Page 80 of Crowned In Venom

Finally, he lifts his gaze back to mine.

"You will explain," he says, voice low, edged in quiet authority. "All of it."

It is not a request.

Not a demand.

It is something else.

Something unspoken.

A test.

A warning.

A choice.

And yet—I know the truth.

This is not a choice at all.

Not for me.

25

VARKOS

Ishould not have brought her here.

Not after the auction.

Not after the way she looked at me when I told her I knew. I can’t even master the strength to lash at her.

I should have locked her in her chambers, let her suffocate in the weight of my knowledge. Let her wonder when I would strike.

But I didn’t.

Instead, I brought her with me.

Now we sit in the confines of my carriage, the city’s cobbled streets rumbling beneath the wheels, rain-soaked stone and spice-laden air curling into the space between us.

She is too close.

Or I am.

The glow of the lantern sways with the wind, its golden light catching on the fine strands of her hair. The flickering glow licks across her skin, gliding over the curve of her jaw, the line of her throat.

Her lips are still painted with the remnants of deception.

She has not yet explained herself.

I should demand it.

Instead, I want to ruin her.

The silence between us is sharp enough to bleed.

Anya sits across from me, composed but coiled.

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