Page 79 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
“I don’t want any distractions,” I said tightly.
“You’re saying I’m a distraction?”
I pressed my lips together. Noble had joked with me when we were young, but I’d never allowed myself to assume he was flirting—at least, not forreal. But now… now, I wondered how I’d never seen through his act. The veiled sincerity in everything he said and did.
All that time, Noble had cared about me, too, and led me to believe otherwise.
Suddenly, I didn’t care that he’d done it out of duty, or out of respect for my station, or even to protect me. Nor did I care that Oderin was observing us. Fury raged inside me like river rapids, powerful and unforgiving.
I let the anger wash over me as I lifted my chin, meeting his eyes. “Fine. Let’s spar.”
Oderin chuckled. “Very well.” He left us in the center of the ring, heading for the weapons rack.
“I love the look of you angry,” Noble whispered.
“Don’t push me.”
His chest puffed with a silent laugh.
“Are you truly so blinded by a minor bruise that you’d risk Oderin figuring out our history?”
“You’re the one making a fuss.”
I growled through my teeth, then clenched them tighter, trying to get ahold of my emotions.
Oderin returned carrying two shortswords. The greatswords they’d been sparring with were far too big for me to use, and apparently, my instructor wanted to give me a fighting chance. He handed Noble a dull practice blade before carefully extending the hilt of my weapon in my direction.
Only…this sword was fancier than the one I was used to training with. Its grip was wrapped in braided leather, worn smooth from use. The pommel was gold-plated and set with a ruby the size of a grape. The cross guard was wide and also gold, the metal tooled with an intricate spiral pattern. It was almostdecorativein its finery—if it weren’t for the very real and very sharp blade.
“That’s not fair,” Noble said, pointing at the deadly edge.
“I have to agree,” I said to Oderin. I didn’t trust myself with arealweapon. I didn’t have the spatial awareness or control to guarantee I wouldn’t actually land a hit.
“As you said, Hattie, he’s been training since birth,” Oderin said. “I’m just giving you an edge.”
Noble snorted at the pun.
“But I don’t want to hurt him,” I protested.
With an air of smug confidence, Noble assured me, “You won’t.”
Then he was tugging the hem of his shirt up his torso and off.
My mouth went dry. I was instantlydyingof thirst, and he was a crystalline lake. I had to physically resist the urge to lap him up, because…
Fates, he was perfect. Annoyingly so. While most knights were bulky, Noble waslean. From his broad pectorals to his carved abdominals, every muscle stood out in stark prominence underneath an endless expanse of smooth brown skin. Wide shoulders tapered into a narrow waist, with an etchedVbracketing the trail of black hair beneath his belly button. His body was a hard landscape, and I wanted tocrawlacross his terrain.
This was entirely unfair.
My gaze licked up the defined ridges of his body all the way back to his face, about to protest the blatant attempt at distraction—but the words died on my tongue because…he wasn’t smirking anymore. He looked as hungry as I felt. More so, if that was possible.
I feel like I’m starving, Hattie.
When he arched an eyebrow, his expression echoed what he’d said the other night:Whatever you’re thinking about, stop.
I tightened my hand on the grip of my fancy sword, suddenly ready to release some of this pent-up tension with a little violence.
Oderin clapped, startling us both. “Hattie, let’s have you practice some defense,” he said, walking backward out of the training circle to stand on the sidelines. “We’ll have Noble take an offensive strategy, and you’ll focus on blocking him.”
