Page 70 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
This was the varietal that Hattie had used in the tincture that had proven so effective against his affliction. Something about the magical structure of its cells being more open than common Hylder, with more threads for magical binding.It’s unique, like Gildium, Phina had explained to him shortly after Hattie’s breakthrough.A match made by the Fates themselves.
To investigate its properties further, Phina had instructed Hattie to make large batches of the tincture over the past couple weeks, but, puzzlingly, the tinctures she’d mixed in the lab hadn’t felt quite as effective as the one she’d brought from Waldron. He knew he ought to mention that to Hattie—combine their alchemical efforts—but for obvious reasons, he’d been putting that off.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Noble turned and—yes, he thought indulgently.Beautiful.
Hattie stood on the path about six feet away. She wore a plain dress of rich yellow ochre, the cinched waist accentuating the modest flare of her hips. The thin straps were made of silk ribbons, barely clinging to her shoulders. She watched him with crystalline blue eyes, her pert nose scrunching. Her dark freckles were proof that even the sun wished to shower her in kisses, to mark her with adoration. As always, the soft pile of curls atop her head begged to be unbound.
But what truly caught Noble’s attention was Hattie’s warmth. Her smarts. Her vibrancy, even in the midst of hardship and uncertainty. The fact that she could still stand before him with a smile on her flower-petal lips, after he’d befriended her and broken her heart, abandoned her and then haunted her steps, confessed his care for her only to ignore her for weeks on end—it was a testament to her shine. Noble was both awed by Hattie’s resilience and ashamed of his role in necessitating it.
Beautiful, isn’t it?she’d asked.
Yes, he wanted to say.You’re the most beautiful thing in the kingdom, inside and out. I’m pretty sure the Fates created you out of pure sunshine.
Noble allowed himself one more moment to appreciate her unexpected presence before he cleared his throat and turned toward the Hylder again. “Phina said you’ve been working with it quite diligently.”
Hattie stalked closer, until they stood side by side, facing the mass of black lacy leaves and pink flowers.
“Diligent is one word for it,” Hattie said with a self-deprecating but ebullient laugh. “Fumbling around in frustration is more like it.”
Noble glanced sidelong at her profile. “Anything I can help with?”
“I’ve seen your notes—no thank you.”
He snorted.
“Theyareimpressive though,” she went on, surprising him. “Messy, but insightful.”
In a life defined by his shortcomings, he rarely feltproud, but…the compliment made him proud. “Thank you.”
Hattie swiveled, facing him squarely. “What are you doing here, Noble?”
He mirrored her position, facing her head-on. “Went for a walk to clear my head.”
“I meant at the Collegium.”
“I’m helping Phina.”
“But how did you—”
He tapped his collarbone, where the faded tattoo of his former Order ringed the base of his neck. “We met through this,” he said, tasting the vague warning of his retired Oath on the back of his tongue.
Hattie lifted her chin, appraising him. “When we were kids, I wouldn’t have expected you to one day become a metal alchemist. When did that happen?”
“It was a long nine years,” Noble said, and he wasn’t planning on saying more, until he met her eyes and saw the pleading there. The desire for truth. “After you…left,” he continued delicately, “I spent a lot of time in the library.”
Her upper lip curled slightly, a flash of joy, followed by a stab of sorrow. He’d missed her. Of course, he had. It made him sad to think she’d ever doubted that fact.
The library had been their happy place. Snacking on bread and cheese, lounging on velvet-upholstered chaises, cracking jokes in between long stretches of amiable quiet. It was where he told her his deepest fears; where he’d discovered how ticklish the tender spots just above her collarbones could be. They had teased each other about their taste in books, Hattie deeming him fanciful for reading adventure novels while he claimed she was too clever for her own good after reading so much science.
But tucked within their silly jokes was something more profound: an unconditional fondness. He’d cherished their friendship, while alsoyearning for more, and duty had kept him caught in between, with no choice but to relish only thenow, and not the fantasy of what could be.
After Hattie disappeared, the library had felt so empty—but it had also been his last connection to her. A reminder of how lucky he’d been just to read side by side with someone so incandescently funny, intelligent, and kind. And as long as he didn’t look up from his book, he could pretend she was there in the chair opposite his.
Noble shrugged lightly, hoping the casual gesture would ease some of the pain of recollection between them. “One day, I picked up one of your alchemy books, just out of curiosity.”
That familiar vertical line formed on her brow. “You mean to tell me that I spent my entire adolescence trying to get you to read about alchemy—only for you to read it the moment I was gone?”
