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“You can,” he said firmly. “All you have to do is stand where you’re told and repeat what the priest says. The chariot ride there will be longer than the ceremony, I promise.”

His expression reminded me of the audition, of how he’d comforted me when I was uncertain. And somehow it gave me hope, as it had then.

He pulled out his handkerchief, and I used it to sop up any building tears at the corners of my eyes. “He won’t touch you, my lady, if that’s what you fear. You’ll be his wife in title, but you have no obligation to him but as his knight. The marriage is a formality. It means nothing.”

“If it means nothing, why must I go through with it?”

He replaced my helmet on my head. “We must all do things we don’t wish to in service of the crown.”

If his words were meant to reassure me, they only succeeded in doing the opposite. But despite my dread, I was thankful he was there to take care of things for me. He retrieved his handkerchief and positioned my hands to hold on to the chariot before taking a step back. That was his job, a job I had been given no choice but to desperately fight him on. And yet he performed it as if it was his life’s work, as if my cousin wasn’t an obstacle at all. I had never felt so safe in all my life.

His gaze was steady on me as he said, “Walk on, Ivy.”

Without further instruction, the horse began walking into the courtyard.

As soon as Ivy brought me out into the bright morning, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause. I felt awe, looking out to their smiling faces. How odd that they should love me already, though they had never seen me before, and would never get to see me again. All because they knew what I was, what I meant to the nation. That I was the knight meant to protect them, even if none of them knew in what capacity. That, because I meant something to the king, I was worthy of their love and devotion.

They didn’t know me, yet trusted me. And that trust made me feel a bit braver.

The sun peeked out from the clouds, the light reflecting off my armor and causing a new wave of cheers. And the sun remained through the long, slow ride to the abbey.

Ivy halted at the bottom of the stairs. A guard helped me down, and I was relieved that Eliza and Faline were there, immediately adjusting my windblown clothing. I looked up at the dozens of stairs that would lead me to my future. At the king, in his matching gold, standing at the top.

In that moment, I no longer felt brave.

I felt trapped.

You could run, Cali. It’s not too late to escape.

But run where? With a guard standing beside me, trumpeters lining the stairs, hordes of people on either side of the gates.

There was nowhere to run but to meet my destiny.

CHAPTER14BERIC

Once the service began, it would be all of five minutes. The ride there and back to greet the people would take it to fifteen. Including the climb up and down the stairs would make twenty. Adding a buffer, twenty-three. And the king would wait until all the nobles exited and moved on to the reception, so that when he arrived, he wouldn’t have to wait for them to assemble. In total, about forty minutes.

Despite all the hard work that went into a royal wedding, the king didn’t appreciate long public appearances as much as tradition would dictate. It was Kat who convinced him he should stick with them, for the morale of his people—though Kat was a bit of a hypocrite, as she refused to appear in public with the king if she could help it. The rest of us didn’t have a choice.

I went to the kitchens to steal some wedding food, then fetched the cart I used to tote Cali’s armor from her room so I could leave it where I knew she’d end the evening—in the portrait room. Once it was in place, I found a hidden corner in the grand foyer to sit for twenty minutes. It was the easiest way to be there on time to attend to Cali and to get some rest without actually sleeping.

Eventually the nobles began filing in, chatting and laughing as they entered the ballroom. They passed me without notice from my place in the shadows. I raised my brows as I spotted Cali’s cousin on the arm of that duke who refused to duel me, of all people. I scowled. Squire indeed.

The hall quieted as a guard shut the ballroom door in preparation for the king’s entrance. I stood up from the shadows. They would be here any moment.

Sure enough, the outer doors opened, and the king strode in. I bowed my head as he passed, with no acknowledgment. He was bordering on a sour mood, and it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge.

Cali entered a few seconds later, looking a bit windblown but otherwise intact. Eliza and Faline fussed with her dress and cape, while I carefully removed her helmet. I froze at the sight of her face. It was tearstained, her eyes and nose red and slightly puffy. She hadn’t looked this bad when she’d left me, and suddenly my mind was racing with what might have happened and what I could do about it.

But I pushed the worries down. All I could do now was get her through the reception.

“Oh dear,” said Faline, and immediately went to wiping her face. “Poor darling. The pomp and circumstance can become overwhelming, I know.”

“I’m fine,” Cali insisted, though her voice wavered. Even attempting a smile, she looked and sounded the opposite of fine. “Just nerves.”

“Perhaps a damp cloth?”

Eliza shook her head, and we both glanced at where the king waited near the entrance. He would not be in a public-acceptable mood if he was left to wait much longer. “There’s no time,” she said.