Tonia's POV
Terror rippled through every fiber of my being. The guards had dragged me here on his direct orders. Which meant he already knew the truth about my disguise.
How could this be happening? Only Lucien and Samantha were aware of my masquerade. Had one of them betrayed me?
"Everyone out." His command sliced through the air like ice.
My chest tightened, not from the suffocating hood covering my face, but from the crushing weight of my own panic.
The sound of retreating boots echoed through the chamber until silence consumed everything except my labored breathing. Then came those familiar footsteps I knew so well.
They stopped directly in front of me. The hood was yanked away without warning.
Air rushed against my skin as I stumbled backward, gasping. My gaze traveled slowly upward from his polished boots to his face.
His face.
Kermit stood before me, close enough to touch.
