Page 160 of Crowned In Venom

The words slice through me.

A pawn.

Nothing.

Varkos clutches me, his hands shaking.

He shakes his head.

"No," he whispers, his voice raw, broken.

I cannot move.

I cannot breathe.

I look at him, at the anguish in his eyes, at the helpless fury in his clenched jaw.

And then?—

"Heartblood."

The word escapes me in a breathless whisper.

My heart pounds violently.

"I have to die, don’t I?"

Silence.

Varkos shakes his head, fast, desperate.

"No."

His arms tighten around me.

"No, we will find another way."

But even he does not sound convinced.

I stare at the Ghost.

He does not answer me.

He does not need to.

Because I already know.

The only way to stop this.

The only way to end the Matriarch.

Is with my death.

48

VARKOS

No. No. No.

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