Page 28 of Savage Crown

I don’t know what to do with it.

13

SERAPHINA

Lartina smells like honey and death.

She steps into my path with all the grace of a woman who has never had to ask for anything, only take. The corridors of Midnight Den is dimly lit, the flickering torches painting her sharp features in molten gold and shadow.

I don’t stop. I don’t slow.

But she does.

Her fingers, cold and unyielding, slide around my wrist before I can brush past her.

"Going somewhere, little thief?"

I go still.

Rylan calls me that too. But when he says it, it’s mocking, amused, intrigued.

When she says it? It’s disgusting.

I exhale and turn to face her fully, shaking off her grip. "If you have something to say, Lartina, say it."

She smirks, tilting her head slightly. Her eyes are deep pools of crimson, predatory and knowing.

"Bold," she murmurs. "He does have a type, doesn’t he?"

I cross my arms. "Is this the part where you tell me to run while I still can?"

She laughs, soft and venom-laced. "No, darling. You lost that chance the moment you let him touch you."

My pulse stumbles.

I mask it, keeping my expression calm, unreadable. "I don’t know what you think is happening between us, but?—"

Her fingers skim my jaw.

I react before I think, knocking her hand away with a sharp flick of my wrist.

She chuckles, pleased.

"Defensive already?" she muses, eyes gleaming. "Good. You’ll need that fire when he eventually destroys you."

I should walk away.

I should ignore her.

But something about the way she watches me, about the cruel patience in her gaze, makes the air feel thick, suffocating.

She isn’t just trying to scare me. She believes every word she’s saying.

I lift my chin. "You think you know him, don’t you?"

She smiles, slow and serpentine. "I don’t think, Seraphina. I know."

My jaw tightens. "Then maybe you don’t know him as well as you think."

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