Third Person's POV
But it wasn't a smile of joy.
Instead, it was cruel and mocking.
The smile of a predator watching its prey realize that it had never stood a chance.
The dark spell had ended, but the terror it left behind still clung to Declan's soul like tar.
He wanted to roar, to curse, to fight with everything he had but his voice had gone hollow.
A flicker of furious regret burned in his dying eyes.
He hadn't even gotten to fight.
He hadn't even revealed his full strength.
And now, the enemy he had belittled, the one he deemed unworthy in their first meeting, now stood victorious and was smiling at his downfall as if laughing at his fate.
The snake hesitated for a heartbeat and confusion flickered in its slit pupils as it sensed the sudden stillness of its prey but the hesitation vanished instantly, and its jaws clamped shut with renewed fury.
Ethan's eyes were sharp with killing intent, and he didn't wait.
