Page 60 of Savage Crown

I say nothing.

I don’t need to.

She steps away, her expression shifting from amusement to something colder.

Something like pity.

“Rylan won’t believe you,” she says smoothly. “He’s already drowning in doubt. And by the time you try to pull him out, I’ll have convinced him you were the one holding him under.”

A sharp twist in my chest.

I already knew she was playing a dangerous game.

But now, I realize—I may have already lost.

I exhale slowly. “You’re awfully confident for someone whose lies are about to unravel.”

She lifts a delicate brow. “Lies?”

Her mask slips.

Just for a second.

But it’s enough.

I step toward the desk, fingers curling around a letter. I grab it from the table before she notices.

“You shouldn’t have left the door open,” I murmur.

Her red eyes darken.

The air shifts.

Then—she laughs.

Long. Soft. Infuriating.

“Oh, little thief,” she whispers. “You really don’t understand, do you?”

Before I can move, before I can react, she closes the distance again, so fast I barely register the movement.

A sharp prick against my throat.

I go still.

Her dagger glints in the low light, pressed just under my chin.

My pulse thuds.

But I don’t move.

Don’t give her the satisfaction.

Her smile is slow. Cruel.

“You think you’ve won something?” she murmurs. “You think Rylan will thank you for this?”

I say nothing.

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