Page 5 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
“I amnota girl anymore, Noble,” I bit out.
His eyes dipped, taking in my figure with quick efficiency, before meeting mine again. “Clearly,” he said, but his tone wasn’t suggestive or sarcastic—it was thick, as if the fact pained him. “I’ll see you around, Peach.”
With that, he turned, abandoning me on the riverbank.
Only after he’d disappeared into the trees did I venture a breath. My tongue darted out, sweeping the same path Noble’s thumb had traced on my lower lip, savoring the residue of him with my taste magic: salt, iron, leather, and the indescribably primal flavor of his skin.
It wasn’t just my unresolved feelings for Noble that rattled me, but the collision of past and present. I might’ve insisted I was different now, but the truth was, even after eight years apart, Noble still understood me better than anyone else. Because he knew where I came from. Who I truly was.
After living a lie for so long, I’d forgotten what it felt like to beknown. It was a painful relief, like working a knot in a muscle, a tension that unraveled into something tender.
A hot tear streaked down my cheek, mingling with the rainwater. How in the Fates was I supposed to live in the same town as theoneperson who knew the real me…and pretend we were strangers?
You will endure as you always have, I told myself.You will endure because you must.
By the time I returned to the Pretty Possum, Noble had vacated his room, and I’d shoved my heartache back into the cellar where I kept all my darkest and most painful secrets.
Where I kept the real me.
1
Farewell for Now
Hattie
Do you have everything you need?” Anya asked, adjusting my shawl before pulling me into a tight embrace.
From over her shoulder, I saw her partner, Idris, cross his arms. “I already loaded her trunk into the wagon,” he said. “It was surprisingly heavy.”
“Can’t study herbal alchemy at the esteemed Collegium of Fenrir without my books.” As Anya and I drew apart, I gripped her hands, squeezing. The midmorning sunlight was bright, making her red hair spark with copper. “And the real question is, doyouhave everythingyouneed?”
I’d helped my best friend run the Pretty Possum Inn & Pub for going on nine years—ever since I showed up in the middle of the night as a bruised and frightened newlywed, half frozen to death—and while she pretended to onlytoleratemy concern, I knew that deep down, Anya appreciated someone looking out for her. Especially sincesheplayed that role for everyone else in our merry little town of Waldron-on-Wend.
This would be the first time I’d left Waldron since my harrowing arrival, and it wasn’t just Anya’s lack of assistance behind her bar that had me feeling anxious. Waldron washome. More so than anywhere else.
Anya scoffed. “I’mfine,” she said. “I have Idris, and Martha already agreed to help me in the kitchen while you’re gone.”
“Are you telling me you don’t need meat all?”
Anya reached up and tugged on a curl that had escaped the bun on my head, letting it spring into my face. “I’msayingthat I’ll manage without you while you pursue your dream. It’s the least I can do.”
“You’ve already done so much.”
Anya dismissed my comment with a wave. “Don’t start.”
I glanced at the gathering crowd. Martha, the town baker, was gesticulating wildly at Hugh, the chandler, who’d arranged for me to travel with the wagoner who led his candle shipment. Around them, I spotted countless familiar faces—Farmers Timmons and Quinn, Vera the florist, even Richold—but not the face I continually sought.
Nearly the entire town had come to see me off, but Noble was nowhere to be found.Notthat I expected him to come to my sendoff. For the past year, we’d succeeded at pretending we were strangers; me leaving was no reason to deviate.
I turned back to Anya. “Don’t let Martha move anything.”
She laughed. “You’ll be gone for six months, I make no promises.”
I tossed my hands in the air. “That’s it! Idris, unload my trunk.”
He came forward, folding me into a strong hug. “No turning back now, Hattie.” His short beard tickled my cheek as he added in a faint whisper, “Don’t worry, I’ll look after her while you’re gone.”
“I heard that,” Anya said.
