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Kat sighed, shaking her head at me, as if I was the unreasonable one. “Indeed we do.”

I left quickly, putting in my earplugs. Court was looming closer, and I wouldn’t let anything or anyone else distract me from getting some sleep.

CHAPTER8BERIC

I managed an hour of sleep before finally bathing away the remnants of battle and preparing to present my new knight at court. I didn’t expect anyone to receive her poorly—quite the opposite, in fact. Albert would be there, but he was mostly around for show—and Faline, but that was his own business. Regardless, I suspected I’d be in for a lot more bodyguarding than squiring tonight.

I went to the armory to select an appropriately threatening knife for court—I would have my sword, but there would be no point in drawing such a serious weapon with the likes of these people. Most of them knew me well enough that I wouldn’t need a weapon at all, but it was important to establish the rules concerning the king’s new knight early on. That way I’d have far less trouble later.

It was odd how much my job felt like babysitting, more than anything.

Princess Eliza entered with a knock. It always baffled me why she bothered knocking if she wasn’t going to adhere to the rules of the action.

“Do you have any pauldrons prepped?” she asked. “Preferably the rose gold? I want everyone at court to immediately recognize Cali as a knight.”

“Rose gold?” I’d come up with a system long ago to organize the knight’s armor, so locating the item was like second nature. “Did you get Kat’s note about tomorrow?”

“I did,” Eliza said, though she seemed more amused by it than I was.

“A royal wedding. In less than a day.” I examined the shoulder armor. “The manpower it’s going to take to prepare for it doesn’t seem worth the trouble.”

“Never you mind, sweet boy, that’s not your cross to bear.”

“Why can’t he just wait?” I wrapped the armor pieces in velvet before handing them to her. “He won’t want her in the adjoining room for a good while, anyway. If ever. He doesn’t even like her.”

Eliza laughed, and it grew my frustration—what was funny about a realistic strategy? She patted my cheek and smiled. “Oh, you brilliant boy, please tell me you chose someone he wouldn’t like on purpose.”

“That’s treasonous to say aloud, Elle. Even for you.”

She shrugged carelessly. “It would be funny, that’s all.”

“I don’t see the humor.” I rushed over and took the armor from her as she attempted to tuck it under her arm. My heart pounded. No one was damaging these meticulously kept pieces, not on my watch. “I’ll meet you outside of the doors with the pieces you chose.”

“I’m sorry, Beric, truly,” Eliza said, gentle concern knitting her brow. “That didn’t make you anxious, did it?”

“Between this and the wedding?” I said, putting the armor back in its place. “We’re getting close.”

“Well, I am sorry for mishandling it.”

“I know. It’s okay.”

Eliza was the only one who had ever genuinely tried to see my point of view when it came to … well, anything. And, if she didn’t understand, at least she was patient with me. Which was more than I could say for Vi, who spiked my anxiety every time she entered the armory, dropping pieces anywhere she pleased. An unhealthy obsession, she called it, but there was nothing obsessive about organizing things in a way that made them easy to locate. I was the one dealing with seven suits of armor, after all.

Eliza folded her arms across her chest, leaning in the doorway. “I really like her, by the way. Cali. You couldn’t have chosen a more perfect knight.”

I grinned. “Really?”

“A breath of fresh air compared to the last one, may she rest in peace.”

I nodded. “Yes, I found her to be very sweet.”

“And so beautiful.”

“Is she?”

Eliza smirked, raising her brows. “I don’t know, Beric, is she?”

“Yes, now that you mention it.”