Page 137 of Crowned In Venom

The Matriarch grins.

"But," I breathe, forcing my broken body to rise to my knees.

"I have one request."

Her eyes narrow.

"Let me see her."

A pause.

A beat of silence.

And then?—

A slow, cruel smile.

"Oh, yes," she purrs.

"I want her to see what you’ve become."

Her laughter follows me into the abyss.

41

ANYA

The pain never comes.

I brace for the impact—for my bones to break, for the darkness to take me, for death to claim me in this wretched place.

But instead?—

A wretched, guttural sound rips through the dungeon.

I open my eyes.

The monster does not touch me.

Its massive, decayed arm is lodged into the stone wall, the impact shaking the entire room, making dust and debris rain down from the ceiling.

And then?—

It shudders.

A sound bubbles up from its chest, low and ragged, broken.

At first, I think it is growling again.

Until I hear it?—

A sob.

The monster is crying.

I stare, my breath stolen from my throat, my body trembling not with fear but with something else.

The mournful wails shake the very air, the sorrow so deep, so raw, that I feel it in my bones.

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