Why is there a fucking leaf in his hair?
"She still upstairs?" I ask, not bothering with pleasantries.
"Hasn't moved." He doesn't look up from his book. "Cy's in his room doing whatever cyber-wizard shit he does."
"You mean you let her out of your sight?"
Now he does look up, blue eyes sharpening as they hold mine. "I've been sitting here for two hours. Ellie isnotgetting past me without me knowing."
"She got past all of us this morning."
His jaw tightens. "You're the one who wanted to see if she'd test us."
I study him, taking in the defensive posture, the guilt lurking behind that pretty face. "The fuck did you do?"
He stares at me, and his silence is answer enough. There's only one reason he'd be looking at me like he got caught with his hand in the candy jar.
"Youfuckedher?" I snarl, across the room before I even realize it.
"What?No!" he shouts, leaping off the couch like his life depends on it. And it does. "No, of course not! I mean, I thought about it, obviously, but I didn't?—"
"Don't." I hold up a hand. "I don't care about the almost. I care about the fact that you lost fucking control."
"She was—" He stops, runs a hand through his hair, dislodging more leaves. "Fuck, Kade. You didn't see her. The way she looked at me. It was like she wanted?—"
"You fucking idiot," I snarl again, loud enough to make him jolt. "Shewantedto get under your skin. Wanted to see if she could make you forget the plan. And it fuckingworked."
"Whatever. It won't happen again."
"No. It won't." I nod toward the stairs. "Dante's bringing something by in an hour. Let him in, show him to my room."
"What kind of something?" he asks, recovering from the kicked puppy energy as soon as his curiosity is piqued.
"The kind that's going to teach our princess a lesson about testing boundaries."
Apparently, my men could use a refresher, too.
His eyes widen slightly, but he doesn't ask more questions. Guess he's learning.
The stairs creak under my boots, each step bringing me closer to her. Closer to the confrontation that's been building since she walked into our throne room asking for death.
Herstepfather'sdeath, specifically.
But looking at her on her knees like that, I wondered if she was asking for her own. If she wanted us to destroy her the way she destroyed us.
Her door's closed. I don't knock. This is my house, and she's mine, and knocking suggests she has privacy rights she signed away three days ago.
The door swings open to reveal Ellie on her bed, phone in hand, scrolling through something with single-minded focus. She looks up when I enter, and I watch her expression shift through several emotions.
Surprise. Wariness. Contempt.
Contempt is my favorite.
"Kade." She sets the phone down, stands slowly like she's facing down a wild animal. Smart girl. "I was just?—"
"Texting Heather?" I move into the room, closing the door behind me with. "Telling her all about your new living situation?"
"No, I—" She stops, realizing the trap, and those emerald eyes harden into actual stone. Oh, she settled oncontempt, alright. "You're reading my messages."
