ALEXANDER I was tempted—no, beyond tempted—to commit my first murder. And the reason would be Raina. More specifically, it would be that smug toad she called a boyfriend. Nathan. He was the root of everything going wrong. Every time Raina defied me, every time she shut me out or fought harder to distance herself, I could see Nathan’s influence. It had to be him. He was the one making things harder for me. Whispering in her ear, feeding her lies, poisoning her against me. If I could get rid of him, I would. I wanted to. But Nathan wasn’t a man who could be dealt with easily. The more I uncovered about him, the clearer it became that he was someone to be cautious around. He wasn’t just anyone—he was part of the same high class as I was, with connections that rivaled mine. He wasn’t some

