Page 113 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
39
Alchemize
Noble
What if we tried water as a solvent instead of alcohol?” Hattie asked.
Noble glanced down at her, his thoughts fracturing. They were standing side-by-side at the table in his metal workshop, giving him the perfect view of her delicate profile and the necklace that disappeared down the front of her dress. A tiny purple bruise marked her neck from a biting kiss he’d given her that morning.
Distracting. She was altogether distracting.
“Noble?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes?”
Hattie cast a meaningful glance in the direction of the archway, through which they had a clear view of Phina and Kent discussing something with furrowed brows and questioning gestures.
“Court faces, remember?” Hattie whispered under her breath. “You can’t look at me like that. It makes me want to…” She trailed off, raised her eyebrows.
“Go on.”
She laughed throatily and poked his bicep. “Later.”
She was right, of course, butFates, it felt incredible to flirt with her for real, to talk to her for real, with no veiled meanings or withheld truths. Beyond what he could see, it was how he felt when he was with her: strong, determined, optimistic for the first time in ages.
And in spite of the harrowing purpose of their research, it had been thrilling to see Hattie work up close. She had a quick mind, easily pinpointing details that Noble would’ve missed, asking all the right questions about Gildium, referring back to patterns she’d observed in his notes. Day after day, failed experiment after failed experiment, Noble was still amazed by her prowess with herbal alchemy.
Hattie rested her fists on her hips. “You didn’t even hear my suggestion, did you?”
“I am capable of admiring youandhearing your words,” Noble said. “You were talking about water.”
Hattie appeared unimpressed but continued her line of thinking. “Ever since Uriel told me about water and Arcane magic last week, I’ve been racking my mind as to how to incorporate it into our research.”
“Haven’t you been adding water to your experiments all week?”
“Yes, but I realized this morning that I’ve never tried a Hylder tincture with water as thebase—I’ve been using my usual alcohol-based tinctures and incorporating water as an addition.” Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle with possibility. “But since Hylder and Gildium won’t bind to each other, perhaps they could be bound to water directly,thenmixed? Do you think Gildium could be alchemized that way?”
Noble thought back to Richold’s teachings. “It could be even simpler than that,” he replied. “I might be able to dissolve Gildium powder in water, no alchemy required.”
“Can we try both?”
Noble smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just fun to share alchemy with you.”
“It is.”
“Fun sharing other things, too.”
Herlips pressed into a curt little line as she stared up at him, clearly holding back from saying something flirtatious or familiar. Without another word, she turned, making to leave.
“Wait.” Phina and Kent had disappeared from view, and Noble took the opportunity to catch Hattie’s fingertips with his.
Her attention darted to the contact—then his face.
“How are your studies with the…?” He didn’t bother finishing the question.
