Page 148 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
I didn’t agree, but I understood.
And with my hunger halfway satiated, Kalden’s earlier accusations weren’t so frightening. I shoved more chicken into my mouth, talking over it. “You already know I’m not a traitor.”
He lifted a bushy black eyebrow. “Do I?”
“Yes.”
“But you’re an alchemist of Fenrir?” he supplied.
I held his gaze, mustering courage. “Exactly.”
“I cannot allow you to report your findings to Lord Haron,” Kalden said. “You understand that, don’t you?”
That was…reasonable. And certainly not part of my plan. “What is there for me to report? I rid Noble of the curse. If what you say is true, that’s the opposite of what Lord Haron wants.”
“And what doyouwant, Hattie?”
I dropped the chicken thigh onto my plate, wiped my fingers off on a napkin, and threw the soiled cloth on the table. “I want to be an alchemist, which should be no surprise to you or anyone else in Marona,” I said. “I want to graduate from the Collegium of Fenrir with an apothecary license I can take home to Waldron. I want to live a peaceful life far away from the expectations and limitations of my former court. I wantfreedom.” I gripped the edge of the table. “Do you believe me?” I pressed. “Do you believe I’m not a willful participant in Lord Haron’s conspiracy?”
Kalden sat back in his chair, appraising me with a cool, calculated expression. “I believe you,” he said. “However, I am afraid that’s not an option.”
My grip on the table slackened.
So, this was it. I was back at the beginning. Kalden could overlook my role in Phina’s research, but he couldn’t overlook who I was.
“What’s your plan, then?” I asked flippantly. “Last time, you had me sent away, but clearly that didn’t work. Do you think my uncle would agree to have me executed this time?”
“I never suggested such a thing.”
“You might as well have,” I said.
“Sending you to Poe was a kindness.”
“Sending me to Poe was a death of a different sort,” I snapped.
Kalden stiffened, catching my meaning. “So, you escaped.”
“I had to.”
“Was the marriage agreement broken?” Kalden asked.
“Yes. I received documentation and assurance that the divorce was reported to the Census Ledgers in Fenrir.”
“Yourrealname is on the Fenriran Census Ledgers? That was a grave risk, Hattie.”
“Yet it has remained a secret until now,” I retorted. “Almost as if no one in Fenrir has been scouring the Census Ledgers for Maronan names.”
Kalden’s temple pulsed with irritation—then a new thought seemed to occur. “The crown was never notified.”
“That’s because the crown was sending the bastard money.”
My ex-husband Corvin’s greed had been a failsafe of sorts, a guarantee that my family would never learn about our separation. As the king still thought we were married, money continued to flow to Poe-on-Wend, and Corvin was more than happy to keep his mouth shut about my disappearance.
“And you ended up in…Waldron, you said?”
“That’s the short version.”
“And Noble?”
