Page 73 of Savage Crown

He doesn’t smile. Instead, his fingers come up, tilting my chin up, forcing my eyes to stay on his.

And gods, I hate him for knowing me too well. For sinking into me like rot in the marrow of my bones.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

I swallow. I need to give him something.

“Whatever is hidden inside that vault,” I say, voice quieter now, “it’s bound by magic. Magic that requires something… in return.”

He exhales sharply, his grip tightening ever so slightly before releasing me. He paces for a moment, his mind moving, calculations shifting.

“How much blood?” he finally asks, turning back to me.

“Enough to matter,” I say.

His gaze darkens. “That’s not an answer.”

I cross my arms, feigning impatience. “Then ask the right question.”

A muscle in his jaw ticks.

“You already know where it is,” he accuses.

I nod. “I have a lead.”

A slow, dangerous smirk curves his lips. “Of course you do.”

He moves again, circling me like a wolf scenting blood. He’s still trying to decide whether to trust me. Still trying to determine whether I’m worth the gamble.

“I’ll find out the truth eventually, little thief,” he murmurs, pausing behind me. “You know that, don’t you?”

My breath hitches.

Because he’s right.

When we stand at the threshold of that vault, when the blood price is demanded, when the only life that can open it is mine… He will know. And his choice might not be something I’ll like.

I exhale, steady. “We’ll see.”

His breath ghosts against the back of my neck, and for a single, devastating moment, I feel him. All of him. The heat. The power. The pull.

Eventually, he steps away. But something in his eyes tells me he won’t stop. Not until he has every answer, until he owns every part of me. By then, it will be too late.

For him… and for me.

27

RYLAN

She’s lying.

I know she’s lying. Not lying exactly, but it’s still a lie when you get down to the roots.

I watch Seraphina from across the room, my mind turning over her words like pieces of a puzzle that refuse to fit. The treasure is real. There is a blood price.

It all sounds like a perfectly crafted truth.

And yet—I don’t believe her.

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