Page 75 of The Dread Prince (The Dread Descendant #2)

Mal clutched his chest, the pain having brought him to his knees in Mount Morte. His teeth slid together with a snap.

The albino serpent slithered around him, her translucent, smooth body coiled up his arm as she hissed at him. Her words were distant and muddled.

He exhaled sharply, his fingers finding his temple where a dull pounding resonated through his body.

“She destroyed her mark,” he gasped, panting.

Traitor , the serpent hissed in his mind.

Mal relaxed back on his knees, still clutching his chest.

He hadn’t noticed her slip to Earth. How had she moved between realms so easily without his knowledge? To remove her mark…

Gold orbs of light screamed into the cave, spiraling towards him, ready to erase reality.

He knew at once what she had done.

He understood that in a moment’s time, he’d forget he’d tasted her sweet lips and called her his.

She never deserved you , hissed the serpent.

If Maeve was destined to push him away, he was destined to make her come crawling back. She was his. And his alone.

Dark Magic sliced across his mind in warning. I will be your queen, it said.

Mal laughed darkly, despite his shadow’s possession. “You can run from me, Little Viper. But you cannot hide from me.”

END OF BOOK TWO