Page 20 of Crowned In Venom

A ghost in the walls.

A chill slides down my spine, slow and cold, but I do not let it show.

“Why?” I ask. “Who are they watching?”

Mira licks her lips, eyes darting toward the darkened corridor. “You.” A pause. Then—“And Lord Varkos.”

That surprises me.

I expected to be watched. I did not expect him to be a target, too.

Mira leans in, her voice even lower. “They do not work for him.”

That stops me cold.

Not his men? Not his spies?

That means—someone else.

Someone more powerful.

A force that moves above even him.

I have suspected it for days now. The way the guards speak of him with fear, not just loyalty. The way Varkos himself glances at the shadows sometimes, as if expecting something unseen to strike.

Varkos is powerful, but he is not the true master of this palace.

There is another.

And they are watching.

I do not go to Varkos immediately.

Not yet.

Because he does not trust easily. And because I need more than whispers.

I need proof.

So I play my role.

I let Varkos call me to his chambers again. I let him test me, push against the edges of my defiance. I move through the halls with careful steps, noting every flicker of movement, every place where the air feels too still.

And then, I set my own trap.

That night, I leave a candle burning low in my chamber. The flame flickers, steady and slow.

A test.

A watcher would leave no trace.

But shadows always move when disturbed.

I lie down. Close my eyes.

And I wait.

For the spy to make their first mistake.

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