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“And?”

Hesitation. “You work for the king, the maker of laws. Are you not afraid of losing your position, or—?”

“No. What time would you like to duel?”

“Please, my lord,” said the fool’s sister, rushing to stand between us, “my brother is tired from his long journey. He didn’t mean anything he said, I swear.” She grabbed hold of his arm to lead him out. “I’m sure whoever you picked was just perfect for the position. I bear them no ill will. Truly.”

As soon as I looked at her, her muscles seemed to tense, her whole being nervous. Strange, as I had reserved all the threats for her brother. But then, she knew of my reputation. “Indeed, my lady, I’m sure you’ll soon secure a position better suited to your talents. As for your brother, I’m afraid it’s too late to back out of the duel.”

“And where is that written?” the man snapped. And there was the yelling I’d been waiting for. A strangely intense reaction to such a simple statement.

“Nowhere,” I said. “As you stated: Dueling is illegal. But I certainly wouldn’t show my face at court after behaving in such a cowardly fashion.”

“You wouldn’t dare tell.”

I shrugged. “It wouldn’t be much of a dare, if I’m honest.”

“Please, my lord,” the knight begged, and a pang of something like shame needled my gut—I didn’t enjoy begging, even if she was a knight.

Very well.

“Rest easy, my lady,” I said, though I could not summon a reassuring bone in my body to sound convincing. “All is well. I will not fight your brother.”

She looked relieved despite my tone but wasn’t moving to leave fast enough for my comfort. The extent of my patience for people had been reached. So I took her by the arms, ignoring her slightly shocked expression at the contact as I guided her out the door. I generally didn’t handle women who weren’t my knight but … desperate times.

The man moved to join her, but I slammed my hand on the table, and he halted, as if that one sound controlled his will.

“Come within ten feet of me,” I said, my voice low, “and I will bury you.”

And there it was, the fear I required.

I wasn’t heartless, took no joy in seeing it. But it was a necessary evil.

“We can pretend this never happened, for your sister’s sake. But consider this your sole warning.” He remained frozen, as if he didn’t realize he was free to leave. “You may go.”

He rushed out of the room and I locked the door behind him. Grateful for the silence.

CHAPTER 5CALLIOPE

Growing up, before she’d decided she hated me, Anise and I had turned speculating about what the palace was like into a game of pretend. In our imaginations, the walls were embedded with diamonds, there were indoor waterfalls one could slide down, and we could ring a bell and have our food delivered by unicorns. And, of course, there was a handsome prince for each of us to marry.

But as we grew older, our ideas of what made the perfect royal fairy tale began to change. For me, being the knight of Deus Rex was enough, as long as there was a brave boy with a sword to protect me. As for Anise, she’d only gone along with her parents’ plan for her to become a knight because she knew the higher position would bring better marriage prospects. All she wanted was to marry royalty and be a kept woman who needn’t work for a thing.

That’s when she began to hate me, I think. When it became clear that if one of us was ever going to make it to the palace based on our ability as a knight, it likely wouldn’t be her.

And to the dismay of her ego, she’d been right.

But now, I was finally going to see if the palace had been as spectacular as my imaginings, and that was all that consumed me. My heart and mind raced as I wondered once more at the possibilities, this time knowing I would soon behold what before had been so impossible.

I’d only ever seen the palace from afar, so when the carriage pulled through the wrought iron gates I was overwhelmed. The architecture was expansive, taking up so much ground, and yet still had so much green and gardens surrounding it. And the sheer amount of windows. Far grander than I could’ve ever imagined.

But I barely had time to take it all in before servants and more guards whisked us inside the large doors.

You can see the gardens later, I told myself. Whenever you want. You live here now.

My God. I live here now.

We passed under massive archways in the grand foyer, and I smiled up at them, feeling giddy. An intricate fresco adorned the high ceiling, and it was so glorious, I feared the sound of my footsteps in the great hall might wake the painted angels from their sweet sleep.