Page 133 of Owned

And a promise.

If anything had happened to her, I’d be holding Valen personally responsible.

And he knew it.

The worldaround me flickered in and out like the dying light of a candle.

My cheek was pressed against rough stone and I groaned as I tried to push myself upright, but every muscle screamed at me to stop.

I blinked hard as I fought against the fog of unconsciousness, but the moment clarity returned, a sharp pain sliced through my wrists and ankles.

Chains.

They’d chained me.

The dark metal links that bound me burned with dark enchantment. Their cold tendrils wrapped around my limbs and crawled beneath my skin, spreading a chill that was all-consuming and seeped into my very core. It felt as though icyneedles were piercing through me, draining me of warmth and leaving only a barren numbness in their wake.

A sinister magic designed to shackle not just my body, but my spirit as well.

Panic rose in my throat like bile.

The familiar hum of my magic was gone, and the whispers of the grimoire were deathly silent.

I’d forgotten what it was like not to have them crowding my thoughts.

I strained against the shackles, my body protesting with every movement, but it was futile. The glow of criss-crossing keyline spells lent their eerie blue glow to the stone chamber.

I turned my head slowly, but the room offered me no hints as to where I was, or the time of day.

No windows.

No exit—

I skidded back as far as I could and I let out a cry of pain as the chains halted my progress.

The thick iron links were looped through a ring bolted into the stone floor of the chamber.

My movements were limited and the power of the keylines smothered my magic…

The raw sickness in my belly twisted tighter.

A deep, throaty laugh bounced off the walls and reverberated through the dimly lit room. My heart leapt into my throat, and a scream tore from my lips as I spun around. The shadows seemed to shift, but confirmed my worst fear—I wasn’t alone.

Dark figures loomed in the shadows, obscured and indistinct.

They stood in silence, their faces hidden, but I wasn’t naïve enough to hope that they were here to rescue me.

The faint flicker of torchlight danced along the edges of their robes and highlighted the intricate sigils stitched into the fabric with metallic thread.

Sigils I recognized from the pages of the grimoire.

The Black Council—But why—

“Where am I?” I choked out. The words felt strange on my tongue and were swallowed almost instantly by the overwhelming stillness that hung in the air.

I shifted against the stone floor and the rough surface bit into my already wounded knees and bare feet.

A dull ache filled my body and settled into my bones.

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