Page 37 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
“Richold believes I’m an enthusiast, nothing more.” Noble spared a glance in Phina’s direction. When she offered a small nod, he went on. “I went to Waldron to learn his techniques for working with Gildium, which is a rare metal that—”
“—was used to forge the Mirrors of Fate,” Hattie finished for him.
Phina arched a brow, but Hattie’s knowledge didn’t surprise Noble. She’d always been too clever for her own good. And given her closeness to Anya and Idris…who knew what they’d told her?
“But I thought this study was about Hylder?” Hattie asked her professor.
Noble’s jaw ticked. Phina had requested he not divulge that he was the one Hattie had helped in the alley; she didn’t want Hattie to know the extent of his involvement in this program—hisdependencyon it.
Selfishly, he didn’t want Hattie to know his shame, either. Though he had no right to her affection—and couldn’t act on his own desires without endangering her—he did take pleasure in knowing she cared. That their friendship had…meantsomething—and still did, even if only in hindsight.
But if Hattie learned the truth, she’d be sure to change her mind about him.
Thankfully, all that was moot. His Oath—even in retirement—prevented his honesty, regardless of what any of them wanted.
“There are many parts to the study, Hattie,” Phina clarified, “but Gildium and Hylder are our two primary areas of interest.”
With an air of suspicion, Hattie took in her surroundings. First, the gardens beyond the balcony, an impressive expanse of green vegetation and golden light. Next, the high structure of the glass dome, its windowpanels providing a temperate climate in defiance of Fenrir’s natural chill. Finally, the back wall of the mezzanine, where clear jars of liquid of various hues—from crystalline turquoise to opaque algae-green—had been arranged in neat rows on open storage shelves.
A vertical line formed between Hattie’s eyebrows. Noble knew that look—not anger this time, but consideration. Curiosity. It was the same expression Hattie got when they used to read together in the castle library, and she happened upon a passage she didn’t quite understand. The musculature in her forehead shifted, a slight furrowing that signaled to Noble that she was turning something over in her mind—pondering an idea from various angles.
When Hattie faced Noble and Phina again, her expression was purely academic. “I understand Hylder—but what does Gildium have to do with monsters?”
Noble had not expectedthat. He blanched.
Phina, on the other hand, chuckled. She extended an arm, gesturing for Hattie to walk with her. As the two women took the stairs side-by-side, Noble followed.
“The primary intent of this study is to bind Hylder to Gildium,” Phina explained.
Hattie—her anger fully forgotten—glanced over her shoulder at Noble with a mix of disbelief and excitement. It reminded him of the glances they shared as adolescents, across dining tables and ballrooms, wide-eyed and filled with meaning.
This glance said,Are you hearing this?
Unable to help himself, he offered a faint smile.Just you wait.
“Yourrole, however, is Hylder,” Phina went on. “We’ll start by having you compare your tincture to mine. Note the variations. Experiment with different sources. And you’ll assist the other researchers with notation and organization.”
Hattie was quiet for a few steps. Absorbing.
Noble focused on the back of her elegant neck. A couple ringlets had come loose from her bun and bounced with her buoyant gait. Her hair was a blend of wheat and gold threaded with individual strands of strawberry blonde. He knew from brief, platonic touches in youth that her curls were silky-soft.
“Purification and containment,” Hattie mused aloud—then looked sharply up at Phina. “You’re seeking some kind of cure, aren’t you?”
Noble all but stumbled, but Phina took Hattie’s realization in stride, giving nothing away. “The true purpose of my research is not your concern.” Phina’s Oath prevented her from divulging everything to her apprentices, but Hattie was smart, persistent, and not easily deterred.
Hattie glanced over her shoulder at Noble again, beaming. This glance said,I can’t believe I’m a part of arealstudy.
All he could offer was a tight-lipped frown. He was happy for her—somiserablyhappy to see her realizing her dream—but he was also dismayed. By her nearness. The dangers. The incomprehensible risks of Hattie being a part ofthisresearch in particular.
“But metal and herbs can’t be bound—can they?” Hattie asked as she and Phina reached the base of the stairs. “Metal doesn’t possess the open alchemical threads of herbs.”
“Most metals don’t, no,” Phina said. “But Gildium is different. It’s what the artisans refer to as alivingmetal.”
A faint ringing was beginning to fill Noble’s ears.
The more excited Hattie became about what Phina was involving her in, the more Noble began to fear for her safety. There was considerable danger in being a part of Phina’s research, not just because programs such as this were historically fraught, and this one was being funded by a lord who was known for shady politics, but because they were fiddling with materials they didn’t fully understand. Tinkering with the wills of the Fates. Altering the laws of nature.
Fear tethers you to your humanity.
