Tyrant Luciano Zarkov I was looking for Percy. Instead, I found a complication. The guards stationed outside Seraphina’s private wing looked distinctly uneasy as I approached. One of them opened his mouth as if to speak, then wisely thought better of it. Smart man. I pushed the doors open without announcement. The scene inside was exactly as compromising as the silence that followed suggested. Percy Langford had one hand resting on my sister’s waist. Seraphina stood pressed against him, fingers curled tightly into the front of his shirt. Their mouths were still close enough to make the nature of what had just occurred undeniable. Neither moved immediately. The room fell into absolute silence. I stood in the doorway for a long moment, taking in the sight with clinical detachment. S

