Page 136 of Savage Crown

She smiles, her red lips curving like a blade.

"You didn’t really think I’d let you leave so easily, did you?"

My fingers twitch around the hilt of my dagger.

Seraphina stiffens beside me.

Lartina’s eyes flick to her.

The smile widens.

"This should be fun."

47

RYLAN

Lartina stands before me, a viper in silk, all teeth and venom.

The torchlight flickers over her dark skin, illuminating the cruel curve of her lips, the glint of something dangerous in her blood-red eyes.

She blocks the only path forward, her men flanking her on either side, blades drawn, bodies poised for the inevitable violence.

But I only see her.

The woman who betrayed me.

The one who whispered lies into my ear while plunging a dagger into my back.

I should have killed her a long time ago.

And tonight, I will.

She tilts her head, studying me like a creature she intends to dissect.

"Rylan," she purrs, taking a slow, deliberate step forward. "You look terrible, darling. Has she been keeping you up at night?"

Her gaze flicks to Seraphina, and I see the way she lingers on her.

The way her lips curve in something hungry, cruel.

Seraphina doesn’t flinch, though I feel the tension in her body beside me.

She meets Lartina’s gaze with steel and fire.

Good.

She’s not afraid.

But Lartina doesn’t need her to be afraid.

She just needs her gone.

And I will not let that happen.

"You should have run when you had the chance," I say, voice calm, cold.

Lartina laughs.

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