Page 12 of Fate's Wicked Oath

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mara cut in. “I didn’t mean to gossip…”

“It’s fine, Mara,” Faren said. “I’ve been told Mariana will serve as a skilled guide.”

Her attention briefly darted to a dark corner, then her unsettled expression cleared. “Well, they couldn’t’ve picked amore worthy Mighty Knight.” With a sheepish smile, Mara lifted her pint, miming cheers. “May the Fates bless your travels.”

He lifted his tankard and tipped his head in thanks.

The moment Mara had left, Shae rested her elbows on their table and pinned Faren with a hard stare. “Mariana Bellkeep, truly?”

“It’s nothing,” Faren said, but the line that had formed between Shae’s eyebrows worried him.

“It’snotnothing,” Shae said, dropping her voice to a whisper. “They could’ve assigned any Valiant knight to guide you to Yar-on-Gray, but Mariana was achoice.”

“Maiden Morta Killer,” Lee added, low.

“There’s a reason the Valiant call her that,” Shae went on. “Few can defeat a Morta on their own, but she is notorious for solo kills.”

Faren thought back to the report Oderin had shared of Valiant names, kills, and locations. He recalled seeing Mariana’s name, but not particularly high on the list. Then again, if the Valiant were strategically awarding kills to the highest members of their various factions, the ledger’s numbers would be skewed.

“Her skill is a good thing, is it not?” Faren asked. “We won’t be waylaid by monsters in the same way we might with a less talented Valiant Knight guiding me.”

“The chances of you dying by abomination are lower,” Shae conceded, “but dying at the hands of a Valiant Knight…” She spread her palms.

“There will be no dying,” Faren stated with a scoff. “My orders are simple. It’s a fact-finding endeavor.” Besides, his Mirror of Death had shown him that he’d meet his end right here in Fenrir City—not the Western Wood. Mariana didn’t rouse fear in him, only contempt.

“Mariana isn’t your average criminal-turned-knight,” Lee warned.

“What’s so scary about her?” Warner asked, slurping from the tankard he’d stolen from Lee.

Lee reached over and took it before Warner could finish it off. “Enough ale for you.”

“She has a reputation,” Shae said.

“She’s a troublemaker,” Faren told Warner. “I’ve encountered her plenty. She is sarcastic, temperamental, and a bitstabby, but she’s still Oath-bound.”

“How much do you know about her Oath, Faren?” Shae’s blue eyes were wide. It wasn’t like her to indulge in conspiracy or fear mongering; generally speaking, she was cocky but pragmatic.

Faren shrugged, but a sense of dread was congealing in his stomach like coagulating blood. “She was a thief, right? That’s how she got her sentence?”

“Anotoriousthief,” Shae said.

“Can’t bethatgood, if she got caught,” Warner slurred.

Lee handed him a piece of bread, presumably to soak up some of the ale. Warner gave it an appreciative sniff with his heightened sense of smell, then chewed quietly as Shae continued.

“Mariana stole something valuable from Lord Haron himself. She was only eleven years old.” Faren could barely hear Shae over the din in the pub. “The only reason she was caught was because, days later, a castle guard overheard her telling her father about the object’s disappearance. She was immediately captured and put in the dungeon. Lord Haron was so incensed that he sentenced her for life in the Valiant, thinking she’d…” Shae swiped a finger across her throat, leaving it unsaid.

“Eleven years old?” Faren asked dubiously.

Lee nodded. “That’s what I heard, too.”

Faren frowned. “How did she survive?”

“Rumor has it that she joined one of the Valiant factions,” Shae said. “The leader took her under his wing.”

Heris Morvain.

“A woman who grows up among highly skilled criminals, hunting horrifying monsters in the woods, exposed that much violence and terror and who knows what else…” Shae paused, letting the silence stretch. “That’s a hardened woman, indeed.”