Page 77 of Fate's Wicked Oath

“Is that why you were smiling?”

“It’s sweet, no?”

“Doesn’t change the fact that they are huge, and terrifying, and possess a mean bite.”

“You must’ve hated the statue in Yar,” he said.

I bounced my eyebrows. “Who do you think beheaded it?”

“Youdidn’t.”

“It was a bad omen, as far as I was concerned.”

His deep chuckle filled the camp. My lips twisted with amusement. Our easiness—our rapport—warmed me in a way that the fire didn’t.

Faren must’ve seen the quality of it on my face. “What?”

“Nothing,” I said. “I’m glad you’re no longer moping, is all.” I expected him to smirk, or make a joke about the fact that Icaredabout his emotional state, but—

“Moping? Is that what you think I’ve been doing these past few days?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean—”

“Do you truly think of my plight so flippantly?” His shift in mood was as sudden as a summer storm.

“Your plight?”

“What you said of my loyalty…” He swept the back of his hand through the air as if clearing a table, knocking over glasses. “To question a Mighty Knight’s loyalty is to question his foundation. The verycoreof his being. To call my pensivenessmopingis—”

“Are you truly blaming me for your bad mood?” Irritation rose in me to meet his. “I’ve questioned your loyalty plenty of times. What was so different about Brine?”

Faren rubbed a hand over his stubble, making a scraping noise. “That was before I saw what I saw.”

“So you’re angry with me for showing you a glimpse of the truth?”

“I’m not angry at you.” Contrary to his words, his voice rose, startling the birds in the trees. “I’m angry because I—” He broke off abruptly. Shook his head, as if he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

And I understood it, then. The depth of his devotion to the Mighty. He was Fated to die for his charge. No wonder he wanted it to mean something.

“You’re angry because you’re torn,” I finished for him. There was opportunity in this conversation, and I reached for it. “You’re angry because your Lord is lying to you, but Faren”—I scooted closer to him again, insistent—“it’s okay to change your mind. It’s okay to—”

He held up his hand. “Stop, Mariana. Just…stop.” When he spoke next, it was to the fire. “You don’t understand. This is my life’s purpose. My motivation. I take my duty more seriously than anything else. This isn’t moping. This is everything I stand for, getting called into question.”

“No. It’s not.”

He looked up.

“You stand for the realm,” I said. “You stand for justice. You protect innocent citizens. You inspire…hope.” I could hardlybelieve I was saying such things about a Mighty Knight—let alone with conviction. “None of that has changed. You’ve simply learned new information that will help you serve that cause better.”

“I’m not sure what I’ve learned,” he said. “And you can’t clarify it for me, can you?”

I bit my lip to distract from the thrum of my blood in my veins, the troubled throbbing in my temples.I’m trying, I wanted to tell him.Against my better judgement, I want you to learn the truth.

“Mariana, my Oath—”

“Your Oath is to the realm. You said it yourself, you love nothing more than you love the realm. Is your lovethatshaken by what you’ve learned?”

A strange expression passed over his face, distraught, but also tender. He forced a tight-lipped smile. “We should go.”