Jason Todd (aka Red Hood) had been locked in the castle for what felt like an eternity. A pawn, a glorified pet in the eyes of his captors. Each day, his anger boiled beneath the surface, but he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Every time he made a move to escape, they found that one nerve in his thigh—the spot that left his entire body trembling and useless.

It wasn’t even a cage he was trapped in now. No, they’d outsmarted him there. He wasn’t held in bars. He was seated, against his will, on the lap of the damn king himself, their fingers wrapped tight around his arms as he sat on their throne like some sick mockery of control. It was humiliating, but Jason had no choice but to accept it… for now.

He was used to being the one in charge, to taking control of his circumstances with his quick thinking and his instincts. But in this situation? He was nothing more than a puppet. Their puppet. His hands, tied by whatever twisted hold the king had on him, shook with suppressed fury.

Then, a shift in the air.

The king’s kid. The child who’d been quiet for so long, watching from the edges of the room, had come closer. Jason’s eyes darted to the little one, wondering if they were anything like their parent. Maybe the child had no real power—no say in what went on in this wretched place—but there was something there. Something Jason could use.

A chance.

If he could befriend the kid, build some kind of bond, maybe—just maybe—he could find a way out of this hell. Maybe, if he played it right, the king’s offspring could be his ticket to freedom. At the very least, they could provide him with an opening.

Jason’s mind raced, calculating, scheming. He would get out of here. And no throne, no royal guard, no damned nerve hold was going to stop him.

Not when he had a shot.