C102 ICE HUNDRED AND TWO: THE ROYAL NECKLACE.

THANE'S POV:

I kept my smile steady because that’s what you do when power presses a hand into yours: you return the pressure with grace. President Kwame Alade's palm was warm, his handshake firm enough to say he’d been tested a hundred times and never failed. He smiled like he meant peace. The room noise shrank to a dull buzz at the edge of my hearing.

“Mr. Slade,” he said, voice powerful