Page 62 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
“That’s because monster blood contains Gildium.”
I covered my mouth with trembling fingers.
Noble was the lead Gildium metalworker on the project. As far as I knew, he’d been a member of Phina’s research team since the beginning. And he’d been in Waldron studying under Richold’s tutelage.Fates, ifRichold knew what his teachings were being applied toward, his gentle heart might’ve given out.
Mine certainly wasn’t doing so well at the moment.
“How many researchers on the project know all this?” I asked.
“Few,” Viren said. “Let’s just say I overheard something I shouldn’t have.”
“There’s a lot of that going on,” I remarked. “Why are you tellingmeall this?”
Viren reached out and gripped my hand with clammy fingers. “Your breakthrough the other day progressed the research in a way we didn’t expect,” she said. “Common Hylder can be bound to iron, but as far as I can tell, not Gildium; Black Lace Hylder, on the other hand, appears to have more potential for binding. It could be the missing piece.”
I let out a soft gasp.
“I suspect Phina will bring you deeper into the research as a result—but Hattie, once she does, you’ll become a target, too.” She squeezed my hand, voice going high. “I would regret it forever if something happened to you and I hadn’t warned you.”
My heart was thunder in my ears. “How certain of all this are you?”
“Not very,” she said, “but enough to be here in the infirmary. Enough to be afraid.”
“Have you told the knights investigating the incident?” I asked. “They questioned me, but this—”
“I haven’t,” Viren interrupted, “and neither should you.”
“Why not?”
“Because if the Valiant are truly behind this, then who knows how many other Orders are tied up in it, too? They can’t be trusted. Not now. Not yet.” Viren released my fingers, picked up a cup of water from the side table near the bed, and drank thirstily. She looked pale and tired. She needed rest.
“I should let you sleep.”
Viren offered me a wan smile. “Look, I don’t want to frighten you—”
“Too late.”
“—I just want to offer you a warning. Watch your back, Hattie. This program isn’t for the weak of spirit.”
23
Changing Course
Hattie
Iknow we’re all rattled by the events of two nights ago,” Phina lectured the following afternoon, “but I want us to remain focused. After all, we don’t know for certain why she was targeted.”
Phina spoke from atop the shallow steps leading from the entrance of her lab into the gardens; the entire research team—eight of us, without Viren—stood in a half-moon around her, everyone in various states of nervousness.
“I’ve been assured by the Order of the Mighty that they are investigating the incident,” she continued. “Your Oaths will allow you to speak freely with them, should they ask to question you. They’re also providing more guards to the Ocs. I’m sure you saw them when you came in today.”
I did. Six golden-armored Mighty Knights stationed at the door, with more pacing the atrium floor just past the entryway; I heard Willa acknowledge countless others as she led me to the lab, my blindfold fitted tightly over my eyes. Even Willa had not been her normal, chatty self; when I’d tried to make conversation, her answers had been brief, distracted.
“I’ve been ordered not to bring on any additional apprentices until the motive of Viren’s attacker has been uncovered, so we’ll all have to stretch outside our comfort zones. Kent, that means you’llbe…”
A butterfly crossed my vision, its brown and teal wings fluttering haphazardly, distracting me from Phina’s words as she reassigned roles across the team.
I hadn’t slept in two nights—not since before Viren was harmed. Her warning in the infirmary hadn’t helped the seeds of paranoia that Sani had already sown; watered by my own experiences nearly ten years ago, they’d taken root, unfurling in the night. Whenever I dipped into sleep, horrible dreams abounded, filled with assassins lurking in long dark hallways, hallways that only became longer the faster I ran.
