He heaved her out of Nadir’s hold, but she screamed and clawed and scratched him, her tiny hand gripping Nadir’s shirt so hard her knuckles turned white.

“Na-eer!” she screamed. “Na-eer! I want Na-eer!”

Rion struggled with the girl as she squirmed like a slippery eel in his arms.

“That’s enough!” Nadir said, his voice filled with venom. He pulled Amya away, and the girl folded herself around her brother, wrapping her legs and arms tight. “Leave her alone. Can’t you see you’re frightening her?”

Rion’s nostrils flared as he stared at his children. They hated him. Both of them. He couldn’t blame Nadir for his feelings—he’d been a terrible father—but Amya . . . Rion had thought Amya was a chance to try again. To fix the mistakes he’d made with his son. But she was only a toddler and already hated him too.

He looked over to where Meora stood, her mouth parted with surprise and her eyes wide. Gods, he hated her. Despite convincing himself otherwise, he still hated her as much as ever. When he saw her standing there staring at him with that judgment in her expression, he snapped.

He stormed over to Meora as the expression on her face morphed into terror. He seized her by the arm and started dragging her out of the room.

“Father!” Nadir shouted. “Stop this! Go back to your study.”

Rion rounded on his son. “Don’t fucking tell me what to do,” he snarled, his words slurring into one long garbled string. Amya still clung to Nadir, where she peeked out from the safety of his arms before quickly looking away, burying her face into her brother’s shoulder, her little body shaking with tears.

“Don’t let him follow,” Rion ordered a nearby group of guards, pointing at Nadir. “And if you try to follow, you can say goodbye to your mother once and for all.”

He let the threat hang in the air as Nadir glared, his jaw hard.

“Come on,” Rion said to Meora, spinning around and dragging her away, her feet tripping over each other.

“Father! Stop this!” Nadir’s voice followed him, dogging his steps. Rion breathed out a sigh of relief as they turned a corner, putting his son out of reach.

They reached Meora’s apartments, and he flung open the door to her bedroom.

“Rion! I’m sorry!” she cried. “I’m sorry.”

What was she apologizing for? Did she understand anything?

He shoved her hard enough that she tripped, landing on the bed. She flipped over to face him as he stood above her.

“You will remain here from now on, out of my sight, unless royal duty requires otherwise.”

Then he spun around and stormed out of the room, followed by her sobs.

As he stalked down the hall, Nadir appeared at the end, still holding Amya.