Page 150 of Crowned In Venom

"Come on," she urges, pulling me upright, holding me steady.

"Just a little further."

She’s stronger than she knows.

Or maybe I am just weaker than I want to admit.

Either way, she gets me to my feet.

We keep moving.

Then—

We reach the end of the tunnel.

A heavy stone archway looms before us, carved with runes I don’t recognize.

Beyond it?—

A temple.

Ancient.

Silent.

The air is thick with something powerful, untouched by time.

"What is this place?" Anya murmurs, her breath catching as she steps forward.

I don’t know.

I have lived in these lands all my life, yet I never knew this was here.

A part of me shudders.

"Why did my father bring us here?"

I don’t have an answer.

We search for an exit.

We find nothing.

No doors.

No openings.

Nothing but cold stone and empty halls.

A dead end.

Anya’s frustration is palpable, her hands pressing against the walls, searching for hidden mechanisms, for anything that makes sense.

"There has to be a way out."

But the longer we search, the more unease creeps into my bones.

This place feels like a tomb.

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