Page 94 of Owned

I slumped back against the pillows, and a wave of exhaustion rolled over me.

Damn Bastian for his secretive plans. Damn Titus for his brutality. Damn Valen for being so…

I felt his approach before I heard his boots on the stairs.

Valen.

The blood bond was more useful than I’d expected—no more surprises.

A flick of my wrist opened the bedroom door and Valen strode in at a pace that set my heart racing.

His breath was rough and his deep blue eyes were wide with an urgency that set my nerves on edge like a jagged shard of glass.

“What—”

Wet from the rain, his hair fell into his eyes and stuck to his forehead. I felt the chill of dread creep through me as I absorbed his disheveled appearance—had he been running?

Confusion raced through me as I pushed myself up from the pillows.

“What’s happening—”

“We have to leave,” he choked out. “Now.”

“What… what do you mean?” I stammered, searching his eyes for answers that remained elusive.

Valen took a step closer, urgency etched in every line of his body. “I promised you I would get you out of here—”

I shook my head, disbelief coiling around me like a vise. I tried to tether my racing thoughts, but all I could feel was the abyss of uncertainty looming just outside the door.

“I can’t… I need time,” I whispered, the tremor in my voice a stark contrast to the chaos spinning around us.

Frustration flared in Valen’s eyes, and he ran a hand through his unruly hair. “Time? Avril, we don’t have time! Lucian is— He’s… he’s dangerous!”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” I snapped. “You promised to protect me!”

He let out a frustrated breath. “And that’s what I’m doing. But we have to go now— Bastian has gone into the city—”

I’d heard his bike leave the estate a few hours ago…

“To do what?”

I was almost afraid to ask.

“He’s going to give Lucian what he wants,” Valen replied hoarsely. “He’s going to find Lucian a traitor that he can torture. I’m sure of it.”

I stared at him incredulously. “A… traitor?”

“An innocent,” Valen said. “I’m sure of it. Lucian won’t care. He’ll believe whatever Bastian tells him. He has us searching the streets of Messana looking for traitors—but they don’t exist!”

I wondered briefly if he was lying.

But only briefly.

“But I—” I started. My voice was shaky as I grappled with the grasp of fear that tightened around my heart. Blood loss and whatever magic had forced that vision into my mind—and onto my body—had drained me more than I wanted to admit.

“Please, let me think. I need to prepare… and I need to… to breathe.”

“You don’t— I thought you wanted to leave?”

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