Page 94 of Savage Crown

Like a heat under my skin. Like an ache I can’t name.

And I hate it.

The safe house is nothing more than a crumbling ruin tucked into the cliffs beyond the city’s reach.

A single room. Stone walls cracked with time.

It will do.

I shove the heavy wooden door shut behind us, locking it with a sharp click.

Seraphina stands in the center of the room, her arms wrapped around herself, her tunic torn at the shoulder where a blade nearly found its mark.

Her dark hair is a tangled mess. Her skin is streaked with dirt and blood.

She looks like she should be shaking.

Like she should be breaking.

But she’s not.

She’s watching me.

Waiting.

She knows something is coming.

She just doesn’t know what.

I move past her, heading for the old basin in the corner. The water inside is murky, but clean enough.

I roll up my sleeves, dipping my hands in, watching the red swirl into the dark.

Behind me, she exhales. “Are you going to keep blaming me?”

I move my head, meeting her gaze through the reflection in the glass of the broken window.

Sapphire eyes. Fierce. Tired. Full of things I don’t want to delve into.

I turn slowly.

“Should I not?”

Her jaw tightens.

She’s too stubborn to back down.

Good.

I need her to fight me.

If she fights me, she won’t see what’s truly slipping beneath my skin.

“Nhilian’s men came for you,” I say, voice low, steady.

“Yes.” She takes a deep breath.

“And you knew they would.”

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