Page 138 of Crowned In Venom

I have seen suffering before.

I have heard men scream as their bodies were ripped apart.

I have watched women weep as their children were taken from them.

But this?—

This hurts.

Like something hacking into my soul.

The thing clutches its ruined face, hunched over, body wracked with its own grief.

It weeps.

And I cry with it.

Not just tears—but sobs.

Heart-wrenching, soul-crushing sobs that shake my entire body.

I do not know why.

I do not know what this thing is, what it was before, why its pain cuts so deep into me.

But in this moment, we are the same.

Two broken things, grieving in the dark.

I do not know how long we stay like this, drowning in each other's sorrow.

But then?—

The monster's breath steadies.

And it speaks.

"Does he love you?"

My throat tightens.

I know who it means.

Varkos.

I should not answer.

I should not even consider it.

But I do.

"Yes."

The word slips out before I can stop it.

It is not a lie.

He has not said it.

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