Page 149 of Owned

And they deserved so much more.

Valen cradledme against his chest as we moved through the fortress. Stone. Gray stone. That was all I could see.

Each step he took reverberated through my bones and ignited memories of the torment I’d endured at the hands of my captors. Thoughts that threatened to consume me.

Even after I’d promised— Even after all of that, they had almost taken my life.

Out of spite? Desperation?

My throat ached from where the enchanted chain had tightened around it, and my body screamed with pain from days spent on the cold stone floor of my cell. I didn’t know how much time had passed.

How could I?

But they’d come for me.

The Necromi—the ones who had taken me—they’d assured me that no one was coming.

But I could smell their blood on the stones.

They’d gotten what they deserved.

“Almost there,” Valen murmured.

The blood bond that had been muted by the keylines surged in my veins and I relished being able to feel my stepbrothers again.

Titus seethed with anger. Valen’s concern and care for me was obvious in the way he held me, but I could feel it, too. But Bastian— there was something different about him. Something I couldn’t place.

I concentrated on Valen’s heartbeat and the pulse of his magic.

I laid my fingertips on his chest and murmured a spell that the grimoire coaxed into my mind.

A minor drain on his power—nothing invasive—he wouldn’t even notice.

But I felt the effect of it immediately.

A door splintered under Titus’ magic and cold air swept into the corridor. I burrowed against Valen’s chest as I shuddered with the chill.

As we stepped into the courtyard, the atmosphere shifted like a dark curtain unfurling before a storm.

The claustrophobic grip of the fortress gave way to an open expanse, and I looked up.

The sky.

How long had it been since I’d looked at the sky?

Stars sparkling through the web of storm clouds that loomed overhead.

Beautiful.

“Can you walk?” Valen asked.

The softness of his voice startled me. “I—”

Before I could gather my thoughts, I caught sight of a strange glow at the heavy door at the edge of the courtyard.

Bastian saw it, too, and he leapt in front of Valen and I as the massive wooden door exploded inward with a flourish of red smoke magic. I screamed as the concussion blast hit us and Valen’s arms tightened around me.

“What the fuck is he doing here—” Bastian’s hiss made Valen turn, and I watched, horrified, as Lucian strode through the wreckage of the doors.

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