Page 129 of Owned

Silence stretched in the room, broken only by the snap of the fire that burned in the hearth.

“But your treachery has reached new depths,” he continued. “You have struck at me in more ways than I can count— and I have borne each insult with grace and mercy…”

Had he?

Behind me, Bastian snorted, and I resisted the urge to shove him into silence.

Lucian rose from his chair, and the red orb rose with him. Its crimson glow pulsed faster as it floated near his shoulder. “But this time you have struck too carelessly,” he cried. “This time you have gone too far!”

What was he talking about?

I glanced at my brothers. Valen’s expression was hard, but Bastian looked confused.

“What—” I began.

“Avril is missing,” Lucian shouted. “You have kidnapped my bride out from under my very hand—”

His words hit me like a brick wall at high speed.

“What—”

“I tried to tell you,” Valen hissed.

“Silence!”

Lucian’s shout tore through the room, and the prisoners groaned. Elder Ireni closed his eyes.

I glanced at Valen. He stood rigid and the tattoos on his arms swirled ominously against his skin.He had tried to tell us.

“You have brought me traitors—vacillators who cannot choose a side,” he continued in a low tone that was both dangerous and familiar. “You have done this. You have struck at me in the only way you know how— By attacking the weakest of us. My bride is an innocent— And now, by this action, you have corrupted the vow that you swore to the Necromi.”

Shadows coiled in the corners of the room and flickering ominously in the dim light. I could sense their hunger gnawing at me, and the captives in the grotesque painting that hung upon the wall above the fireplace writhed in response. The headmaster watched them too. He knew all too well what awaited anyone who dared to defy our father.

“Elder Ireni Ubaris.” His pale eyes bore down on the trembling man suspended before him. “Where is she?”

The headmaster’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. “I—I don’t know! I swear it! I am innocent!” His voice cracked pitifully and my lip curled before I could stop myself. “I was the one who brought her to you— Surely, you wouldn’t suspect me! It was I who kept her safe—and unmolested—for you!”

Anger welled up inside me, and even Bastian flinched at those words.

How could they talk about Avril like this?

It occurred to me that we had spoken of her in the same detached way—

But that was before—

“Innocence is a lie,” Lucian hissed, “in Messana, there are no innocents. And you know that very well.”

He walked around his desk with slow, deliberate steps. “What you are, however, is afailure. Andfailuresdeserve punishment. You know who took her.”

Elder Ireni’s eyes widened to a comical size. “I— I swear to you—”

“You have sworn to me,” Lucian said softly. “You swore your life. Your loyalty. To the Necromi. To me.”

“I—”

“And you have broken that oath, haven’t you?”

The elder shook his head desperately, but the orange smoke wound around his head and held him steady and the old man let out a whimper as Lucian came closer.

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