Page 56 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
They always had been.
After all, it washisfault she was sent away all those years ago,hispresence that seemed to endanger her at every turn; Noble had long-ago accepted that she was better off without him. It was time Noble took that seriously—no matter how much he wished otherwise. And with a better tincture, perhaps he could escape Fenrir City, finish his studies with Richold, and leave Waldron before Hattie returned.
With a shiver, Noble climbed out of bed and went to the small wash basin in the corner to shave. By the time he was done, a spitting rain was tapping on the window. He dressed in all black, swung his well-worncloak over his shoulders, and exited the inn, lifting his hood as he strode into the downpour.
The Collegium campus was nearly a straight shot down Rose Street. A silvery haze of rain streaked across Noble’s vision, obscuring the ornate spires up ahead, the towers becoming dark shapes in the deluge. Rivulets of water streamed across the cobblestones, emitting a mineral scent. Bells tolled in the foggy distance, their echoes drowned out by the weather. Droplets hissed on accumulating puddles, splattering Noble’s pant-legs. He ducked under awnings when he could, lest his clothes get completely soaked on his way to the lab.
Usually, at this time of morning, the streets in this part of Fenrir were fairly empty. But when Noble finally turned onto Adept’s Walk, he came upon a crowd. A shadowy mass of loitering bodies congregated just outside one of the colleges, huddled under the wide archway that led into the interior courtyard.
Inver, Noble realized as he neared. Hattie’s building.
Noble spotted professors already dressed for a day of teaching, apprentices still wearing their sleeping clothes underneath their cloaks, busybody shopkeepers from nearby establishments craning their necks at the commotion. Noble’s superior vision caught the jerky gestures of people who were afraid: quivering wrists, darting glances, shoulders that swiveled and sagged. Gold and silver flashes of armor confirmed the presence of both Mighty and Lawful Knights.
The bells. They were an alarm.
Fear clamped a hand around Noble’s throat as he picked up his pace toward the crowd. He caught snippets of conversation, but nothing conclusive:break-inandbloodandattemptandassassin. The more he heard, the tighter his windpipe clenched. He pushed through the throng, shoving bodies aside, searching for familiar faces, for answers.
Finally, he spotted Phina beyond the archway, just inside the courtyard, talking to a golden-haired Mighty Knight with a double-edgedbattle-axe strapped to his back. Relief spread through Noble’s limbs, and he elbowed his way through the crowd, cutting between a pair of conversing students, slipping past a professor talking to a guard, and—
An arm snapped out, barring him from going any farther. He looked down. The wrist was clad in silver-studded leather vambraces.
Noble removed his hood, glaring at the Lawful Knight who blocked him. Pulling up his sleeve, he revealed his Oath tattoo. “I’m a researcher here. Let me in.”
“‘Fraid I can’t allow—”
“Noble! Thank the Fates,” Phina called, beckoning him over.
Noble shoved past the Lawful Knight, striding across the grass toward Phina. She broke from her conversation and jogged in his direction, colliding with him in a hearty embrace. It lasted a mere moment before Phina pulled back, turned, and extended a hand toward the Mighty Knight with whom she’d been speaking.
“Oderin, this is Noble, my lead metalworker,” Phina said. “Noble, this is Oderin, my brother.”
Noble didn’t need an introduction to know that they were related. In addition to their matching blond hair and brown eyes, they also had identical jawlines and the same quality in their gestures. Having grown up among nobility, Noble knew the mark of etiquette training, of actions refined not just by tutors, but by bloodline.
“Your reputation precedes you, Major Farkept,” Noble said.
“Does it now?” Oderin perused Noble like a menu, his lips pressing into a pout. “Phina, you didn’t tell me your metalworker was sohandsome.”
“Fucking Fates, Oderin,” Phina whispered harshly, “this is not the time to make advances on my researcher.”
Noble couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s nice to meet you, Major—”
“Oderin, please.”
“Oderin,” Noble amended. “I’ve heard greatthings.”
“No, you haven’t,” Phina countered, resting her fists on her hips, the perfect picture of a little sister (though her sass was slightly diminished by the fact that her clothes were soaked-through, her hair plastered to her head).
Oderin gave Noble a firm, if slightly lingering handshake. “You aren’t NobleAsheren, are you?”
“How do you know that?” Phina asked.
“I’m not the only one with a reputation. His father isGeneral Kalden Asheren.”
Phina stared blankly at her brother.
“Mighty Knight of Marona?” Oderin went on. “He serves as personal guard to theking. He’s a walking legend, Phi.”
“Maybe among the gold brutes,” Phina replied tartly.
