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“Yes.”

“Did he say why?”

I shrugged. “Does he ever?”

Kat sighed, rubbed her temple. She looked at her stack of papers as if she wished they would disappear. “Have you explained the marriage to her, yet?”

I felt my jaw tightening from the tediousness of this conversation. “And scare her off before she even arrived at the palace?”

“The last thing it would’ve done is scare her off, at that point. Most young ladies would die to be the wife of Deus Rex.”

Even after a decade of working alongside her, I still couldn’t tell if Kat was pretending to adore the king because she didn’t trust me with the truth or if she truly believed what she was saying. She didn’t work with the king in person as often as I did—most of his orders for her came in written form, because he didn’t like to leave his room unless it was completely necessary. So perhaps she could hold those opinions because she didn’t have to get that close. Or maybe she was lying. Neither option had ever made sense to me.

Because she’d been the same way with Vi, singing her praises while simultaneously never having to work with her. She’d seen the bruises left by Vi’s gauntlet, yet talked as if they’d come from a trip to The Dark. It was almost as if she was deliberately oblivious. But the perfect queen for a king built on lies was one who didn’t ask too many questions.

Still, she’d always been nice to me, never treated me like I was different. And she did her job efficiently and effectively. That was all I could expect from a colleague, and it was enough.

But even she couldn’t have been blinded or brainwashed enough to believe that the kingdom wouldn’t fall apart in two seconds if the king was allowed to make any significant decisions. He needed us to rule just as much as we needed him to keep us from being swallowed into hellish darkness.

“Well, seeing as the wedding’s tomorrow,” I said, shifting to leave, “I suppose I’ll tell her now.”

“I’d better handle it,” said Kat. “She’s seen the king already and was a bit … unsettled after. I feel the subject should be approached delicately, at this point.”

What she meant was that I would be indelicate. I gripped the stone doorway.

“I’ll send a note to Eliza,” she continued, “to bring Cali to me before she heads to court.”

“Fine,” I said, stiffly.

“You should be proud of your selection, Beric,” Kat said, before I could leave. “Calliope is delightful.”

I sighed, tapping on the doorframe impatiently. “Is she?” I said, with little interest.

She raised her brows at me. “You didn’t select her for that reason?”

I sighed. Why did everyone keep assuming that? “I selected her because she’s an accomplished magic user.”

Kat leaned back in her cushioned chair, her hands clasped. “She is rather friendlier than Vi was.”

“Rather.”

“And age appropriate for you.”

I paused. The thought had never occurred to me, even if I did like what I’d seen of her at the audition. Honestly, I’d rather die than think of it again. She was a knight. “And marrying the king tomorrow, if you’ll kindly delegate the preparations.”

“Vi and Gabriel loved each other, you know,” Kat said, her words halting me before I could leave the doorway.

I forced myself not to roll my eyes. I should’ve just left, as rude as that seemed. The queen was technically above me in rank, even if we had the same caliber of duties. And yet, I couldn’t find words to respond to her. I couldn’t find words that mattered, not even lies.

Because I’d never met Gabriel—I didn’t know what kind of man he was, but if he could love someone such as Vi, he couldn’t have been much. Besides, they were both dead. And good riddance.

Kat frowned. “You’re twenty years old, Beric. You shouldn’t have to be lonely.”

“I’m not lonely,” I grumbled. “And you would love match the world if you could.”

“Why shouldn’t I? Everyone needs love.”

“Not from a knight,” I said coldly, remembering myself enough to give her a slight bow of my head. “Excuse me, Kat. I’m sure we both have plenty to do before the wedding.”