Page 31 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
“Pah,” Uriel grunted dismissively. “You have been reading too much, Sani. While the dramas of history are exciting, the past is not destined to repeat. We are not in a war; therefore, the adepts of today are not harboring war secrets. There has not been any meaningful conflict among the territories for hundreds of years.”
She was right. King Braven had made sure of it—with Oaths and unifying arranged marriages and constant diplomatic tending.
Sani frowned. “But why else would Phina’s research be kept secret?”
“Trade advantage? Public safety? Integrity of study?”
I would’ve believed Uriel’s less-frightening suggestions if it weren’t for what I’d witnessed in the alley. The involvement of knights that evening did seem rather…political.
Uriel swung her attention back to me. “Do not let Sani’s warmongering sour your triumph.”
“Hattie,” Sani said apologetically. “I wasn’t trying to discourage you. I’m happy for you!”
I grabbed an olive and a piece of cheese, weighing them as if my hands were scales. “Political conspiracy or boring research project?” I ate both bites and forced a smile. “I’ll find out soon enough.”
Uriel kicked her legs out, crossing them at the ankles. “If you are murdered, I promise to avenge you.”
“Then I pity my murderer.” The comment earned me a wide and wicked grin from Uriel, but Sani was still watching me with a hint of concern.
I poked her thigh, and she snapped out of whatever was troubling her and returned my smile. The conversation meandered to other topics from there, Sani’s expression easing as we joked and laughed. But a sense of foreboding was forming behind my ribs, hard and jagged as crystal.
The last time I’d felt like this—had entertained concerns of political scheming and a threat on my life—Ihadbecome a target. In response, my uncle hurriedly married me off; the best way to protect me from thescandal of my parentage—long-buried, freshly uncovered—was to strip me of any connection to my family.
In addition to Oath Ledgers, there were Census Ledgers, too: records of births, marriages, and deaths for every territory. Sending me all the way to Fenrir to take the name of a no-name mayor in a no-name town had effectively erased my true identity.
But it had also taken away my personhood. My sense of self.
I had not even been permitted to write to Raina, Noble, or my guardians. And while I’d grown up at courtknowingthat I’d eventually have to marry a random nobleman, having it rushed—having it be to someone unvetted andvileand violent—was terrifying.
Painful.
Lonely.
Mustering the courage to escape to Waldron and knock on Anya’s door was the greatest thing I’d ever done for myself, and up until this moment, I’d thought that realizing my alchemy dreams at the Collegium was the second greatest. But now, Sani’s warning and the resurgence of that familiar sense of foreboding was hard to ignore.
Because the last time I’d felt like this, I’d been right to be afraid.
Fates, what had I gotten myself into?
A Note
Included with Hattie's Birthday Gift
Dear Hattie,
Happy twenty-ninth birthday!
I purchased this necklace for you at last year’s Astrophel Festival and have been saving it for this occasion. Now you can carry a piece of Waldron with you everywhere you go (the vial is filled with water from the Wend).
Wishing you a fortuitous final year of unfixed Fate!
Love and hugs,
Anya
A Letter
Posted from: Hattie Mund, Collegium, Fenrir City, Fenrir T.
