Page 226 of Owned

Heir to Lucian’s power.

The words swirled in my mind as my body shuddered and adjusted to the influx of power. I knew I should feel horror at what I’d done… at what I’d become.

I should feel guilt for the dark road I’d chosen, for the innocent girl I’d left behind.

Instead, I felt only justification.

I had killed a monster who deserved to die.

I had avenged my mother.

I had claimed the power that Lucian had withheld from his sons—I had taken the power that should have been my father’s.

I rolled onto my back and stared up at the canopy of the bed where Lucian had intended to claim me.

My naked body tingled with new awareness, every nerve ending alive with magic that recognized no boundaries, no limitations. The black markings continued to spread slowly across my skin, not corrupting but transforming, creating a map of the power I now commanded.

Titus. Valen. Bastian.

How would they react to what I had done?

I’d asked them to trust me—bound them to it. Forced them to comply.

They were already angry with me.

Against my will, Lucian’s words flooded back into my mind. And with them—doubt.

An edge of paranoia that didn’t feel like it belonged to me.

Would they rebel against me?

Would they try to kill me for what I’d done? For the legacy I’d stolen from them?

Would they ever trust me again?

My rage, my grief, my fear had kept me from considering anything but what I needed.

My desire for freedom, and my father’s desire for revenge, had overridden my awareness.

With a groan, I pushed myself off the bed and stood.

My body felt strange and unnatural, and my movements were uncertain. My skin ached and every muscle was on fire. But I was alive. I was changed.

Lucian’s orb lay on the stone floor, broken in half with shards scattered across the stone. The red glow was gone, and it looked like frosted glass, drained of Lucian’s life force and power.

Withermarsh was mine.

The Necromi were mine.

If I wanted it, Messana was mine.

But I needed more than possession of an estate and a group of followers to hold on to what I’d taken.

I needed allies.

I needed Titus, Valen, and Bastian.

But the power I’d taken... It terrified me.

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