[Lavinia's Pov—Imperial Palace, Cassius's Chamber]
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Did I just… hear that right?
Was that a hallucination?
Does Papa think I am six or ten?
"Face the wall and raise your hands up..." I whispered in a daze, repeating Papa's words like they were some ancient curse from the scrolls of shame. "Did he really just say that to me?"
I turned to him slowly, a very wobbly, very nervous smile glued to my face. "Papa… you… do remember, right? I'm fifteen. As in one-five. Practically sixteen. Basically an adult in some kingdoms."
He didn't even lift his eyes from the book. He just licked his finger, turned a page, and murmured in that calm, bone-chilling tone of his,
"I don't need to be reminded of my daughter's age. I recall precisely how old you are, Lavinia."
"Well, good!" I clapped my hands. "Then surely you realize that telling a nearly sixteen-year-old girl to face the wall with her arms in the air is dramatically humiliating and borderline child abuse."
