Page 88 of Owned

If he knew, he’d approve.

And then he’d probably try to kill me.

Try.

Stepping away from Lucian’s study was like escaping the gaze of a relentless predator, but that relief was fleeting. The tether of guilt tugged at my conscience, but ambition dulled its pull.

The member of the Black Council I’d selected as the sacrificial lamb… His life wasn’t worth losing my edge over Lucian—or my chance to seize my fate.

His time would come… and soon.

But first, I had to trap my rat.

Lucian’s words of praise echoed in my mind, as chilling and sharp as they were rare and precious.

I had witnessed the grotesque pleasure he took in manipulating lives; and the way the glee of torment sparked in his pale eyes was almost unbearable—but why?

Because it’s too familiar?

Maybe that was it.

A smirk twisted across my lips as I stepped through the door and inhaled the night air as the door swung closed behind.

I shoved my hands deep in the pockets of my leather jacket as I took the path that led to the garage. The door was open, and Valen’s bike was gone.

Good.

He was the last person I wanted to deal with right now.

Too many questions.

Too much conscience.

As I reached the garage, the echoing silence was a welcome embrace.

My hands, still trembling from the adrenaline of my calculated treachery, brushed against the cold metal of my motorcycle. I still had time before dawn—and I needed to get into the city. I retrieved my helmet and shoved it down over my head.

I swung my leg over the bike and turned the key.

The engine roared to life, and the machine vibrated beneath me.

The sound reverberated through the empty garage, a wild, untamed growl that mirrored my own reckless pulse.

Tires screeched as I tore through the gate and down the serpentine road that led away from Withermarsh. The wards over the estate’s boundaries swept over me, and I put on more speed.

The dark road whipped past in a blur and I let my thoughts drift.

Had Lucian bought into my scheme?

He was paranoid and obsessed… and that made him unpredictable, but his desire to crush the rebellion would keep him blind to the rest of it.

At least for now.

The city’s lights spread out like an ember-filled net in the distance, vivid against the endless black of the sky.

I didn’t like Valen asking questions. He was too soft.

Avril could have bent him in any direction she pleased, and he would have followed her blindly.

---