Page 14 of Owned

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What are you suggesting?”

“We need to make our own plans—and quickly.” Bastian’s eyes gleamed strangely in the lamplight.

“And when Lucian finds out?” Titus demanded.

“We’ll deal with it.” Bastian drained the whiskey in a defiant gulp and set the glass down hard onto the table beside the chair he lounged in so carelessly.

Titus shook his head and his dark hair fell across his brow. “You’re letting your cock think for you.”

“She wantsus,” I said firmly. “She won’t go through with it.”

I wanted to know for sure.

Ineededto know for sure.

We cutthrough the fog-choked grounds of Withermarsh, Bastian’s laughter trailed behind us before the fog swallowed it. He and Bastian flanked me. Their presence was as constant as it was unwelcome. But our father had calledallof us to his study.

My brothers’ footsteps echoed mine, a sinister symphony that harmonized with the pulse of dark magic that thrummed beneath the surface.

“Father isn’t usually this eager to go into the city,” Bastian said. “Do you think he’s actually going to tell us what he’s planning? Or is it just more mystery?”

“I don’t like it,” Valen said.

I kept my gaze ahead and did my best to ignore them as we entered the house and walked through the silent foyer. I wanted to look up at Avril’s room—I could sense the pulse of her magic,and the sigils she had set on the doorway—but I kept my focus on the hallway in front of us.

“What do you think she’s doing?” Bastian asked in a voice that was strangely wistful.

“Keep her out of your head,” I growled.

Lucian’s summons had been abrupt, even for him.

It was rare for him to call us without a clear agenda, and I suspected there was more to this meeting than he let on.

An image of Avril crept into my mind.

What had happened between them since the announcement of our impending marriage?

I’d been trying not to think about it—but every possibility the blackest part of my brain had conjured was worse than the last.

My brothers were losing themselves to the bond we were forming with Avril.

Bastian’s attachment to her had surprised me, but Valen hadn’t even bothered to fight it.

If Lucian was going to find out about what was happening—it would be because of them.

Not me.

I paused in front of the study doors.

“What are you waiting for?” Bastian hissed. “Let’s get this over with.”

Valen shifted behind me. “Come on. Lucian doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

The doors opened before I could lift my hand, and I straightened my shoulders as the dark red smoke of our father’s magic snaked across the stone floor.

Lucian stood at the far end of the room, his back to us, long fingers splayed over a desk strewn with ancient tomes and blood-stained scrolls.

“You took your time,” he said. When he turned, his eyes, pale and predatory, settled on me with unsettling calm. “The Black Council convenes tonight. I require your escort.”

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