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“Armor on, then,” I said.

Faline quickly patted the poor girl’s face dry, and I put her helmet on again. Her maids each took an arm, leading her quickly toward the king.

“You’ll be out there ten minutes at the most,” I said, walking behind her. “Just long enough for everyone at court to pledge their allegiance.”

“Sit up straight on the throne,” added Faline. “And don’t cross your legs.”

They handed her off to the king, and the guards opened the doors. I put in my earplugs just as the doors were opened, but I could still hear the muted chants of “Lady Greensleeves!” ringing out.

The people loved her, and I prayed it wasn’t as overwhelming for her as it was for me. I kept to the wall, observing until I was needed. Cali and the king sat in matching thrones beside each other, as the nobles, one by one, couple by couple, bowed and congratulated them.

“There you are.” Eliza joined me at the back wall, handing me a glass of wine. “You look miserable.”

“So does Cali,” I said, before downing the glass.

Eliza raised her brows at the action, taking the glass from me as if she was worried I might somehow do it again. “She’s surrounded by strangers in an overwhelming situation. And my father is … well, who he is. She has every right to be a little nervous.”

“A little nervous? You saw her face. She looked as if she wept the entire ceremony.”

For a moment, Eliza fell silent, before saying, “We should consider our positions a blessing. We all came into Vi’s life too late to make a difference—by the time I became her maid, she assumed I could’ve been nothing but a spy for my father. But Cali hasn’t been corrupted by the system, yet. We can take care of her.”

“I should’ve started by never bringing her here in the first place. She’s too innocent for this life.”

“Who’s to say Vi wasn’t innocent when she first started? The difference is, Cali has support from good people from the very beginning.”

I refused to believe that woman had ever been innocent, kind, decent. Perhaps she hadn’t asked for everything that came with being the God King’s knight—all the deception and secrets, the threat of death looming. But I hadn’t asked to be beaten nearly every day, from the moment I reached the palace until the moment I was old enough to physically return her blows.

Besides, the level of restrictions increasing had been her fault, because she had refused to adhere to the game the rest of us were faithfully playing. She refused to let the king believe he was winning. That was her true downfall, no matter what killed her within The Dark.

No. There had never been any good in her, and she’d worn it like a badge of honor until her last breath.

The king was standing, holding out his hand to his new bride, which meant they had gotten through all the congratulations—I had promised Cali ten minutes, but it hadn’t even been that long.

I followed them into the back room, and as soon as the door was shut, the king said, “We are not to be disturbed for the next few days,” and left without another word.

I turned to Cali. Her hand was pressed against her stomach, and she took deep breaths, as if trying to ease panic. I could relate.

Quickly, I went to her, removing her helmet. She looked even more miserable than before, if that was possible.

“Is your dress fitting too tightly?” I asked, placing her helmet on the prepped velvet-lined cart I’d left in here earlier.

“No,” she said, with a breath of a laugh. “No, my dress is the one thing I’ve enjoyed about today.”

“Well, it’s over now.”

She scowled at me, then sat in the closest chair she could find, pressing her hands to her face.

I hesitated. This was why I tried my best not to speak around Vi. I would go about my duties. Remove her armor and get away quickly so as not to be in the path of her wrath. Because speaking, more often than not, would result in me saying the wrong thing. Saying something I would be punished for.

But it didn’t seem like Cali had it in her to beat me, at the very least.

“You don’t have to go back out there,” I said.

“Don’t I?” said Cali, with a bitter chuckle. “Everyone was chanting for me. It’s my wedding day, after all.”

“You’ve said your vows, made your appearance. You’ve done enough.”

None of that seemed to reassure her, as demonstrated by her long groan.