Page 60 of Crowned In Venom

"That you are a monster?" she whispers.

I laugh.

Dark. Low. Delighted.

"No," I murmur. "That you are not so different."

She does not leave immediately.

She should.

Instead, she lingers.

I see it in her stance, the way she still feels the heaviness of the whip even when it is no longer in her hands.

Something in her shifted tonight.

And she knows it.

The game between us is not the same anymore.

Because I have won something.

A piece of her.

Small. Barely noticeable.

But mine.

She turns, her silk dress whispering against the stone.

And just before she leaves, I let my voice cut through the silence.

"Sleep well, Anya."

She does not look back.

She does not need to.

Because we both know—she won’t.

20

ANYA

The scent of blood lingers in my hair.

On my skin.

In my mouth.

It is not mine, and yet, it feels like it should be.

I walk through the corridors, my steps soundless against the cold marble, my pulse hammering too fast, too loud.

I need to breathe.

I cannot breathe.

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