Page 83 of Savage Crown

I lean in, voice a quiet promise.

"You’re stronger than I thought," I murmur. "But we both know even steel bends before it breaks. I intend to find exactly where you shatter."

30

RYLAN

The moment we step out of the dungeon, Seraphina heaves.

Not a sob. Not a cry of fear.

But laughter.

A breathless, shaking, gasping sort of laughter, the kind that sounds too close to breaking.

She staggers forward, bracing herself against the cold stone wall, sucking in ragged breaths like the air itself is poison. Her skin is pale—too pale—her fingers trembling against the rough surface.

I should be satisfied.

I should be.

But instead, I narrow my eyes as she gives a shuddering exhale and mutters, "I really thought you were gonna ask me to whip you by the end of that."

I blink.

For a brief moment, I almost wonder if I misheard her.

But no—she’s grinning. Grinning.

I take a slow, deliberate step forward. “Shaken, little thief?” My voice is smooth, mocking. “You’ve seen death before. What was different this time?”

She presses her forehead to the cool stone wall, still catching her breath. “Nothing, really. I just have a new fun fact to hold onto—" she turns to look at me, teeth flashing in something sharp, something reckless—"you definitely get off on power plays.”

I exhale through my nose, my patience thinning. “Careful, Seraphina.”

She hums. “Or what? You’ll punish me? Hate to break it to you, but I don’t think you’re the only one in this building with a thing for pain.”

She gestures vaguely to the dungeon door behind us.

I bite back a chuckle. Amused despite myself.

Even now, she defies me.

Even now, when her body betrays her with its tremors, when her hands shake at her sides, when she is clearly shaken.

I step closer. Too close.

I press my palm against the stone beside her head, trapping her without touching her.

She doesn’t shrink away.

But her breath hitches. A fraction of a second. But I catch it.

“Tell me,” I murmur, leaning in so only she can hear, “how much more can you endure before you shatter?”

Her lips part—maybe to snap at me, maybe to finally confess the thing she’s hiding?—

Screams.

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