Grey's POV
The cameras still flashed behind me like tiny explosions, even as the tinted door of the car slammed shut. For a second, I just sat there staring at my own reflection in the dark window,sweat damp hair, stiff suit, trembling fingers pressed against my knees. My heartbeat hadn't slowed since the hospital, since Seraphim collapsed, since everything spun off its axis.
My mother slid into the seat beside me with that rigid elegance she clung to like oxygen. The door hadn't even fully closed before she snapped, "Grey Williams, what was that stunt you just pulled?"
I didn't look at her, I kept watching the flashing lights outside as the security detail cleared a path.
"A stunt?" I murmured, "I thought you told me to 'man up,' I thought you wanted me to take control of things."
"Control?" Her voice sharpened like cracked glass, "you announced an heir, Grey, a new heir, in front of every reporter in the district. Without discussing it with me, or your father."
