Page 189 of Owned

I staggered back, almost too stunned to speak.

Almost.

“It’ll kill her,” I said, more to myself than to him.

“Yes. But not before she serves her purpose.”

A wave of revulsion surged through me, hot and acidic.

“Purpose? What purpose?”

The advisor’s grin was venomous. “To replace you,” he said in a voice that was oily with satisfaction. “To create an heir that Lucian can mold from the beginning. Someone more powerful thananyof you.”

My grip on the dagger tightened. “An heir,” I said, incredulous.

The repulsive man’s eyes glinted with a greedy light. “You didn’t think it would end with her death, did you? You’ll be obsolete before that even happens.”

The knife in my hand trembled.

I wanted to sever his head from his shoulders.

I wanted to see this worm twitching at my feet.

But I had to know.

“You’relying,” I said through gritted teeth and I swallowed acid.

He shook his head. “You know I’m not.”

“You fucking liar,” I shouted.

I moved toward him, and the dagger pressed against his throat once more.

His mouth curled into something that might have been a sneer, but his black eyes were wild with fear.

“You can’t be surprised,” he said thinly. “You’re the most like him—you should appreciate this power more than anyone.”

I tightened my grip and blood welled up around the blade.

He gasped, his breath a gurgle of desperation, and I loosened my grip just enough to let him choke out his final words.

“You and Lucian... you have more in common than you think—”

I drew the blade across his throat in a swift motion and hot blood splattered over my hands.

He couldn’t be dead fast enough.

A wet gurgle burst from the man’s lips with a gout of dark blood and he slid down the tree trunk and collapsed in the dirt.

Black eyes sightless as his body twitched.

I looked down at the body and a wild rage surged through me.

What he’d said—what Lucian was planning… I spun away before I lost control and did something that would leave more than his blood on my hands.

It was supposed to be a threat, a warning.

I hadn’t considered what would happen if he’d escaped.

---