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You have to let go, now.

I took a deep breath to prepare myself, which was a mistake—she smelled of warm vanilla, irresistible in a way I’d never expected. I felt myself beginning to blush like a fool, and perhaps that was why I finally ended the embrace and asked, “Are you all right, my lady?”

Calliope let out a small, embarrassed sound and began pushing herself away from me. I helped her sit up, making sure she was steady before releasing her.

“I’m fine,” she said quickly, though she looked away when she said it. “Thank you, Beric. I’m fine now.”

I didn’t want to think too hard about why I missed her scent as soon as it was no longer tucked beneath my nose, so I spoke to my horse instead. “Ivy. Home.”

The carriage took off, and I instinctively lifted my arm to steady Cali from the jolt of the sudden movement.

I was overdoing it, taking my duties too far. But God, I couldn’t help myself. I’d never wanted to protect someone so fully, so badly, in my entire life.

I looked down quickly as something touched me and watched Cali entwine my fingers with hers. My hand had been on her lap.… I was overstepping too far. And yet she gripped my hand, and I gripped hers, as if none of that mattered.

We sat in silence for a while—the vile cousin had clearly taken my warning seriously and kept to herself. And that was the problem. She hadn’t even attempted to help her knight—her own flesh and blood. The two didn’t seem close in the slightest, let alone as if they liked each other. She was no squire, in title or skill, and I was more positive than ever that my suspicions were correct.

This woman was blackmailing my knight.

And if Cali wouldn’t do anything about it, I would.

CHAPTER19BERIC

It wasn’t until Cali was safe in her room, with Faline and Eliza putting her to bed, that I felt comfortable enough to leave her. Before I’d been concerned, stressed, anxious, protective. But now that Cali was safe, all of those feelings melted into pure rage. I felt ready to explode. I needed to scream. To break something. And there were no safe places to do that, except for the depths of the garden or the privacy of my own room.

My room. I could make it there faster.

But the sound of footsteps sent my heart panicking.

“What happened?” Eliza asked, as she caught up to me.

“Go back to Cali,” I growled. Because I couldn’t say too much, not now. Not unless I wanted to break down right here in the hall.

“Beric.” Eliza tried to grab my arm, but I yanked away from her and kept on down the hall. “Her scar looks vicious. I thought you were only going to the perimeter.”

“In my room,” I said, because it was clear Eliza had no intention of leaving without answers. She did, however, give me the grace to make it inside my room before she spoke again.

She shut the door without being told. “Beric. Breathe, and then tell me what happened.”

I felt my chest tightening, but I tried to do as I was told. All I could think about was Vi’s dead body, torn nearly in half by a demon in The Dark. How I’d had to bear the long ride back to the palace keeping the king comfortable while Vi’s corpse lay at my feet, no cloth to hide the horrifying view. How that could have been Cali’s fate. How she would have never been in harm’s way if her cousin hadn’t accompanied us.

I paced the perimeter of my room until I could finally breathe enough to speak. “That woman. Cali’s cousin. She’s a talentless knight trying to pass herself off as a squire, but she’s completely useless.”

“Well, that’s more than obvious.”

“Why are you grinning, Eliza?” I snapped. “It’s clear she wants her position as knight. She almost got Cali killed. The demon’s never come this close to the edge before.”

Any trace of humor in Eliza’s expression was gone. “You think she purposefully got Cali injured?”

“She failed the audition, and all of a sudden, she’s in the palace as Cali’s ‘squire.’ She was running and screaming in The Dark, after being instructed not to. She could have helped heal Cali today but refused. Her intentions are clear.”

Eliza chewed on her lip. “From Cali’s point of view, it seems like her cousin is just trying to find a husband.”

“I suppose she hasn’t told you who her cousin’s mother is.”

“Tell me,” Eliza said, with almost too much excitement.

“That odious woman who rejected a proposal—”