Page 216 of Owned

The entity laughed with my throat. “Now, why would you be worried about that? Perhaps you don’t know me as well as you thought you did—”

His pale eyes gleamed in the darkness. “Perhaps not...”

We crossed the threshold into Withermarsh, and the scent of damp stone and ancient magic enveloped us. The great doors closed behind us with a sound like a tomb being sealed, and the music from the garden became muffled and distant, as if from another world entirely.

Withermarsh had always felt oppressive, but now it seemed actively malevolent, as if the very walls knew what Lucian intended, and approved of it wholeheartedly.

The entity moved my body forward with confidence, but I felt a subtle shift in its control—a momentary flicker, like acandle guttering in a draft. For the briefest instant, I felt my fingertips as my own, and sensation rushed back before the entity reasserted its dominion.

“Be still,” it whispered in my ear. “We are not safe yet.”

Yet?

What did the entity mean by “yet”?

Was there some plan I wasn’t privy to, some purposebeyonddelivering me to Lucian’s bed?

We moved through the dimly lit corridors, and my senses seemed unnaturally heightened.

Every shadow took on substance, every creak of the ancient house became a warning.

I could hear whispers in the walls—whether real or imagined, I couldn’t tell—and the paintings that lined the hall appeared to watch our progress with avid interest.

Lucian’s hand never left my waist, and his touch was possessive and cold. His breathing had deepened, becoming more ragged as we approached his chambers, and I could sense the growing tension in his body—the predator preparing to feast.

The red orb that followed him everywhere pulsated with more agitation—an accelerated heartbeat?

What would happen if the orb were compromised? Would Lucian falter?

“Careful,” the entity murmured. “You’re getting ahead of yourself.”

In front of the doors to his suite, Lucian paused and turned to look at me.

The hunger in his eyes was unmistakable, and I wanted to spit in his face.

But I wasn’t the one in control.

“You are even more beautiful in this light,” Lucian said, and he paused to brush a strand of hair from my face. “The darkness suits you, my dear.”

The entity leaned into his touch and turned my face to press a kiss against his palm. “As it suits you, my husband.”

Husband.

I gagged at the word.

It was acid on my tongue, poison in my veins.

This man who had married my mother, only to murder her and steal her power when she no longer served his purpose. This monster who had manipulated my entire life and positioned me forthisvery moment.

And now I was his.

Legally.

Magically.

Irrevocably bound by blood and contract.

Unless...

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