Page 119 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
“I don’t know who or what you’re talking about.”
Mariana leaned back against the edge of the desk, crossed one ankle over the other, and blew on her tea. “Sure, you don’t.”
She wore armor tonight: a black breastplate and matching vambraces over a black short-sleeved tunic. Black leather straps crisscrossed her hips and thighs over black trousers, with numerous blades sheathed in convenient locations. The silver pommel of her sword—the weapon imbued with magic by her Order—jutted awkwardly out from her hip.
“I’ll admit, I was impressed by her ability to keep the bigger secret,” Mariana continued in a taunting drawl. “The illegitimate daughter of the queen’s dead sister?That’sa reveal.”
Noble was on Mariana in a heartbeat, the serrated bread knife under her jaw.
But she merely chuckled, glancing down at the dagger she had aimed at his oblique. She hadn’t even spilled her tea; it was still cradled in her other hand, held aloft and out of the way.
“Use your head, Noble,” Mariana tutted. “Don’t threaten the messenger. I’m doing you a favor.”
Noble lowered the bread knife an inch. “What’s going on?”
Mariana made a show of sipping her tea, then set it aside. “Move.”
His concern for Hattie barely outweighed his anger. He stepped back, allowing Mariana to push off the edge of the desk. She opened the drawer, pulled out one of his Hylder vials, and tossed it to him.
Questioningly, he held the glass aloft, the purple liquid sloshing.
“Just in case,” Mariana said.
“In case of what?”
“Your princess has been taken.”
Noble sawwhite, a flash of fear and rage so potent that he felt the abomination in his veins awaken. He took a single step toward Mariana, not knowing where to direct his fury. A growl rumbled up from his chest, rattled through his clenched teeth. His temples ached, his fingertips pulsed, and suddenly he wasn’t sure he wanted to hold the monster back.
He wanted to set it loose on whoever the fuck had kidnapped Hattie and shred them to pieces.
“Drink your juice, Noble,” Mariana said. “Your lady won’t like you showing up turned.”
White dress in a forest; the urge to shred flesh. His nightmares always ended with the desire to tearherapart, and Noble—Noble the man, the Noble who loved her—wouldneverlet that happen.
With shaking hands, he removed the vial’s cork and drank.
“Breathe,” Mariana said.
“Fuck you,” Noble retorted, but he did. He breathed.
With the Hylder spreading through him, the monstrous rage subsided—leaving behind a wasteland of worry, all harsh wind and cold terror.
“Speak,” Noble demanded.
Using her dagger like a fork, Mariana popped another piece of cheese into her mouth, chewing slowly. “I’ll admit, it took me a while to put it all together.”
Her calm demeanor was an insult. Unable to bear the sight of it any longer, Noble turned away from the Valiant Knight and began shoving clothes and random provisions into his pack—anything that might prove useful. The thought of Hattie in peril, harmed and frightened,taken…he sucked a deep breath in through his mouth and forced it out through his nose, trying not to lose control. “Speak faster,” he ground out.
“I think I’m the only one who knows, so far,” Mariana mused. “Even the Mighty Knights haven’t solved the mystery, although”—a chuckle—“their swords tend to be sharper than their wits.”
I love you, Hattie had whispered against his shoulder just this morning. And now…
Noble shoved his arms through the straps of his pack. “Mariana, I know we both work for Phina, but I am not above—”
“I wouldn’t say I workforher,” Mariana interrupted, sipping her tea. “My allegiance is to mycause. Phina and I have a mutual interest, is all.”
Noble retrieved his dagger from under the bed and pointed it at her. “Fates help you, Mariana,” he snarled, “if you do not tell me what happened to Hattie—”
