Chapter 98
Vanya
My breath came in shallow, ragged bursts as I pressed the dagger to the dwarf’s throat.
Hours—no, what felt like days—of dodging and striking, bleeding and hiding, had led to this single moment.
The golden-toothed creature—smaller than the others yet infinitely more dangerous—stared up at me with a grin that seemed carved from malice.
“Well, well, little wolf,” he said, voice dripping with smug amusement. “You found me.”
The timer in the sky bled its final minutes, each glowing number like a hammer against my skull. My fingers tightened around the hilt. “Game over.”
But instead of fear, the dwarf chuckled—a deep, rattling sound that made my skin crawl.
Then he leaned forward and whispered in a singsong voice:
“Beneath your skin, a truth sleeps. Beneath your heart,
