EMBER’S POV There is a beat of absolute silence. And then Queenie makes a sound like a balloon dying, one long helpless wheeze, and Nathaniel’s mouth twitches for the first time all day, actually twitches, and I have to slam my knuckles against my lips because I am going to lose it. I am going to completely lose it, because the most feared man on the continent, the Lycan whose name empties council chambers, is standing in his own study, visibly hurt that a bunch of rogues throw eggs at a doll of him once a year. “It’s not funny,” Knox says. “It’s a little funny,” I manage, my voice completely strangled. “It is not—” “I’m sorry, I just—” I have to cover my mouth with both hands because my shoulders are physically shaking. “I’m just picturing a room full of heavily armed, lethal carte

