Page 96 of Crowned In Venom

Trying to stop her.

I blink, my breath faltering, but he doesn’t seem to notice—or maybe he does, but he’s too wrapped up in his own storm to care.

His fingers flex at his sides, as if he wants to reach for me, as if he hates that he wants to.

"I don’t need you to remind me who she is," he mutters. "I’ve known for a long time."

A long time.

I swallow, tilting my chin up, forcing my voice to stay steady.

"Then why is she still alive?"

His jaw tightens.

He doesn’t answer.

And that silence?

That silence is an answer all on its own.

Something cold slithers down my spine.

I need to think.

I need to get out of this room.

But first—I need to watch.

I memorize the way he moves.

The way he runs a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply, turning his back to me as if to regain control.

The way he reaches for a goblet on the table beside him, fingers tightening around the stem before he hesitates.

Just for a second.

Just long enough.

He doesn’t drink.

Instead, he lifts the goblet, tilting it slightly before setting it back down.

Something glints beside it.

A small vial. Dark glass. The kind used to store potent liquids, things not meant for open air.

I feel my pulse quicken.

He doesn’t notice my attention—not yet.

But I see the shift in his posture, the way he rolls his shoulders, schooling his features back into something unreadable.

Whatever he almost said, whatever he almost did—he regrets it.

And that means…

It was important.

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