Page 89 of Crowned In Venom

"My mother grows stronger," I say, my voice low, steady. "I want to know why."

The Ghost shifts slightly, the only sign that they acknowledge my words.

"She is drinking the poison," I continue. "I watch her take it with her own hands. And yet, she does not wither. She does not break. Why?"

Silence.

But silence is an answer in itself.

I place the goblet down with a quiet clink.

"You know something," I murmur, turning to face them. "Tell me."

The Ghost tilts their head slightly, their presence as cold as a blade pressed to my throat.

Then—finally—a whisper.

"Blood."

The single word scrapes through the air, dry as bone.

My jaw tightens.

"Whose?"

A pause.

Then—"Not yours."

The answer burns through me like acid.

Not mine.

Someone else’s.

Someone new.

I exhale slowly, letting the words settle.

The Matriarch is drinking blood that is not mine.

Something rare. Something I have not accounted for.

Something that has made her stronger.

I rake a hand through my hair, calculating, piecing together a puzzle I do not like.

I know what she does.

The experiments. The creatures lurking in the depths of this palace, things twisted beyond recognition, things she has tried and failed to perfect.

But now?—

Now she is feeding herself something new.

Something that is undoing my work.

And I need to find out what.

---