Page 54 of Savage Crown

Before he can stop me, before he can pull me back into his orbit and drown me in something I’m not ready to feel?—

I leave.

I don’t look back.

If I do, I might see the way he’s still watching me.

21

RYLAN

Ilet her go.

Because I have to.

Seraphina disappears down the hall, her silhouette swallowed by the flickering torchlight. She doesn’t look back. Not once.

And yet, I can still feel her.

The scent of her lingers in the bedroom—smoke, blood, and something wilder beneath it. Something sharp, alive, intoxicating.

I close my eyes. Inhale slowly.

And curse myself for letting her in.

The firelight flickers against the walls, shadows curling at the edges of my vision. My jaw clenches, my fingers tightening against the armrest of my chair.

She was too calm.

Too unshaken.

Most people beg when accused of treachery. They plead, cry, throw themselves at my feet.

Not Seraphina.

She met me head-on, her defiance burning through my accusation like steel against flint.

"If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t need a blade."

She had said it like a promise. Like a warning.

That’s the problem, isn’t it?

I don’t know if she was lying.

She got too close, too fast. Slipped beneath my defenses like a well-placed dagger.

I thought I was the one pulling the strings. Thought I was the one setting the rules of this game.

But what if I was wrong?

What if I’ve let her play me instead?

A slow exhale.

I shouldn’t care.

I should end this now.

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