Chapter 16 · The Power Backlash

"Do you really think a little chat in a hallway makes you safe, Sloane?"

Augustus didn't just speak; he loomed. His hand clamped onto my shoulder, fingers digging into the muscle. One wrong move and I felt like he’d snap the bone.

I didn't flinch. "Safe is relative, Uncle. I prefer 'interesting'."

"Interesting," he rasped. He jerked me closer, his face inches from mine. I could smell expensive spice and something metallic—the scent of a man who liked the kill. "You're playing a game with a board you can't even see. Who were you talking to? Kael?"

I felt Kael behind me. A heavy, silent weight. He didn't move to help, but the air around him was humming. He was waiting to see if I’d break.

"Kael is just doing his job," I lied. "Keeping the exiled princess from tripping over her own skirts. You know how clumsy I am."

Augustus laughed. It was a cold, dead sound. "Clumsy. Right. And I suppose your mental frequency spiking like a cornered rat is also part of the act?"

He tightened his grip. Suddenly, the world blurred. A sharp, searing pressure spiked in my skull—a hot needle sliding straight into my temple.