Page 36 of Owned

He was lying. He had to be.

“He was a fool.” Lucian’s voice turned colder. “He kidnapped you— A mere infant. He thought he could use you as leverage.”

Leverage? For what?

“It’s not true.” But the words had no bite.

I didn’t know what to believe anymore.

“Dario Velez’s betrayal was vile,” Lucian said. “Even Julia couldn’t abide it. She turned on him in the end. Did you know that, my dear? Did you know that your mother was the one who revealed Dario’s plot to me?” His voice dripped with feigned concern. With malice. “She was loyal.”

Ididknow.

Valen had told me months ago… but that didn’t mean it hurt less to hear the words spoken aloud.

How could she…

I still didn’t understand.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.

Lucian’s words, although twisted and dark, sounded truthful. I wanted to scream, but the sound caught in my throat.

It had been easy to dismiss Valen’s words as a lie— But Lucian had nothing to gain from lying to me.

Or did he?

It couldn’t be true.

It couldn’t.

But his voice was so smooth, and everything he said seemed to fit.

The doubts sank in and filled me up with their suffocating darkness.

The grimoire’s whispers cut through my thoughts and filled my mind with its sharp hissing words. As its voice grew louder, my palms burned as my magic roared to life and emerged as a white-hot fire that burned away everything else.

I couldn’t control it, I didn't want to.

I let it explode from me, unrestrained.

I couldn’t feel anything but the power surging through me, consuming me.

The mist of Lucian’s magic that encircled my body flickered and then dissipated as my own surged forward.

The pressure eased, and I felt myself break free.

My vision cleared.

I saw him.

His pale eyes widened in shock.

It was overwhelming, exhilarating. I had done it. I had—

I hit the stone floor hard, and the force of it drove the breath from my lungs.

My magic faded as though frightened by its own power, and I was left gasping and stunned.

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