Elias left the conference room more conflicted than when he’d gone in. His ultimate goal had not changed, but he found himself wishing there was some way Weithan Isle and Latvala could overcome their differences.

While Sander reigned—and Elias knew it would be a long, long time before his father relinquished the throne—there seemed no good way to make a productive relationship. Severian had expressed his regret over his sister’s actions more than once, and had looked quite tired when he discussed his failing friendship with Sander.

Weithan Isle was in trouble, as Elias had heard and guessed, and trade between the two countries would go a long way in helping the Novak empire to recover.

He had not expected to be so moved by Severian’s sincerity and his plight.

A grandfather clock struck the hour of two, and while it was much later than Elias had hoped, it would not deter him from his mission.

In the middle of the night, he should have the element of surprise.

Elias found Jeremiah waiting in the library off the foyer, pacing with his head lolled back, eyes on the ceiling.

“For God’s sake, man. There you are. I thought you’d fallen asleep in there or something,” Jeremiah said once he’d detected Elias’s footsteps.

“The talk went longer than I expected. Where is she?” Elias asked.

“She’s moved three times. I just got back here five minutes ago, so she should still be in the east solarium. Be warned, Elias. She’s been drinking and looks pretty rough.”

Elias nodded and departed the library. He bypassed two staff members on his way through the long hallways, but no one dared stop him. Word of his conversation with Severian would be common knowledge with the employees, and he was counting on their hesitation to stop and question a visiting prince.

It occurred to Elias as he moved deeper into the castle that something seemed amiss. He couldn’t at first place the peculiar niggle at the back of his mind until he realized that the walls and side tables were all but bare of personal belongings. In the foyer, there had been beautiful vases, stone statues, and elaborate paintings presented in gilt frames. The farther from the foyer he went, the more it appeared that everything of worth had been moved toward the front of the castle. A vain attempt to impress or deceive visitors into believing Weithan Isle was still a wealthy nation. The staged elegance was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Subterfuge. Here in the back hallways, stripped of nearly all décor, the reality of the situation could not be more obvious: the Novaks had hawked their belongings little by little just to stay afloat.

To see firsthand proof of the Novaks’ hardship bothered Elias more than he wanted to admit.

Valentina might be a scheming murderess, but that did not mean everyone else was as well. Adults would be affected by the downturn, as would the children.

As he came upon the east solarium, Elias set those thoughts aside and entered the room through a double set of French doors.

Casual but elegant garden furniture in a salmon rose pattern dominated the center of the spacious room, while large potted plants lined tall glass walls. The floor was white, as were the pots. Overhead, situated in the center of a domed glass ceiling, hung a chandelier that could have belonged in a fairy tale. Whimsical green glass leaves, glass flowers, and hovering hummingbirds made up the centerpiece that shone mellow light over the collection of furniture and a single woman lounging on a chaise with a drink in her hand.

Elias paused ten feet from Valentina, assessing what he could see of her profile. The way she hunkered into the cushions, with an index finger restlessly dragging around the rim of her glass, suggested she was suffering deep melancholia. Her dark hair had been messily arranged atop her head and secured with glittering pins, while her long white dress seemed perfect for maximum comfort rather than style. Like the deeper parts of the castle, Elias noticed the lack of trinkets and extra décor in this room, as well as on the woman herself. She wore no bracelets, no rings, no expensive fine jewelry.

He could not feel sorry for her, no matter Weithan Isle’s economic troubles nor her sullen mood. Elias steeled his spine and went on the attack.

“The assassin you hired has been caught before he could finish the task you gave him, and is currently in a holding cell prepared to make an official statement fingering you as the one who ordered the assassination attempts on Inari Ascher’s life,” Elias said. The lies slipped almost too easily from his lips.

Valentina gasped and twisted around, the glass falling out of her hand. The vessel hit the floor and shattered, splattering red wine across the clean white tile.

“You. What are you doing here? Guards!” Valentina braced a hand over her heart and struggled to stand.

Only when she faced him did Elias understand Jeremiah’s warning.

Valentina looked like death. Pale skin, sunken eyes, deep wrinkles. Her assistants were wizards in the makeup department, Elias decided, because Valentina never looked this bad on television or in the papers.

“I suggest you quiet yourself and listen,” Elias said. He’d passed no guards in the hallway, but if she continued to shout, someone would come running soon enough. “Cease the threat to Inari Ascher immediately, or I’ll see to it that your failed assassin gets all the media attention he can handle—worldwide. Don’t think your status as princess will save you from prosecution. It won’t. You’ll rot in jail, stripped of anything you hold dear, while the tabloids have a field day smearing your name from one end of the earth to the other. This isn’t just about you. It’s about your son and how it’ll affect him as well. He’s not aware that his own mother put out a hit on the woman he loves, is he?”

Elias didn’t think Valentina could get any paler than she already was. But she did, skin turning white as a sheet, her eyes widening in shock at the threat.

And it was a threat. Elias loathed pulling such a low-handed move, yet the alternative was to allow Valentina free rein to murder whomever she liked.

Hell no. He wouldn’t stand for it.

“I’ll have you thrown straight into the dungeon, never to be seen or heard from again,” Valentina said.

“Your sordid history with my family means that I took steps in advance to prevent that from happening. People know I’m here. They know what I came here to do. If I suddenly go missing, there will be a bigger inquiry than you’re already going to get. Unlike you, I made contingency plans, Valentina. All it’ll take is one wrong step from you to set actions in motion that can never be undone. So you go ahead and squawk all you want to, but we both know that I’m going to walk out of here and you’re not going to say a thing. You’re going to leave Inari alone, in all ways, or your life will cease to exist as you know it.”

Valentina took a step forward. “You’re bluffing.”

She was right. He was. He’d taken all the information at hand and made educated guesses. Standing before her now, there was no doubt in his mind that not only had he made the right decision to come here, but that he’d been right all along.

Valentina was guilty as hell. Her reactions might as well have been vocal confessions.

“By all means, then. Call your guards. Lock me up.” Instead of taking a step back, he took a step forward. “Let’s see how long it takes before my men release the videotape of your hapless assassin, and the world gets to see yet another side of Valentina Novak. It should do wonders for Weithan’s already questionable reputation. Your actions were the ones who put your country in jeopardy all those years ago, Valentina, and you’re about to double down. I’d think twice, if I were you.”

She made fists at her sides. A ruddy flush overtook her cheeks and her eyes gleamed with hatred. “You’re just like your father.”

“I am,” he said with a sudden smile. “But I also inherited my mother’s complete inability to deal with bullshit. This is the only warning you’re going to get. Take heed, Valentina. I’ll do exactly as I said I would do if you harm one hair on Inari’s head. Are we clear?”

“You have no idea what you’re meddling in, young prince. I think you’re in over your head—”

Elias pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He took two steps back and turned, calling up a number on the screen. “It’s me. Release the tapes to the media first thing in the morning.”

“Wait!”

Elias jerked his arm out of Valentina’s clutching grip. She’d closed the distance faster than he thought she might. “Confess, Valentina, and I’ll put a stop to the order. Tell me that you won’t go after Inari again. Make me believe it.”

“Hang up!” Valentina hissed. “Yes. I ordered Inari’s assassination. But you don’t understand—”

“I don’t need anything but to hear that you understand my conditions. Yes or no. They’re waiting.” He held his phone aloft indicatively.

“Yes. Yes, dammit. Put the phone away,” Valentina said.

Elias stared hard. Looking for deception. All he saw was fear and desperation. He put the phone to his ear and cancelled his former order. Once done, he slid the phone away and said, “You’re very lucky that Lisbet Ascher didn’t die. Regardless of what it would do to the rest of your family, and how negatively it would impact Weithan Isle, I would have broadcast that tape far and wide.”

Without giving her time to respond—he had what he’d gone there to get, her confession—Elias stalked out of the solarium and headed toward the front of the castle. Along the way, he sent a discreet message to Jeremiah.

It’s done. Meet me in the car.

Elias explained to the butler at the door that he’d received word of a family emergency and wouldn’t be staying. He asked the man to give Severian his apologies, then swept out into the night.

Jeremiah was already in the sedan when Elias slid into the back seat.

“Well?” Jeremiah asked as the sedan swerved away from the castle.

Elias pulled a voice recorder from his other pocket. “She confessed, and I’ve got it on tape.”