Page 2 of Marked (Wicked Heirs #1)

The door to my father’s study was open, but I reached out with my magic to push against it and I relished the reverberation as it slammed against the wall with a loud crash.

I wanted my rage to echo through the dimly lit chamber and make him take notice. He had ignored me, his eldest son and heir, for too long.

I stormed into the room and my heavy boots thudded against the polished floor as I strode toward him.

Lucian Romano sat behind a massive desk made of an ancient black walnut tree, and his pale eyes gleamed with cold anger, like moonlit ice, in the candlelight.

“Explain yourself!” My voice was a snarl, my fists clenched at my sides. “Why this farce of a wedding? Why bring these traitors into our home?”

Lucian barely glanced up from the parchment he was perusing, his long, dark-stained fingers still as death. “Ah, Titus. Your passion is both your strength and weakness.”

“Look at me,” I hissed as I slammed my hands down onto the inky wood. “I demand an answer. ”

“Demands? From you?” His cold, cruel smile sent a shiver down my spine. “Sit down, boy, before you embarrass yourself further.”

“Embarrass myself? By questioning your motives?” My anger burned hotter. How dare he condescend to me? “You would allow that traitor’s whore, and his spawn, into our home? Their presence here taints our legacy. You know as well as I do what her father attempted. You should have killed them all.”

“I am well aware of the circumstances surrounding her father’s betrayal.” Lucian finally met my gaze, unflinching. “But you have yet to learn that power is not always gained through brute force, my son. Sometimes, it comes from forging alliances with those you despise.”

“Is this your plan? To make an ally out of a betrayer’s whore?” Scorn dripped from my words. “You’ve taken leave of your senses.”

“Watch your tongue, Titus,” he warned, his tone dangerous. “I will not tolerate insolence.”

“Then give me a reason for this madness! Tell me why you insist on binding our family to Velez and his treachery—what good will it serve? You’ve already taken the man’s power, and what good did it do you?”

“Your limited understanding is not my concern,” Lucian replied, his voice dripping with disdain. “And I do not need to explain myself to you.” His eyebrow rose. “You will do as I command, and you will keep your opinions to yourself.”

“You arrogant shit,” I snarled.

An argument would get me nowhere, but I couldn’t stop myself.

He didn’t seem bothered by my outburst, his expression carved in pale stone. “I suggest you focus on your own role in this affair. After all, the wedding will proceed whether or not you approve. ”

The shadows in the study writhed like serpents, eager to feast on my rage. I stood before Lucian, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. His cold, calculating eyes held me in a vice-like grip, daring me to challenge him further.

I struggled to maintain my composure as I spoke through gritted teeth, “Your refusal to reveal your reasons for this marriage only confirms my doubts, Father. There is clearly something else going on.”

“Perhaps,” he mused, his voice a slow poison dripping from his tongue.

“Avril’s father betrayed us!” I shouted, the force of my words rattling the ancient tomes on their shelves. “And now you want to bring the fruit of that treacherous vine into our home? Will you expect me to call Velez’s whore ‘mother,’ too?”

The silence that followed was heavy, and it clung to me like a shroud as I turned away from him. My mind swirled with anger and confusion.

“Remember who you are, Titus,” Lucian said, his voice slithering into my thoughts like a venomous snake. “You are my heir. My blood flows through your veins, giving you power beyond measure. Do not squander it on petty emotions.”

“Emotions?” I scoffed, pausing at the door. “You’re the one playing games with our family’s legacy.”

“Am I?” he replied, his voice dripping with menace. “Or am I ensuring its continued survival?”

“Survival? At what cost?” I hissed back before storming out of the study, the echo of my father’s laughter following me like a malevolent specter.

The air in the study grew colder, as if chilled by the malevolence that seemed to radiate from my father. Lucian’s lips curled into a sinister smile, his eyes narrowing with a calculating glint. “Enough, Titus,” he said, his voice a razor-sharp whisper. “ You have become tiresome. This matter is not yours to question.”

My fists clenched, the seething rage within me threatening to boil over.

But I knew better than to lash out at my father; his punishment would be swift and painful, and I knew better than to goad him—I had already pushed too hard, and he was being lenient with me. Toying with me. I knew he enjoyed my anger.

“You may dismiss my concerns, Father, but I will not stand aside while you risk our family’s legacy on some ill-conceived scheme.”

“Watch your tone, Titus,” Lucian warned. The threat in his voice was unmistakable and I could sense the dark energy that coursed through him pulse like a poison in the air.

“Or what?” I challenged, my voice low and dangerous.

“You may be my heir, boy — But you will remember your place.”

I gritted my teeth. “Is my place to be kept ignorant of your plans?” Blood pounded in my ears and the pressure of my fury and frustration mounted with each furious heartbeat.

“Your place,” Lucian hissed, “is where I tell you it is.” His voice was cold and unforgiving, and I sensed the dark flex of his magic—and the power he held over me. “Take care,” Lucian murmured, his voice dripping with menace. “Such insolence can have... consequences.”

“What consequences could that be?” I jeered. “You taught me not to fear any judgment—I’ve killed men for less and taken their power without a second thought just to get them out of my way.”

“Is that so?” Lucian’s smile was a cruel and twisted thing, as if he reveled in the challenge I presented. “Just remember: the world can be a very unforgiving place for those who refuse to bend. We all have to bend for someone. ”

“Who do you bend to, Father?” I shot back.

His eyes narrowed.

“Careful, Titus,” Lucian warned, his voice little more than a whisper. Yet the threat in his tone was clear and palpable. “There are lines even you should not cross.”

A shiver of unease snaked its way down my spine, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing my discomfort.

“I only asked for transparency,” I spat. Rebellion was bitter on my tongue, unfamiliar and heady at the same time. “It’s the least you owe me.”

“Is it?” His laughter echoed through the study, an eerie sound that faded away before it should have, swallowed by the darkness of the room. “What makes you think I owe you anything , Titus?”

“Because I am your heir!” My declaration seemed to bounce off the ancient stone walls and spiral into insignificance.

“And does being my son offer you special privileges?” His tone was icy cold, each word a dagger plunged into my pride.

“It should,” I said, unable to mask the bitterness in my voice. “When you die, all of your power passes to me—”

He concluded. His eyes held mine with an intensity that burned. “Your sense of entitlement is both unmerited and disappointing.”

“That woman... that girl... They have no place here,” I protested.

“Your disrespect is noted…”

“It’s not disrespect to call a roach what it is,” I spat out, my words sharp as shards of glass. “The Velez lineage is tainted with betrayal and—”

“Enough!” Lucian’s voice echoed through the room like a thunderclap, causing me to flinch. His anger was a cold force in the room and the flex of his power made the air taste sour and metallic. “Your words are reckless. ”

I gritted my teeth and tasted blood on my tongue. I wanted to lash out, to make him see reason, but I knew it would be futile.

My father’s laughter, a cruel and twisted sound that echoed off the cold stone walls of his study, filled the room.

“Your ignorance is astounding,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s… quite amusing.”

“Amusing?” I wanted to lunge at him and wipe that smug smile off his face. But I didn’t move. I stood rooted to the spot, rage bubbling beneath my skin.

“Yes,” he said, his fingertips dancing along the surface of an old parchment on his desk. “To see my eldest son threatened by such an event—a marriage, no less. Are you that blind?” Lucian looked up then, his steely gaze holding mine. His lips curved into a slow, malicious smile as he straightened up in his chair. “You remember what happened to Valen’s mother, don’t you, Titus?” The deadly quiet tone of his voice made me feel like prey under the gaze of a predator.

“I do.”

“And you know what happened to her was no accident,” he continued. “Her magic was a threat—I couldn’t just push aside the matriarch of a powerful bloodline,” he continued, his pale eyes glinting with a dangerous light. She had to be... removed.” His voice was low, yet the venom in his words echoed through the room.

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry.

I had been a teenager when Valen’s mother had given up her powers to save her bastard son.

She had gone to the altar to sacrifice herself; a willing victim. And in return, Valen was given our father’s name and took his place as the second in line to the dark power our father wielded.

My mind filled with the horrific image of her body sprawled on the sacrificial altar, her chest a gaping wound from where her magic had been ripped out of her .

We had been told that it was a necessary sacrifice.

And I had believed it.

“Valen’s bloodline held a greater power than you can comprehend,” Lucian said. He tapped his blackened fingertips on the edge of his desk. “I couldn’t allow her to live only to pass it to someone else—someone undeserving of it.”

“Not even to Valen?” I said.

My father’s smile was bitter. “Of course not. What would a child have done with such power? I did him a mercy by taking it.”

“Mercy,” I snorted.

“Your brother lives,” Lucian said. “That should be enough evidence of what I am capable of.”

“Then what purpose does Julia Valez serve?” I demanded.

“My dear boy,” Lucian’s laugh was low and mocking, “I already told you that this is not something you should concern yourself with.” He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands on the desk. His gaze still clung to mine with an unnerving intensity.

My hands clenched into fists at my side. “And what if I refuse to allow it? What if I won’t stand by while you bring that whore into our home?”

Lucian’s eyes flickered with something akin to mirth. “Oh, Titus...” He leaned forward, his voice dropping an octave lower into a dangerous whisper. The corners of his lips curled into a cruel smirk as he tapped a long finger against the wooden desk. “There is so much you cannot see. Blinded by your ignorance and your thirst for power that you have not earned.”

I clenched my jaw, struggling to suppress the raw anger that threatened to boil over.

How dare he!

My father waved a dismissive hand. “I feel as though I will repeat myself all night if I let you keep talking,” Lucian said in a bored tone. “Get out of my sight. ”

“You can’t—”

“Can’t I?” my father roared. His dark power crept toward me and snaked around my torso. Its grip was tight around my chest as he stood from his chair and raised his hand, palm up, lifting me off the floor.

“Father—” I choked out.

“I will hear no more of your whining— No more of your questions. My business is my own. What I do in my house and with the whore who belonged to the sorcerer responsible for the betrayal that would have threatened my entire bloodline and everything I’ve built—is my business.”

The grip of his magic tightened. Black tendrils pierced my flesh and I gritted my teeth to keep from crying out. That was what he wanted. Submission. But I wouldn’t break. Not for him. Not for anyone.

“Do I make myself clear, boy?”

“Yes,” I choked out.

“Yes?”

Tighter still. My flesh burned where the tendrils of his magic touched it.

“Yes, Father,” I roared.

He dropped his hand and the grip of his magic released. I stumbled and landed awkwardly on the hard stone floor, but I caught myself before I could fall. Balance regained, I straightened up and met the coldness of his pale glare.

“Get. Out.”

His voice was flat.

Silent, seething fury consumed me as I stormed out of the room, and my footsteps echoed with each pounding step.

My heart hammered in my chest, aching to release the pent-up rage within.

The need to break and destroy overwhelmed me, a primal urge to shatter everything in my path .

My father’s humiliation of me will not go unpunished; I will make him pay for his mistake.