Page 54 of Crowned In Venom

I exhale, slow. Measured.

"And if I don’t?"

He lifts a hand, trailing his fingers lightly along the back of my wrist. A ghost of a touch.

Too soft for the carnage around us.

"Then you are more dangerous than I thought."

The fight below is over.

One elf still stands.

The other does not.

The victor does not celebrate.

There is no triumph, no satisfaction in his expression.

Only emptiness.

Winning does not mean freedom.

There is no escape.

Because Varkos does not let his champions leave.

I turn my gaze back to him.

He is already watching me.

Waiting.

I am supposed to be horrified.

I am supposed to see the depth of his power and be reminded of my place.

And yet—all I see is weakness.

Not in him.

But in this system.

A machine that cannot last forever.

A system that can be broken.

Varkos moves suddenly, stepping away from the balcony, deeper into the stone corridors.

I follow.

Not because I have to.

But because I need to know why I am truly here tonight.

He leads me to a chamber carved into the rock, smaller than the main pit, lined with iron bars.

A prison.

---