Page 160 of Owned

Then his focus drifted.

What was happening?

“I shall show mercy,” he said suddenly, “for Avril’s sake.”

The sound of her name on his lips made my insides twist.

“She has…” A small smile curved over his lips and he brushed his fingertips over them.

Vile.

The spell of his memory seemed to dissipate, and he inhaled sharply and looked up at me once more. “She has shown me an affection I did not expect,” he continued. “But I wish to encourage suchbehavior… She asked for their lives to be spared, and so I shall do this… for her.”

“You want topleaseher?” I said through gritted teeth.

I saw it. The flicker in his eyes as I asked.

His hand moved from his side and clamped onto my shoulder. I braced for the wrench of power or the snap of bone, but his grip was almost light.

“If I did what honor commands I do—” He paused, considering. “She would be quite upset. She is a delicate, melancholy creature. I want her... happy.”

Rage boiled beneath my skin.

How dare he play the part of a caring lover.

I wished I could rip the lie from his mouth and make him choke on it.

I exchanged quick glances with Valen and Bastian. Their eyes flared with anger before they shifted to careful neutrality.

I couldn’t let him see my hatred.

Lucian turned to the guards, an unsettling smile on his lips. “Leave them alive.”

The families were pushed toward the entrance, stumbling over bodies as they went.

Lucian released his hold on my shoulder and whispered as he passed, “You’re slipping, Titus. I won’t always be in such a forgiving mood.”

He turned away, dismissive and arrogant.

“Burn it all down,” he said without looking back.

The guards leapt into action, dragging bodies toward the fortress as the families of the surviving traitors hurried from the courtyard with their loved ones.

This kind of mercy was unexpected—especially from Lucian.

The fact that Avril had kissed him—it made my skin crawl.

I knew she’d done it for a reason.

It had to be an act.

I didn’t want to think about it.

I strode toward the fortress. Lucian’s burly guards threw the last of the bodies through the doors and into the hallway. I could just see the edge of their robes in the darkness.

“At least we get to burn it,” Bastian said as he fell in beside me while Valen trailed a few paces behind. “Father gets what he wants in the end, doesn’t he?”

I clenched my jaw until it ached. “Not everything.”

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