Page 88 of Savage Crown

I exhale shakily. “I was born with it.”

A flicker of something in his gaze—rage.

“Magic doesn’t just carve maps onto human flesh,” he says coldly.

I wet my lips. “No.”

His jaw tightens. “Then tell me why.”

Why.

Why.

The truth is a noose around my throat.

But there is no more room for lies.

I pull my tunic down, covering the mark of my fate.

I say the words that will change everything.

“The treasure can’t be claimed without me.”

His dagger slams into the wall beside my head. Rylan presses closer, his body caging mine against the cold stone. His voice is a whisper of raw fury.

“You mean to tell me,” he says slowly, “that you are the key.”

I nod.

He laughs. Low, dark, utterly devoid of humor. His hand curls around my throat.

“You let me think you were just a thief,” he breathes, his lips inches from mine. “You let me drag you through hell, all while hiding this.”

I meet his eyes.

“Yes,” I whisper.

His grip doesn’t loosen.

Neither does his fury.

But he doesn’t kill me.

Now—he can’t.

I see it in his eyes.

The war inside him.

Because killing me now means losing everything.

32

RYLAN

The fire crackles in the hearth, the only sound in the dead silence between us.

Seraphina doesn’t move.

---