Page 161 of Owned

Valen’s gaze was like a weight on my back, and I spun around to face him. “Spit it out. Whatever you have to say—say it now.”

Valen’s dark blue eyes held mine. “She didn’t mean it,” he said. “She wanted to save them—he would have taken all of their power.”

Bastian snorted. “She was doing us a favor. Is that what you’re saying?”

Valen nodded. “Avril hates him almost as much as we do—maybe more. She would never—”

His voice trailed off.

“We don’t have time to argue about this,” I said.

“Titus, we’re running out of time,” Valen said in a low voice. “If we don’t act—”

“We will,” I said, cutting him off.

I turned back to the fortress and glared at the dark gray stone structure.

Lucian’s guards stood to the side, arms crossed over their broad chests.

“Are they all inside?” I called out.

A nod in response.

I didn’t wait, and my brothers knew what needed to be done.

We stopped mid-stride and the pressure of their magic vibrated in the surrounding air.

“At your command, father,” I said.

The pale blue of Valen’s magic lit his features, and darkness seemed to gather around Bastian as they drew on their powerand hurled their projectiles in unison. Valen’s streaked into the shattered door and after a moment’s hush, blue flames erupted from the darkened hallway. Bastian’s projectile, a smoking ball of black flame, struck the side of the tower and sent a tremor through the building as masonry crashed to the ground.

Bastian laughed wildly as he hurled another ball of flame at the fortress. I added my own violence to the attack, and it didn’t take long for pale green flames to burst from the windows of the second floor cells.

“Let’s go,” Valen urged.

“You go ahead,” Bastian called out. His expression was on the edge of crazed as he watched the bright flames consume the Spire. “I want to watch it come down.”

Valen hesitated, but I pushed his shoulder to make him move. “Leave him.”

He nodded and fell into step with me as I strode across the courtyard. The ground shuddered as more stones fell, but I didn’t turn.

I didn’t need to.

A dinner party.

After everything he’d done. After the attack on our family, on Avril. He wanted to put us on display…

Fucking ghoul.

Bastian had tried to get out of it, but attendance was mandatory.

That had been clear enough.

My brothers were angry. I was angry. But there was nothing we could do.

Lucian’s revenge on the traitors had been performative.

But I stayed silent as we entered the dining hall.

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