.Iwas the needle in the haystack he’d fought so hard to find. And now, these goons considered delivering me right to his doorstep.

“She hasn’t said one word, Your Highness. Hasn’t even uttered her name,” Embry piped. “Would you like us to check her belongings? Her purse is in the bushes somewhere,” he added, pointing.

It was hard to breathe, hard to see a way out of this.

Julian stepped closer and stared down on me with anger brewing just beneath the surface. His broad jaw swelled, flexing as frustration filled him to the brim.I’ddone this, brought him to the point of nearly boiling over. And now, as we stood breathing one another’s air, I was certain I already knew my fate.

After all, I’d given him every reason to hand me over to these men without ever looking back.

“Sir? Would you like me to check for identification?” During the brief standoff, Embry had taken it upon himself to retrieve my purse, awaiting permission to rifle through it.

“That won’t be necessary.”

The rims of Julian’s nostrils flared with each breath as I held mine.

“She’s … mine.”

With those two words, forced out through gritted teeth … he left me absolutely baffled. Left hisbrothersbaffled.

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