Page 7 of Legacy Ascended

“But it did. Because of your plan. Your people.”

Frances’s hands tighten on his knees. “Yes.”

“Stop saying you were protecting me. You don’t get to hurt me, lock me up, and call it protection because the word makes you feel better.”

“I wanted you behind these walls, surrounded by people who would protect you. I knew you might hate me for forcing you here. I hoped that once you saw what we preserved, you would at least understand why I did it.”

“Congratulations. You got the hate part right.”

His face tightens, but he doesn’t look away.

“The people who have had control of you have told you almost nothing about who you are.” He leans forward, forearms resting on his thighs. “The Council was about to take you into a sealed collection and show you whatever its representatives decided you were allowed to see. Our records say our House was betrayed by people it trusted. We couldn’t assume that betrayal ended simply because two hundred and seventy-five years passed.”

“So you decided the safe option was kidnapping me and locking me in a bedroom.”

“We decided we couldn’t leave you in their hands.”

“I wasn’t in anyone’s hands.”

His gaze drops briefly to the torn skin around my wrists.

“That isn’t how it looked from here.”

I almost laugh. “You should try the view from this side of the locked door.”

Frances sits back.

“We hired outside help. The retrieval did not go according to plan.”

The answer comes easily enough that it takes me a moment to understand it.

“You hired people.”

“We knew you would have an escort. We also knew what you could become and that your three bonded mates would come after you. The people in this valley couldn’t get you away from Luftis alone.”

“So you hired men with guns, nets, and tranquilizer darts.”

“They were given limits.”

“They shot my guard. She was my friend, you asshole!”

Frances’s jaw tightens. “That was not part of my order.”

“But they were on that road because of your order.”

“Yes.”

No excuse.

“Four darts,” I say. “A net. All of my injuries. Were those within your limits?”

“No.”

“Then what happened?”

“I don’t know yet. They may have panicked when you shifted. They may have ignored the instructions they were given. Or they may have come to that road intending to do something besides the job we hired them for.”

“And you brought them straight here afterward.”