Page 124 of Fate's Wicked Oath

Heris seemed unamused. “Out with it, then.”

“The Mighty have a weak link,” Mariana said. “Major Oderin Farkept.”

Faren gasped. “Mariana—”

She pinned him with a hard look, her tone harsh. “Keep that pretty mouth shut, would you?” When she turned back to Heris, she spread her arms wide, as if making a demonstration. Her next words were saccharine. “Loyalty among the Order of the Mighty is hanging on by a thread—one that I think we ought to pull and see what unravels.”

The Valiant Knights in the clearing chuckled and chattered, pleased by her suggestion.

Heris was still scowling, though. “What are you suggesting?”

“Let him tell the Lord,” Mariana drawled. “Let him put fear into Castle Might. Unless you all think the Valiant cannot winwithout secrecy?Iwas under the impression that chaos would be our strategy.”

Heris’s eye flicked suspiciously between Mariana and Faren.

Mariana groaned as if this were all a huge nuisance. “You tasked me with finding leverage over the Mighty—I did. You tasked me with retrieving the potions—I did. You knew I was summoned for this pointless diversion from our plans; I didn’taskto spend the past six weeks wasting time.” She folded her arms again. “It’s not like you to get paranoid, Heris. This was a waste of resources—andyou’ve pissed me off. Kidnapping my brother was hardly—”

“Enough,” Heris said. “Castor and Brom delivered a full report of your stunt outside of Brine. You think I don’t hear your lies?”

“Castor and Brom?” Mariana’s laugh was sharp and mocking. “My stunt in Brine was the key to shaking the Mighty Knight’s loyalty. I achieved my goalin spite oftheir mindless meddling.”

Faren flinched. It was true. That nighthadshaken his loyalty. To hear it phrased as if she’d done it to thwart him and not help him… It was his worst fear, put to voice.

It’s just an act, he told himself, but that didn’t stop his heart from sinking.

Heris must’ve noticed the crestfallen look on Faren’s face. Seconds passed, then his shrewd and beady eye darted from Faren back to Mariana, and a yellow, jagged smile cracked across his lips. “My secret weapon,” he drawled proudly. “You had me fooled.”

“You think I’d abandon my aims over aman?” She sounded insulted.

Faren’s heart dropped into his stomach, souring his gut. He realized, then, that they were not escaping this situation together.

“Let’s get on with this, shall we?” Mariana went on, as if her battered brother and Faren almost getting skewered by an arrowwere no more than an inconvenience. “I assume you’d like for me to return with you. What of my brother?”

“What of him?” Heris asked.

“He can’t very well take himself home.” Mariana gestured Bard’s limp body. “I will not cooperate without the safety of my family, you know that, and I doubt you wantmeto run that errand.”

Cooperate. Her word choice made Faren wonder why Heris had gone to all this trouble to ensure Mariana had not betrayed him—to retrieve her and keep her under his control. She must’ve been essential to the Valiant’s plot, somehow, but beyond her superior fighting skills, Faren couldn’t think of an explanation. Not with his stomach still fizzing with dread.

“Brom will escort your brother home,” Heris replied stiffly.

“You think I trust Brom?” With a scoff, Mariana glanced back at Faren, as if entertaining an idea.

But this time, when she met his eyes, the harshness of the Maiden Morta Killer was gone. It was like sunlight streaming through a sudden break in clouds, her real self a beam of warmth on his face. The look lasted the length of two heartbeats—two seconds during which the real Mariana shined through.

Clear as day, Faren saw the moment she decided to put his life above her own.

Then the clouds swept across her face again, and she turned back to her leader. “Send my brother with the gold brute.”

“You trust a gold brute over me?” Brom squawked.

“The Mighty Knight is sworn by Oath to serve innocents,” Mariana bit out. “I trust his leash.”

Heris watched her, as if he could read her intentions on her face. “Why else?”

“The errand will delay him, buy us time,” Mariana reasoned. “If we kill the brute now, the Lord will act immediately.” She shrugged. “Seems obvious to me, but what do I know?”

“Fine.” Heris made a quick gesture, and before Faren could react, one of the crossbows discharged.