Page 148 of Owned

Bastards.

As we stood just outside the barrier, the chain wrapped around her wrists came alive.

It writhed and slithered around her, trying to choke the life from her.

I felt the fury rise in my chest as her eyes opened—confusion crossed her face, then fear, then terror as it tightened.

Magic shredded through me as I jumped into the trap, and the keyline snared my power and cut it off as I landed on top of her.

“Break it!” I bellowed. A strangled gasp escaped Avril’s lips as I grabbed hold of the chain and tried to wrestle it away from her throat.

Bastian pushed forward, but Valen grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back from the enchantment.

“Don’t be an idiot— You have to do it from outside the trap,” he said. “Or you’ll end up like Titus—”

“Shut up and break it,” I growled. The chain coiled tighter, and Avril’s eyes rolled back in her head.

Bastian scowled. “You can’t do it alone.”

Valen’s expression was hard as he nodded and I saw the pale blue threads of his magic snake out and combine with Bastian’s dark smoke as they worked together from outside the trap to break the spells that had been laid.

The chain vibrated as its enchantment resisted them, then it loosened and fell away.

Avril sucked in a shuddering breath.

My magic flared as the chain released its hold and the keyline snapped, sending Valen and Bastian stumbling back.

Avril’s eyes flew open, and she stared at me, as if she couldn’t believe I was really there.

“Titus—” she gasped.

I pulled the chain from her wrists and gathered her into my arms.

Her heartbeat was ragged, her limbs limp, but she was alive.

She was alive.

She hadn’t expected us. Hadn’t expected to see anyone again.

I held her tight against my chest as I stood.

I passed Avril to Valen, and he took her carefully, his eyes wide, too wide, softening as she looked at him. She was weak, but even as she sagged against him, I saw the hint of a smile on her lips. The bond between the four of us was back, and it hummed through my veins. I felt her hope. Her disbelief. Her pain. Her fear.

She was beautiful.

She was ours.

“We need to get her out of here.”

Valen’s voice was tight. “Let’s go.”

We sprinted down the corridor and I watched for any movement, any sign that the traitors had regrouped.

But there was nothing.

We moved through the halls, swift and unchallenged, and the stench of blood and death hung in the air.

They deserved every single death.

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