Riley's POV

"And after all these... you still dared to stab Gunnar?"

My voice came out low and steady, but it carried across the hall without effort. Every guard heard it. Daphne and Wendy heard it. Ethan heard it most of all.

I lifted my hand and brought the knife up, the blade angled toward him. My grip was firm, my arm steady, my eyes fixed on his.

Ethan saw it clearly.

His reaction was immediate. His body went rigid, and his eyes widened before he squeezed them shut like that alone could save him. A scream ripped out of him, loud and desperate, as if the blade had already...