Page 61 of Savage Crown

I don’t need to.

For all her threats, she hasn’t cut me.

She hasn’t silenced me.

She won’t.

She wants me alive.

I let her see it in my eyes.

That she doesn’t scare me.

That I’ve dealt with worse.

That she’s just another monster in a world full of them.

Her jaw tightens.

She steps back, lowering the blade, but not before pressing it lightly against my collarbone—just enough to remind me she could have killed me.

Just enough to remind me that next time, she might.

But I don’t linger.

I turn on my heel, moving toward the door.

I have exactly what I need.

Now, I can finally rip the mask off her pretty, lying face.

No matter how much Rylan doubts me, he won’t be able to ignore the proof in my hands.

I don’t look back as I disappear into the hall.

But I hear her voice behind me, soft, lilting, full of poisoned amusement.

“You’ll regret this, little thief.”

I don’t answer.

She’s wrong.

She’s the one who will regret ever underestimating me.

23

RYLAN

Lartina moves like a shadow—silent, inevitable, full of sweet promises laced with poison.

She stuns the space she's in, the air shifting, the scent of jasmine and embers curling into my lungs.

"Rylan," she purrs, drawing my name out like a blade unsheathing.

I don’t turn.

I don’t need to.

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