Page 105 of Crowned In Venom

He leans in, voice lowering to a whisper only I can hear.

"You're not who you think you are."

A surge of rage floods my veins.

I break the lock, shoving him back. My blade sings through the air—a killing stroke.

Too late.

Pain explodes through my side.

A deep, searing gash.

My legs buckle.

I taste copper in my mouth, my vision swimming as I hit my knees.

The world tilts.

The hall is filled with the sounds of dying dark elves, of chaos and ruin, but all I hear is my own ragged breathing.

Footsteps approach.

The prisoner stands over me, wiping his blade clean against his sleeve. His expression is not triumphant.

It is knowing.

"You don’t even realize it yet, do you?" he murmurs.

Something cracks inside me.

I try to push myself up, but my limbs are sluggish, my strength bleeding out with every breath.

I don’t understand.

What is he talking about?

The shadows shift.

A ripple of power crawls through the air.

And then?—

She arrives.

The Matriarch steps into the carnage, brimming with magic, her presence a force that presses against my ribs like an iron weight.

She should not be this strong.

I have been poisoning her for years.

She should be weakened. Dying.

Yet she stands before me, her silver eyes glowing like dying stars, her presence suffocating.

"What a mess," she murmurs, taking in the scene with cold amusement.

The prisoner tenses, his hand tightening on his sword. Even he feels it.

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