Page 129 of Crowned In Venom

"My power."

"The world, Varkos."

She leans in, her lips grazing my ear.

"All you have to do?—"*

A pause. A heartbeat.

"—is kill her."

My blood turns ice-cold.

The room spins.

"What?"

She pulls back, her silver eyes bright.

"It is simple, darling."

"Anya is the sickness."

"Remove her, and everything will be yours."

She tilts her head, studying me.

"Or," she continues, voice softening, "I will leave you here."

"A shell."

"A corpse of your old self."

"Locked away, forgotten, while I unmake her myself."

She steps back, spreading her arms.

"Choose."

I stare at her.

My breath comes too fast, too shallow.

I feel the chains, holding onto me, locking me down like a ton of bricks.

My choice chokes me, strangling every part of me.

Anya or the empire. The clan. The power.

Everything I worked hard for.

Her death or my ruin.

I have seconds.

And I do not know if I will survive my own decision.

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