Chapter 44 Hidden Petals Chapter 44 Hidden Petals +20 Free Coins " Lord Soren , it's me ." Fiona yanked down the hood of the travel cloak , the rough wool hissing past her cheeks as she bared her face to the mountain wind . Soren's eyes narrowed , puzzled yet alert . The cold edge of his sword tilted upward until the gleaming steel grazed the soft skin beneath her chin . With an almost lazy motion , he lifted , forcing her to look fully at him . For one breath , it felt less like a search for intruders and more like a lover's teasing dare , the silver blade masquerading as an insolent fingertip . She remembered the loose - sleeved gentleman's robe hanging on her shoulders and bit her lip . " I am Fiona , " she said , steady yet wounded by the need to declare what he already knew . He met her gaze for a heartbeat , then slid the sword back into its scabbard with a sound crisp as cracking ice . " Your sword arm is still mending ," she ventured , voice pitched low in the hush of pines . " I thought I should come myself to thank you for the shop , instead of sending Harriet in my place ." Soren's attention dropped to her empty palms , a silent question . So this is how you thank me ? By coming empty - handed ? Heat rushed under her skin , then drained away again . The valuables she might have carried would have raised questions at the estate gates ; she had barely slipped past the guards as it was . " Why did you never tell me that this flower , Dreamfall , is a poison ? " She produced the delicate blossom , its petals snowy against the dusk , and held it accusingly between them . Soren considered the flower , offered no answer , and simply turned away . He sheathed the sword completely and stepped back into the wooden lodge , shadows swallowing the line of his shoulders . She hurried after him . " If Lilith hadn't warned me , the branch would have rested in my chamber for weeks . By then , the toxin might have seeped into every organ I possess ! " He's so cruel . Does he fear I already know too many of his secrets and wanted to erase me without a trace ? " Dreamfall is mild , " Soren finally said , tone flat as slate . " It is prized in brothels for its languid haze . Respectable women would do well to keep their distance . " The single word brothels dragged Fiona back to that fevered dream atop the mountain - the 1/3 14:47 Fri , Oct 10 Chapter 44 Hidden Petals A57 57 +20 Free Coins frantic union with Xavier , life - and - death tangled in bedsheets . Under Soren's thoughtful stare , shame bloomed scarlet across her cheeks and spread , hot and uncontainable . " Did you leave it in your bedchamber all night ? " he asked , the lightest curl of mockery at the edge of his voice . To Fiona , the barb sounded like an accusation of midnight debauchery . A retort clawed at her tongue - something along the lines of , I was hardly thinking of you - but she swallowed it for the sake of decorum . Silence settled like falling ash between them . " What if we market the shop under the Divine Doctor's name ? " His terms are suffocating , and Aunt Joanna's hole needs ten thousand pieces of silver to fill . I must sell more , faster . Morgan Murren does not yet know me in this lifetime . Hearing his own reputation misused , he may appear months sooner - and then I will have my formulas at last . " Tell the world the recipes were bequeathed by the Divine Doctor long ago ," Soren murmured after a moment's thought . She inclined her head . " Very well . " Having climbed the winding path to Frostenden Peak , Fiona reminded herself that a visit , once begun , demanded a veneer of concern . The gesture was hollow , and she knew it , yet a half - finished play fools no one . Hypocrisy rehearsed for a lifetime eventually passes for virtue . Acted concern , repeated without pause , may harden into something that looks - almost - like genuine care . Soren let his gaze settle on her for a long , unreadable beat . " If you really want to thank me ," he murmured , " then give Glowstrike to me - what say you ? " Silence clung to her lips . She pictured Soren approaching Xavier for the relic . Xavier could never afford to offend the Zonfrillo heir . She weighed her options in the span of a single breath , then kept Xavier's name buried . " Glowstrike is part of my dowry , " she answered at last . " I'm afraid I can't oblige . " He had already turned down the marriage ; that fact alone assured her he would press no further . Soren , true to form , pursued the matter no more . A thin , wintry curl of a smile skimmed his mouth and vanished like breath against glass . " Whenever I can steal a free moment , Lord Soren , I'll come visit you again , " Fiona promised , her voice warm enough to steam the air . He had claimed lingering wounds to silence Zephyr , 2/3 14:47 Fri , Oct 10 Chapter 44 Hidden Petals : so of course , he meant to linger here until the excuse outlived its usefulness . 57 +20 Free Coins Soren welcomed the visits ; each offered another chance to probe the hidden reefs of Fiona's secrets . A single successful escape breeds a second , then a third . Once the gate is breached , slipping out becomes a habit . Mornings on the mountain brought the odd caller - Callum , Zephyr , and others - but Fiona usually arrived after noon , when the sun softened the snow's hard glare . Most days , Soren wore the air of a man walled off from strangers . With her , however , his questions were edged and deliberate , until she half - believed he was testing whether she had lived another lifetime . He was indeed testing her , still haunted by two stubborn dreams he could neither forget nor decode . Yet Fiona's wariness on the subject was razor - sharp , and he dared not lunge too quickly . With so many comings and goings , collisions with other visitors became inevitable . This afternoon , she again wore a man's robe and stout masculine boots . She had barely lifted her wicker hat when Naomi stormed in , cheeks puffed with grievance , and laid her freshly copied Classical Poems on the desk with dutiful care .