I have nothing against him for standing up to Arthur. Saints, I approve. He could have laid my teammate on his ass and I’d have bought the arrogant bastard a drink.

But the way he’s treating Alana? I could snap his neck. Who does he think he is? Why in the nine hells should she be ashamed? Is it her problem Arthur can’t control himself? And where does this bastard get off talking down to us? Who gave him the authority to command us?!

I’m not the only one offended. Alana’s friendly demeanor becomes hard as steel. He’s a head taller than her but she’s undaunted as she stares him down. “The initiates surrendered their positions of their own volition. My teammate didn’t lay a hand on them. If there was a problem, I imagine the acolytes registering the teams would have intervened. You have less authority than them so you’re in no position to pass judgement.”

He scoffs at her. Scoffs. “I have both the authority and the duty as a chivalrous man to intervene. I don’t expect a woman to understand.”

Oh, he’s pissed her off now. Alana goes from cold and determined to tense and angry. “I understand chivalry. I understand the good men who live by the code,” she snaps, voice rising in volume. “Chivalry is not about throwing your own ideals around. Defending the weak does not mean putting your nose into everyone’s problems and punishing evil does not mean you have blanket permission to confront every asshole who gets on your nerves! Don’t you dare use knighthood to justify your ego!”

I may be imagining it but her voice echoes in the ensuing silence. Anyone who wasn’t paying attention to the confrontation before certainly is now.

Robert isn’t cowled but he stares at Alana with wide eyes. If thoughts made sound, his would make enough to make my ears hurt. At least he doesn’t appear to be contemplating violence. If I thought he might lash out, I’d already be between them. I wonder if his ‘chivalry’ stops him from hitting a woman.

“…you speak the truth.” He takes a dramatic step backward and bows to her, including a sweeping gesture with his arm. “My distaste for his methods made me speak out of turn. Forgive my rude behavior, my lady.”

“…as long as you recognize your fault.” Alana’s shoulders relax at his de-escalation. Ah ah, here I thought she would tear into him a little more.

“However, his behavior is unacceptable. Selfishness or not, I will insist he stop.”

This is where Alana loses momentum. She hates Arthur as well and distastes his behavior. If he weren’t on our team, she’d be the pillar of righteousness who stepped out to confront him. She has no ground to stand on and she wouldn’t defend him if she could.

Time for me to step in.

“You’re right!” I say brightly, stepping up to them. I motion to William and Marthe standing quietly by the side and they join me. “His behavior is completely unacceptable. I’ll make sure he stops right now. Bell.”

“Coo!” My imp stops choking Arthur and moves to his feet. She drags him forward by the ankle. I motion my team to follow me as I step past Robert, the man hastily moving aside when he sees I have no intention of going around him. I don’t stop until I reach the front of the line, stopping behind the team currently being registered.

One of them glances back but swiftly turns to the acolyte handling his team’s registration. The team we’ve cut in line take one look at Arthur being dragged through the dirt and collectively steps back, smartly avoiding conflict.

Too bad Robert isn’t so smart.

“Hey!”

He stomps over to us, nose flaring in anger. I raise my brows. “Is there another problem?”

“You can’t cut in line. Go to the back!”

“Cut? I would ask you not to slander my reputation by spouting unjustified accusations. These people kindly surrendered their place in line. Correct?” I turn to them, doing my best to channel my wife in my smile. The five hastily nod. “See? Don’t demean such selfless generosity.”

“You—”

“I don’t understand you. Wasn’t your problem with Arthur’s behavior? He’s quiet and he isn’t bothering anyone.” I kick him in the side. He tries to kick out at me but Bell stops him with her tail. “We are standing in line properly. What’s the issue?”

“This isn’t—”

“It seems to me,” I interrupt, “that the only one causing a problem right now is you. Tell the truth, little hero. You don’t care about the right thing. You just want a good fight, don’t you? Normally, I’d be happy to let you apes slug each other to your heart’s content but we came here with a goal. I’d appreciate it if you’d stop disturbing us and get in line. No cutting.”

His calm façade is completely broken. His eyes are aglow and his fists are clenched at his side. A boy after all if this is enough to get under his skin. Probably too used to getting his way if he can’t get around a little bit of tongue-twisting. That heroic figure while confronting Arthur has been replaced by a mute idiot.

A subtle clearing of someone’s throat draws everyone’s attention. The team in front of us is gone and the acolyte is staring at us from his seat behind a small table. “Next, please.”

“That would be us, thank you.” I step forward and give the young man our names. From the corner of my eye, I see Robert stomp away but he frequently looks back. Do yourself a favor and let it go. It won’t end well.

“You may come to regret that,” the acolyte says without looking up from the paper he’s scribbling on.

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Acolytes don’t pay much attention to initiates but everyone knows him.” He looks in the direction of the failed hero. “Robert Quintana. He has all four basic affinities.”

I stiffen. “…seriously?”

“That’s not something anyone jokes about.”

Saints. A human with four affinities. That’s a one in a million talent. Maybe one in ten million. The kind that used to make the mediocre me of the past quiver in my boots at the thought of attending the Grand Hall.

“He’s been trained by an ex-royal knight and is practically the adopted son of the king. That’s the next Harvest Hero you just pissed off. Maybe a future duke.”

Dunwayne slew a dragon, which was actually a drakkon, with only the wind affinity and he didn’t receive formal training until he was a teenager. There’s no telling what a boy with four affinities and a lifetime of training is going to accomplish.

But what do I care? I’m the daughter of a god.

“Well, someone bound to be that great shouldn’t be petty enough to hold a tongue-lashing against me. We done?”

“Heh. You’re a bold one. Lourianne Tome, is it? You’re done.” He hands me a wooden token with the number thirty-seven written on it. “Tomorrow at ten, you and your team need to be at the west gate of the Beast Sanctuary. There, a guide will be waiting to lead you to the site of the test. They will also explain the rules. The test begins the moment you arrive so be prepared for anything,”

“Thank you.”

“Yeah, good luck.”

We leave the table. I spot Robert in line and wave to him, chuckling at his glare.

“There’s no need to antagonize him,” Alana says.

Marthe chuckles behind her. “You practically took him apart.”

She has the conscience to flush in embarrassment. “People think swinging around a sword and fighting monsters is enough to call themselves knights. They bring out chivalry and honor whenever they please to make themselves look good. It…bothers me.”

Really? Never would have guessed. “Next time he tries that, you have my permission to blind him.”

She smiles. “A surprise attack isn’t very chivalrous.”

“Who said it had to be a surprise? Challenge him first if it makes you feel better but don’t tell me you abide by some code of chivalry?” That’ll make corrupting you much harder.

“The knight orders of Victory don’t flaunt a code of chivalry like preening roosters,” she says icily. “They don’t need it. They are respectful because everyone is crucial to the war effort. There’s no evil to punish because no one dares in a place where even the wives are trained in swordplay. No one does stunts for glory or honor, as that is measured by the amount of enemy blood they spill.”

“Hm. Then why are you so angry?”

She looks me in the eye. “A knight is a knight. I may not care about the more traditional orders of Summer Spire but if he wants to portray himself as one of them, he will do so properly.”

“Or else?” I ask in amusement.

“Or else, I’ll…I’ll, uh…” She trails off with a frown.

I laugh. “Don’t worry. You’ll get your chance to figure it out.”

“If you’re talking about the test, it won’t be about combat.”

“It’s the Grand Hall. They train the best combat casters in the kingdom. They trained Dunwayne, for saints’ sake. I doubt they managed that by teaching him to avoid fighting. There will be combat, mark my words. And if Mr. Four Affinities is the kind of man I think he is, he’ll take the opportunity to get even.” Arthur is Robert’s antithesis and I seriously embarrassed him. A peaceful man would be tempted to throw a punch.

“…did you say four affinities?”