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“Then lead the way,” Pace says, but it’s not Danner who starts down the hall toward Ashby’s office. It’s Thad. The whole way, I watch his back, unable to remember seeing him in the halls before. He feels awkward and out of place, too large for even the enormous door we approach.

It’s strange walking into Ashby’s office. I have no real connection to the setting, but I’ve seen the video of Lex. I know what can happen here when the King is displeased. It doesn’t help that I sense the change in Pace immediately. Every muscle in his body stiffens. His jaw tightens, eyes focusing on his father sitting behind the desk.

It’s then that he drops my hand, moving his own to clasp behind his back.

I take a quick scan of the room. His father—my father—ourfather is waiting behind his desk, a glass of dark amber liquor sweating on the table beside the armchair.

“You get one chance to tell me where you’ve been,” Ashby says, eyes never lifting from his ledger. “And before you answer, keep in mind that even if you turned off every security measure in East End, your flashy black sports car is impossible to ignore.”

“I’ve nothing to hide,” Pace replies, voice devoid of emotion in a way that sends chills up my spine. “I found the source of the security breach and went to follow up. That’s when I discovered that not only was Charlie involved on the night of April twentieth, but he’d compiled a large cache of exploitative videos of all of us.”

Ashby looks up, face blank. “So you killed him.”

He knows already.

Pace shot Charlie in the head less than an hour ago.

I expect Pace to feel as stunned as I am, but he shoots off a reply as if he’d never expected any less. “I eliminated a liability and threat to the Kingdom, and to the Princess in particular.”

Ashby leans back in his seat, the silence in the room growing more claustrophobic than it’d felt in the car. If Pace feels it, he doesn’t show it. He’s a soldier standing in front of a general. But I feel it. My skin prickles in awareness of a predator, sitting just out of view. I have no choice but to stand here frozen, hoping it doesn’t catch my scent.

“Charles was my asset,” Ashby says, voice low and cutting, “working on important, confidential projects for the Kingdom.” His hand splays over the top of the desk, his gold crown ring, larger and gaudier than the one on my finger, on display. “By killing him, you’ve effectively destroyed that work.Years of it.”

Pace begins, “I’m sure it’s recoverable, I’ll just need some time—”

“Killing one of my operatives without approval is unacceptable.” His gaze is chilling. “I don’t know what’s worse: the act of defiance or the sheer impulsivity of it. Of my three sons, you’re the rock. You don’t have Whitaker’s flare for the dramatic, or Lex’s susceptibility to weakness. You’re hardened. Patient. Diligent. But ever since…” His icy eyes dart to my midsection. “Well, I thought your time cooling off in Forsyth pen taught you about falling prey to your lesser emotions.” His eyes narrow into dangerous slits. “Apparently not.”

“Father,” Pace says, “this was not an act of defiance. This was me doing what I had to do to protect—”

The desperation in his voice turns my stomach, but not nearly so badly as Ashby’s roar.

“Silence!” he shouts, his volume at a level I’ve never heard before. His face turns a shade of red that makes me swallow in fear. “This is exactly what I mean,” he rants, face contorted with anger. “Tantrum after tantrum. Throwing cakes. Avoiding responsibility. Sneaking off to fill a void. Playing idiotic games. One thing after the other!” He stands, circling the desk, and stops in front of Pace. “I’m tired of the insolence, and I have no other option than to teach you a lesson.”

Pace has no reaction to this other than lowering his chin, as though he’s ready for whatever may come his way. Inside, I’m roaring just as loudly as Ashby did, but on the outside, I try to make myself small and invisible.

Without moving his gaze from his son, Ashby says, “Thad, go into the Princess’ room and get the bird.”

Pace’s head snaps up. “What?” he asks, the panic clear in his voice. “Why?”

Eyes hardening, Ashby pulls something from his pocket. “You were on call for me, Pace. All of you. And yet when I called, I got no answer.” It’s only then that I realize he has a knife. “If eighteen months in prison isn’t enough to convince you how destructive these attachments of yours are becoming, then I’ll just have to start getting rid of them.” He nods to Thad. “Go ahead. I’ll wait.”’

My breath gets trapped in my throat.

The second Thad moves, Pace darts in front of him, blocking his way. “That’s bullshit! Effie has nothing to do with this! Punishme.”

Ashby’s grin in the face of such utter anguish makes my blood boil. “Oh, I’ve been informed that none of you care about my usual punishments anymore. I could drag Lex in here and whip him senseless, but that didn’t work the last time, did it?”

Unable to stand it anymore, I step forward. “Pace wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger.” I raise my chin. “I did.”

“Verity…” Pace starts, eyes shifting to mine. He looks different. Scared.

“We got caught, okay?” I say. “Don’t lie for me. I don’t need your protection.”

“You expect me to believe that?” Ashby laughs. “We have surveillance of him going in with the weapon.”

“Then you have evidence of me following him in,” I continue to bluff. There’s no backing out now. “Charlie was hoarding videos of me to sell online. Like he said, exploitative videos of my pregnancy that he planned on selling to perverts all over Forsyth and probably beyond. Pace kept trying to get intel out of him, but it was obvious he wasn’t going to hand it over.” I let my voice crack, willing to show my humiliation and upset. “So I took the gun and ended it.Againsthis orders.”

“And you’re telling me this, why? To protect Pace? To curry sympathy? To seek my approval?” I can’t tell if he’s genuinely asking or if it’s rhetorical, but in for a pound and all that.