Page 47 of Goldsin

The guards exchange a glance before stepping aside, allowing us to enter Lucian Harrow’s inner sanctum.

As the doors swing open I brace myself for whatever lies ahead, knowing my life is hanging in the balance.

“Ah, there you are.” Lucian’s voice drips with disdain as he looks up at his sons from behind his massive oak desk. “I was beginning to think you’d lost your way.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Julian replies icily, his gaze frozen on his father, assessing every small movement. Mine moves toward Valentine’s stoic stare—frozen with undetected worry. I can see it in the crinkling lines around his eyes and the stiffness in his shoulders.

He’s warning me.

“Enough with the pleasantries,” Adrian interjects, giving Julian a sizzling stare—one that seems to resonate with Julian as they share unspoken words with one another. Then he continues. “Father, tell us, why did you call us here?” His tone shifts the moment he addresses Lucian.

“Because it’s time we had a little chat.” Lucian leans back in his chair, his hands clasped together in front of him.

His eyes flick to me.

“All of us.”

CHAPTER TEN

JULIAN

Aurelia’s tension radiates like heat from a fire at my father’s words.

My eyes trail from him to her, catching every short breath that leaves her parted lips. Her hands are frozen by her sides, but her fingers twitch involuntarily as if they’re calling for a weapon to form between them.

She doesn’t need one. I’m seconds away from reaching for the gun in my back pocket, body coiled like a spring. If even one of her perfect red strands touches the ground, his head will be next.

I’m not the only one to notice the thickness in the air between us. Adrian follows closely, his eyes trained on Lucian, trying to decipher the reason for this sudden call and why it involves Aurelia.

“Sit down.” Lucian gestures to the chairs in front of his desk.

Adrian immediately complies, taking a seat with astraight back, attentive. I hesitate, unwilling to put any distance between myself and Aurelia.

She glances at me, her wide green eyes filled with uncertainty.

“Julian.” Lucian’s voice is sharp. Commanding.

Reluctantly, I take a seat next to Adrian, Aurelia on my other side.

I keep my body angled toward her, ready to leap if the bastard decides to shift his attention onto her. And I’m not the only one. Valentine stands as silent as stone at the far end of the room, close to Lucian, his full attention on her.

They share a look—not just any look but one filled with years of bonding. He speaks to her through it, and she listens, trusting him fully. It’s subtle enough not to attract attention, but since I can’t keep my eyes away from her, I notice it.

Her presence is like a magnet, drawing me in even when I know it’s dangerous. And despite the uncertainty we’re in, I can’t help but take in the details of her appearance.

I catch the way her red lips contrast perfectly against her pale skin. The shapes of the freckles dusting her nose. The stubborn tilt of her chin that tells me she won’t be broken easily. The shade of her green eyes—how there are two spots of brown in the left eye and just one in the right.

But I also see the fear lurking behind her brave façade. The tremble in her foot that she tries to hide by crossing one tightly over the other.

I hate seeing her like this.

Something inside of me roars for me to take action. To comfort her. To make her feel safe again. Yet I know any unexpected reaction from me would only draw more attention to her, putting her in danger. It’s already a miracle Lucian didn’t comment on her barely-there outfit.

Seeing a half-naked girl is nothing out of the ordinary for him. And yet his eyes run hungrily up and down her body as if she’s a piece of art he’s contemplating adding to his collection.

Fucking pervert.

Did he call her here just to have a good look?

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