Three seconds tick by and the onlookers stare at one another as though they expect someone else to make the first move. But no one draws a weapon; no one jumps to his aid. My dad advances with a punch and Jag blocks, but my dad nicks Jag in the cheek with his knife, not enough to do any real damage, but enough to make him bleed. Jag reaches his fingers to his face, incredulous.

A snarl escapes Jag and he slashes his knife through the air in two fast swings, but unlike his previously precise movements, these are furious and out of control. And just like when I was a kid and my emotions got the better of me, my dad moves, waits for his moment, and delivers a perfect hit. He catches Jag’s knife midswing and sends it flying through the grass.

For a second everyone is perfectly still. Jag eyes his weapon, but it’s too far away for him to retrieve.

“Your reign is over,” my dad says, his voice confident. He takes a step toward Jag. “I want to be perfectly clear with you what that means: you’re not only done leading”—as my dad continues, his voice booms in the stillness—“you’re done being Strategia.”

“They’ll never follow you,” Jag says, not backing down. “You’re weak.”

“I disagree,” my dad replies, and for a second, I think I misheard him. Leading? As in leading the Lion Family? But he doesn’t…he couldn’t…could he?

“You’re an embarrassment to this Family,” Jag says in a condescending tone. “You rejected Strategia; you shirked your duties, you have no place here.”

“I never rejected Strategia. I rejected you. And while you’re correct that I didn’t build a reputation among Strategia as your son, I didn’t disappear from society. The Strategia know me by a different name.” He pauses. “The Ferryman.”

There are gasps in the crowd and the confident expression drains from Jag’s face as he realizes he publicly announced that the Lions hired the Ferryman to…capture himself. I’m so shocked I nearly drop my knife. And suddenly the missing pieces fall into place. Hawk said Mary and Jenny helped the Ferryman capture my dad. Which means that while the blood in the apartment was real, the scene must have been staged. Hawk was also at the ball. I couldn’t understand why my dad sent me into such a dangerous situation without a net, but Hawk was the net; Hawk wasn’t hunting me, he was keeping an eye on me. I stare at my dad in awe.

Jag’s expression hardens. “Rose—” he begins, but my dad cuts him off.

“Rose will lead with me,” my dad says, and I can’t believe what I’m hearing. My dad is going to lead with Brendan’s mom?