Page 111 of Venomous Throne

The third time was not so lucky. My ankle twisted sideways. My whole body pitched forward into the wet leaves. My face smacked against the dirt, making the breath explode from my lungs.

I tasted blood instantly—a metallic bloom filling my mouth as my teeth split open my lip—but there was no pause, even then. I shot to my feet and kept going.

Pain radiated upward from my ankle with each step.

A brief glance back revealed…nothing.

I didn’t stop to see if the animal was gone; I tore blindly ahead. A downhill slope appeared suddenly between trees.

Gravity did the rest of the work.

I half stumbled, half tumbled until my feet splashed into a shallow creek at the bottom. My knees buckled under the impact. Cold runoff rushed over my body as I was dunked up to my elbows.

Self-preservation kept me going.

I stood quickly and whirled around, only to realize I had dropped the canvas sack the first time I fell.

A black shape glided beneath the underbrush at the edge of the clearing.

My fear-scrambled brain couldn’t make it out.

“Fuck off!” I screamed, voice ragged, fingers searching blindly for anything to strike it with. “Or come at me! Either way, quit chasing me!”

The creature looked at me with cold, yellow eyes.

I raised my arms above my head and let loose a long, screeching roar.

It merely blinked.

Then, after a pause, it turned and slipped away. Either I didn’t look tasty enough, or maybe it didn’t want the trouble of getting its paws wet.

I didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. I scrambled up the opposite bank, eager to put distance between us. Hurrying with directionless panic, I zig-zagged through the forest.

Only when my lungs screamed at me did I pause to listen.

Branches arched low overhead, a tunnel made by nature just for this escape. Somewhere above the canopy of trees, birds hopped about, cheery and bright. When I noticed a bunny scamper across the space between two trees, I took a calming breath.

My chest burned. Every muscle was seared.

The predator must have lost interest. Some instinct told me not to wait around for an answer. Soaked head-to-toe but alive, I pulled my body through the trees. Each step was an effort. But my gaze kept darting about, waiting for glimpses of shadows moving amongst the trunks.

“Oh shit,” I wheezed, stopping short. “Where’s the road?”

It was impossible to tell how far I was from the original tire tracks. I didn’t even think I could find my way back to the creek.

“It will be okay,” I promised myself.

You’re a mafia princess. You have no business being in the woods.

I slapped the mental voice.

The smallest surge of victory elbowed its way through the panic. The animal hadn’t eaten me. Not in this place, and not out there in the world. I was the kind of prey that didn’t stay down ina fight. A predator—be it man or beast—would have to be very,veryhungry to try and take a piece of me.

Chapter 41 – Isabella

The moment the sun began to set, I found a sturdy-looking tree to climb. All those nights spent in a comfortable bed, staring at the ceiling, culminated in a surge of bone-dead exhaustion. I could barely keep my eyes open.

But I had to.