Page 193 of Crowned In Venom

And then he kisses me.

Slow. Deep.

Like a promise.

Like a prayer.

There is no battle between us now. No war. No game of power and control.

Only this.

Only us.

When he pulls back, he holds me so gently it almost breaks me.

"What happens now?" I ask.

For the first time, I do not know.

Varkos studies me, his gaze dark and unreadable. But then—it softens.

"That depends." He exhales slowly, his hands cradling my face. "On what you want."

I blink, taken aback. What I want?

He has always been the one with power, the one dictating the course of my fate. And yet, here he is—offering it to me.

"Varkos…" My voice trembles.

"Do you want to rule?" he asks, searching my gaze. “To lead the people in the Matriarch’s territory?”

I falter. Do I?

For so long, my only desire was to destroy. To burn everything down.

But now…

Now, I just want to be with him.

"No," I whisper. "I want…"

I swallow hard, my fingers curling into his tunic.

"I want us."

His eyes darken, something unreadable flickering through them.

And then, he smiles.

Not the sharp, cruel smirk I first knew.

Not the calculating grin of a dark elf lord.

But something real.

Something soft.

"Then we leave," he says. "We start over. Somewhere far from here."

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