Page 187 of Owned

The advisor staggered behind me, stumbling over roots and rocks.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” he sneered in a thin and wheedling voice that I despised more than anything.

How had Lucian tolerated him for so long…

I ignored him and the way the rope cut into my palm as I pulled him forward.

The vision from the Spire slashed through my mind.

If Lucian was planning to set us against each other, the advisor would know.

And if he didn’t, I’d make him regret it.

The ground sloped downward, and the trees thinned to reveal the edge of the ravine at the borders of the estate.

“Here,” I said as I shoved him against the thick trunk of a nearby tree.

His head snapped back and hit the silvered bark with a satisfying thud.

“What are you doing?” he spat. His black eyes darted around, seeking some escape.

His hands glowed faintly—trying to use his magic against me.

I clicked my tongue against my teeth. “Careful— these ropes are stronger than you think,” I cautioned. “Did you really think I wouldn’t take precautions?”

His expression twisted, and he looked even more like a lizard than ever.

Even Titus would have laughed.

The repulsive man’s tongue, thin and pointed, darted out to wet his lips and sweat glistened on his perfectly bald head. “When Lucian finds out what you’ve done—”

“He won’t be finding out,” I said casually. I pressed my finger against his forehead and pressed hard enough to make him wince as his head hit the tree trunk again. “You’re going to tell me what I want to know, and then we’ll see what your fate will be, hm?” I stared into his black, dead eyes, and then let him see the sneer on my lips before I stepped back.

He let out a breath. All of his conceited bravado was gone.

Lucian couldn’t protect him here.

“I— What—”

“I want to know what my father has planned,” I said as I pulled my dagger from the sheath fastened against my ribs. I held the dagger in front of me and angled it to catch the faint light that filtered through the branches.

His eyes flicked to it, then back to me.

“So this is how the youngest son behaves when Daddy isn’t watching?” he taunted.

I struck him quickly with the hilt of the knife.

His head rocked back and he let out a strangled cry.

Dark blood smeared under one nostril and a thin line of carmine trickled from a cut on his lip.

I didn’t have to force my grin. “And you’re a man with nothing to lose. So why don’t you save us both some time and start talking?” I gestured at him with the blade of the knife. “I’m surprised that you actually bleed— I was half-expecting to see something else leaking out of you.”

He laughed, a brittle sound. “You’re wasting your breath. Lucian will kill you before you get a chance to—”

“Then you’d better speak fast.” I lunged forward in a smooth motion and pressed the dagger against his throat. The blade was sharp, and it took very little pressure to draw a thin line of blood across his sweating flesh.

The advisor winced, but his expression stayed defiant. “What do you want to know?” he said with a sneer. “What do you already suspect?”

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