Page 28 of Fate's Wicked Oath

Monsters roaming the countryside, terrorizing civilians. Secrets kept not to minimize public panic, but to cover up a conspiracy. Folks grieving and facing winter starvation—for what? Because Lord Haron wished for more power? I felt more guilt toward my service to the Valiant than the crime for which I’d been sentenced.

I looked at Faren, decked out in gold-plated glory. He wore more wealth than these homesteaders had ever owned, and he walked around as if he deserved their reverence. It was disgusting. Whether or not he knew about the Lord’s role in thecreation of the monsters didn’t matter, because at the end of the day, he still thought it righteous to uphold the systems that kept these folks scraping by.

“Thank you,” I said to Orna. “For these, and the tea.”

Practically shaking with rage, I clutched the gloves against my breastplate as I walked back out into the rain.

11

Road to Ruin

Faren

Could you have been any more odious toward our hosts?” Faren asked, striding after his escort as she hurried away from the homestead.

“Yes.”

“Mariana—”

“I did not ask for your critique,” she bit out. “Nor tea, for that matter.”

“You were unnecessarily harsh.”

“Theworldis unnecessarily harsh.”

“All the more reason to extend kindness to those who—”

Mariana whirled, halting him in his tracks. Her cheeks were tinged with red, breath swirling around her face. Her expression was hard, unyielding: brow furrowed, nostrils flared with anger, the scar on her upper lip paling as she practically snarled at him.

“What do you know about harsh,hmm, Faren?” she seethed. “You went from noble family to Mighty knighthood. With your privileged existence, I’m surprisedharshis even in your vocabulary.”

“You think it was easy to become a Mighty Knight? I earned my position withyearsof training and—”

“Kowtowing,” she interrupted, “to a corrupt Lord for the sake of glory.”

Faren blustered. “Our Lord is not—”

“Oh,Fates, just stop. He can’t hear you,” she said, gesturing at the surrounding gloom. “You won’t become a captain by defending his honor to a lowly criminal like me.”

“How do you know I want to be a captain?”

“Allof you want to become a captain.”

Faren balled his fists. “The cruelty of your sentence does not mean Lord Haron is corrupt.”

Mariana laughed, a mocking sound that was at odds with the eerie peacefulness of the fallow field in which they stood. “You don’t know how wrong you are.”

“Corruption is a serious accusation,” Faren insisted.

Mariana lifted her chin. “Do I sound unserious to you?” She gestured at his chest—his armor. “You might’ve found me harsh this afternoon, but at least I wasn’t flaunting my armor like an egotistical ass.”

“Mighty armor is a symbol of honor and protection,” Faren argued, irate. He wanted to prove her wrong about his Order, to show her that it was not ego that gave him and his fellow knights purpose, but a deep sense of devotion. Faren gestured in the direction of the homestead, which was already shrouded in mist, hidden from view. “Rural folk are the lifeblood of Fenrir. My armor is a reminder that I servethem; it’s meant to inspire, invoke trust.”

“The gold plating on your chest is more wealth than most folks in these parts will earn in their lifetimes,” Mariana said. “Do you know what they feel when they look at that? Not comforted or inspired, but supplicant.Lesser.”

Ironically, it washewho felt lesser in that moment. In fact, Faren had never felt so belittled while wearing his golden breastplate. It disturbed him how diametrically opposed their views were about the Mighty, how easily Mariana misconstrued his duty for shallowness. What if what she said was true and her opinion was shared by others—not just criminals, but commoners?Hadhe intimidated Orna and Pete? The idea troubled him.

But at least he hadn’t beenintentionallyharsh. Mariana could chide him all she wanted, but her behavior this afternoon was still distasteful.