Page 146 of Crowned In Venom

Then—

The monster moves.

A sickening, wet sound follows as it swings a massive limb?—

And slaps the Matriarch across the dungeon.

Her body flies through the air like a ragdoll, slamming into the stone wall with enough force to crack the foundation.

For the first time, I see something other than amusement in her eyes.

Shock.

For the first time, she was not the one holding the leash.

The monster turns back to us.

"You have to leave. Now."

Varkos finally pulls himself together, his breath unsteady. "Come with us."

The creature hesitates.

Its bulging, monstrous eyes flick toward the crumbling dungeon, toward the chaos it has unleashed.

Then, it shakes its head.

"There is only one way out. Follow me."

It turns, leading us through the crumbling ruin.

We run.

Varkos is injured, his body heavy with pain, but he pushes forward, refusing to slow.

I grab his hand, silent, steadying.

We weave through fallen pillars, through bodies of guards crushed under stone, through pools of blood that soak the ground.

Behind us—the Matriarch screams.

She is in pursuit.

She is losing control.

"RUN!"

The monster crashes through a hidden door, revealing a narrow tunnel carved into the depths of the fortress.

"Go."

But then?—

It stops.

The entrance is too small for its massive, distorted form.

It does not move to widen it.

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