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Immediately, I felt a hundred pairs of eyes on me.

Even if they didn’t stop their conversations or dancing, everyone in the room noticed me. I felt like running in the opposite direction.

My cousin would have been right at home here. She had been raised from an early age to be a noble’s wife, and a knight was a respectable position for a woman. She should have been here sooner, my childhood tormentor finally gone. But my aunt had rejected at least a quarter of the nobles before they’d even had time to propose, hoping to aim higher for my cousin. And since gossip is all some people have, news went around quickly that my cousin thought she was too good for anyone. For my aunt, nothing beneath a duke would do for her daughter.

But Eliza and Faline soon joined me, and began introducing me to people who were just as friendly and welcoming as they, and I thought that maybe I did belong here after all.

However, even with that lovely reception, finding a dance partner proved to be difficult. Every time a man approached and would begin speaking with me, he’d suddenly become nervous or evasive and excuse himself. I smelled of soap and perfume, and I looked beautiful in my dress, so I didn’t understand: What about me could have possibly been offensive?

The final straw was a gentleman who only got as far as introducing himself before he got spooked and abruptly left without delay.

I turned on my heel to find none other than Beric standing ten feet away. He seemed to be minding his own business, holding an empty wineglass while a servant filled it, but I remembered the effect he’d had on the other knights at the audition—they’d immediately cleared the way for him. Maybe he had that effect on a lot of people.

I stormed over to him, my companions following at a casual pace behind me, which felt awkward—to berate a boy in public was one thing, asking the two ladies and a guard if they could cease following me so I could berate him without witnesses was another.

“Excuse me, Grim Reaper,” I said, with a grimace of a smile, “would you please stop hovering? You’re scaring everyone away.”

“Certainly, my lady,” he said. “Now that I’ve made my point.”

“Point?”

“That you’re not to be toyed with.”

“I can take care of myself on that score. And besides, I have Albert, and Eliza and Faline. I’m sure three people are more than enough to keep one knight out of trouble.”

“You’re young and beautiful and new. The men will try anything to pursue you before the wedding.”

The very fact that I blushed at his compliment as well as his implication should’ve been enough proof that perhaps I was a bit green when it came to court dynamics, and that it was better to trust the one who knew everyone best. But who was he to control who I spoke to? I had my own mind. I wasn’t just going to let anyone take me to bed just because they spoke pretty words and danced with me.

I crossed my arms, glaring up at him. “So your duty as squire is to prohibit me from making friends? That’s one I haven’t heard before.”

Beric scoffed from over his wineglass. “You don’t want to be friends with these people.”

“No, you don’t want to be friends with these people.”

He shrugged, but didn’t deny my accusation. “No one is here for genuine interactions, only for what they can gain from proximity to the crown. ‘Befriending’ you will just give them greater proximity. Trust me, you don’t want that kind of headache.”

I stepped closer. “And why should I trust your opinion on the subject, when they scatter as you approach? What have you done to these people to make them hate you so?”

Beric looked at me, and it was hilariously ironic how his death glare spoke for itself without him adding, “Not hate. Fear.”

I scoffed. “I don’t know which is more despicable.”

I felt awful as soon as the words left my mouth. But honestly, he had my cousin publicly dragged away—and it’s not like he knew I’d rather not have her here—now he was dictating who I could speak to? I could scream, I really could.

And, for all my frustration, he only gave a small shrug. “I’ve been called worse,” he said. And walked away.

I had the strange impulse to go after him, to make him explain himself. But I had a stronger urge to defy him—to make people like me, despite his efforts to keep me lonely.

I walked over to where the band was, the courtesans not currently working their charms on the nobles surrounding them as they played. Everyone looked at me curiously as I approached.

The leader lowered his lute with a smile and gestured for the rest to continue playing. He bowed as I approached. I was sure the gesture must be for Eliza beside me, yet his gaze remained fixed on me.

“My dear princess, you’ve outdone yourself,” he said, taking my hand. “This vision is inspiring songs as we speak.”

Eliza smirked. “It’s her first day, Sunny, she doesn’t know your sense of humor.”

“This time I mean every word,” he said, holding my gaze as he kissed my hand.