Page 129 of Fate's Wicked Oath

His and Mariana’s plan to travel to Castle Might together might’ve gone awry, but that didn’t change Faren’s goals. He would defeat Lord Haron and the Valiant, and he would set Mariana free. Because what good was the realm if the woman he loved wasn’t in it and thriving?

“I love her,” Faren admitted. “Against all odds.”

“Doesn’t seem so outlandish to me,” was all Oderin said.

“Are you not concerned about my Oath?”

“Should I be?” With a smile, Oderin pushed off the desk, opened the drawer, and removed a scroll. “As I’m sure you’ve come to realize, loyalty is multifaceted. I would be more concerned if you lacked nuance.” He handed the scroll to Faren. “You asked what’s next.”

Faren took the scroll. It was bound by a ribbon just like the one Mariana had carried around; reminders of her were everywhere. He slipped the ribbon off the missive and unrolled the paper.

At first, he couldn’t comprehend the words. “You’re promoting me?”

“Your reward for a successful mission,” Oderin said, as if it were obvious.

“I don’t understand.”

“The Unity Ceremony is in five weeks,” Oderin went on. “It seems logical that the Valiant will make their move then—in fact, I’m counting on it. If we want to facilitate a coup against Lord Haron, we’ll need the distraction.”

A coup. Faren had known it would come to this—he welcomed it—but the word still made him queasy. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “You mean to have Lord Haron and Heris destroy each otherat the Unity Ceremony?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck.” Faren rose to his feet, wincing at the sudden throbbing in his leg. “My family will be in attendance.”

“All the more reason to make a show of your promotion,” Oderin reasoned. “The honor will put the three of us—you, me, and the Lord—in plain view ofanyonewho might attend.”

Including the Valiant.

“The closer we are to the Lord,” Oderin continued, “the easier it’ll be for us to control the situation.”

Bile rose up Faren’s throat. “No.No.It’s too risky,” he argued. “Innocents will be caught in the melee.”

“The Valiant rebellion is inevitable, Faren,” Oderin said. “No other Order has the skills to infiltrate the Valiant hideout in the Western Wood, and even if we did, the Lord refuses to waste resources on anything that could reveal the truth of his abominations. He will not use his forces against anything other than Marona.”

Faren remembered Yar and grimaced.

“Meanwhile, the Valiant are too clever to meet us on a battlefield outside the capital,” Oderin went on. “They will infiltrate the city covertly. For all we know, some alreadyhave—and my Oath has me so tied up that I can’t investigate.” He sighed, sounding resigned. “Innocents will be at risk no matter where we meet the Valiant. We can’t prevent it—but wecanuse it to our advantage. We can mitigate the risks.”

Faren imagined the clash of Valiant, former Morta, and Mighty, and felt the acid rise up his throat again. “What of our Oaths?” he asked. Refusing to protect the Lord or actively putting him in harm’s way would be an Oath-breaking offense.

“What of them?”

“I intend to keep mine,” Faren said, not liking where this was going.

The Mighty Oath was not easy to break, and even if he managed it, what then? His Fate had not changed; he would still die in his golden armor. Now more than ever, he wanted his duty tomatter. He wanted to atone for his association with the Lord, and he couldn’t do that if he didn’t see the realm through to a brighter day.

“Do you?” Oderin asked. “Interesting.”

“Do you not?”

Oderin lifted his square jaw. “I’ll do what I must.”

“Even in the face of Fate?”

“Especially then.”

Faren scrubbed a hand over his scruffy beard. He didn’t begrudge Oderin’s willingness to break his Oath to save Fenrir, but it was unnerving, knowing that he was more loyal to the sanctity of the Mighty than his Major.