Page 177 of Crowned In Venom

"You died, Anya." His voice breaks on my name. "You— I thought?—"

I silence him by pressing my forehead against his.

"I’m here."

It is not enough.

But it is all we have.

Varkos exhales, his fingers burying themselves in my hair.

Something inside me shifts.

A cold tendril of awareness coils through my senses—alien, unnatural.

I freeze.

"Anya?" Varkos pulls back slightly, searching my face.

I barely hear him.

The air around me feels thick, heavy with something I do not understand.

I squeeze my eyes shut—and I feel it.

A pulse. A thread of something distant yet close.

A presence that does not belong to me.

The Matriarch.

My eyes snap open, my breath hitching.

"What is it?" Varkos demands.

"I—" I struggle to find the words. "I feel her."

Varkos goes still. Dangerously still.

"What do you mean?"

I shake my head, trying to make sense of it.

"It’s like… a thread. A connection. I don’t know how, but I can sense her."

His grip on me tightens. "She can feel you?"

Fear spikes in my chest.

"I don’t know."

A rustle of movement draws our attention.

The Ghost steps forward from the shadows, arms crossed. "She can’t."

Varkos and I both turn to him.

"How do you know?" Varkos growls.

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