Page 70 of Crowned In Venom

A sharp sound snaps through the corridor.

Mira jerks back, her face paling.

I freeze.

A footstep.

Not rushed.

Not loud.

But deliberate.

Measured.

Someone is here.

Someone is watching.

I don’t wait to see who it is.

I grip Mira’s hand and pull her close, spinning us behind the column, pressing her against the stone.

A moment later—a shadow moves across the corridor.

Slow. Silent.

It does not pass.

It lingers.

My heart tightens.

Mira is trembling beneath my fingers.

I do not tremble.

But I feel it.

The mysterious unseen.

A hunter in the dark.

Watching.

Waiting.

For what?

I do not know.

But I am certain of one thing.

The Matriarch has already set her sights on me.

And if I do not act soon?—

I will not leave this palace alive.

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