Page 137 of Savage Crown

"Run?" She gestures around us, to the cavern walls that echo with her amusement. "This is my domain, Rylan. I am the spider in the web. And you… you are the fool who walked straight into my trap."

I roll my shoulders, grip steady on my dagger.

"If this is your trap, you should have set a better one."

A flicker of irritation crosses her face, gone as fast as it came.

She closes the distance between us, moving like silk, like smoke.

Too close.

I smell the perfume she used to wear when she laid beside me.

The one she wore when she whispered lies into my mouth like promises.

She lifts a hand, reaching for me.

And I let her.

Just long enough for her fingers to brush against my jaw.

"You still want me," she murmurs.

Her touch is cold.

"Not even in death," I whisper back.

She moves fast, dodging the first blow, but I don’t stop.

I drive forward, our blades clashing in a storm of steel and fury.

She’s as deadly as ever.

Every movement calculated, sharp, precise.

But so am I.

And I have more to lose.

We circle each other, blades cutting through the air, feet moving over damp stone.

She lunges. I twist.

A near miss.

She smiles.

"You still fight like a noble."

I snarl. "And you still fight like a whore."

Her eyes flash.

And then she comes for me.

The world narrows to the chaos of the fight.

She is quick, cruel, merciless.

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