Zoe POV

I stare at him.

The word sits in the air between us—hostage—and I let it land the way he intended it to, with the full weight of someone hearing something they didn't expect. Except I did expect it. I've known since the corridor outside his room, since I heard him say West Mountain will belong to me in the same tone you'd use to describe a transaction already completed.

'He means it. All of it. The war, the annexation—everything he said that night. This ...