Valerie tipped back her head and laughed. “Your father wants me to be his Champion? What—don’t tell me that he’s managed to eliminate every noble soul out there! Surely there’s one chivalrous knight, one lord of steadfast heart and courage.”
“Mind your mouth,” Chaol warned from beside her.
“What about you, hmm?” she said, raising her brows at the captain. Oh, it was too funny! Her—the King’s Champion! “Our beloved king finds you lacking?”
The captain put a hand on his sword. “If you’d be quiet, you’d hear the rest of what His Highness has to tell you.”
She faced the Lords. “Well?”
Pamel leaned back in his throne. “My father needs someone to aid the empire—someone to help him maneuver around difficult people.”
“You mean he needs a lackey for his dirty work.”
“If you want to put it th
