Page 65 of Owned

Or worse—what if they succeeded?

What kind of deal would they have to cut with the Sages to ensure Lucian’s downfall?

And what would that mean for us?

She shouldn’t be wanderingin the gardens.

Not alone.

Avril’s motions were stilted as she moved through the carefully cultivated paths.

I wondered if there was a guard nearby, but the garden’s shadows hid far too much.

Lucian’s burly, silent bodyguards had always given me pause.

Bastian was sure they weren’t even alive.

He seemed convinced that Lucian had created animated golems or something worse.

It made the most sense.

Why wouldn’t Lucian flout the Sage’s rules about the use of forbidden magic?

He didn’t give a shit about their rules.

I waited, but the hulking shape of the guard I’d expected to be following Avril never materialized…

Take the chance.

I moved quickly through the topiaries and ornamental hedges, but lingered just beyond her peripheral. I didn’t want to frighten her—not now. Not after everything we’d been through.

Not with everything that awaited us.

The cut she’d made on my arm during our blood bond throbbed slightly—she must have known I was there.

She turned, but not sharply—and the smile on her lips was sensual and knowing.

She’d changed.

The frightened little bird my brothers and I had sought to break was different—there was a fire within her now. A dark blaze that might burn us all if we weren’t.

But I’d never been one to run from a challenge.

“Valen,” she said. Her voice was low and warm. “You’re alone?”

I closed the space between us and caught the scent of something sweet—honeysuckle or jasmine—on her skin. “Would you prefer it if I brought Bastian with me?”

She laughed lightly, and the sound sent a shiver down my spine. “Jealous?”

Why would she say that?

Jealousy had never entered my thoughts—she was mine in her own way. Just like she belonged to Bastian and Titus.

She wasours.

“Never,” I said, pulling her close. Her body was soft against mine, and I felt a wicked thrill as she leaned into me without hesitation.

“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” I said, my voice a low growl. “Lucian—”

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