Page 5 of A Broken Throne of Bronze

Breaking from Loren’s grip, I bolt out of the stables.

I barrel through the backdoor, my hands riddled with fresh splinters. But I barely feel the pain. Clutching my corset to my chest, I run to the road.

I need to get far away.

The farther, the better. Maybe then, I can pretend this was all a dream.

A nightmare.

“Cryssa!” Loren calls.

The sounds of footsteps behind me get louder.

I push myself further, harder, until my legs burn.

“Cryssa, wait!”

Loren catches up to me, and his arms wrap around my waist, tackling me to the ground. He rolls me over. I squirm, but his hand to my chest keeps me in place.

“Cryssa, listen to me,” Loren says, breathing heavily. “This doesn’t mean anything.”

“How can you say that?” I shoot out. The sight of Theelia bestowing her divine blessing around the nobleman and me will forever be burned into my memory. “You know what this means.”

“Yes,” Loren says, his voice calm. It should make me feel better—it has made me feel better countless times—but tonight, it doesn’t. “All Theelia’s blessing means is that your fate is bound to his—whoever he is.”

“He’s a nobleman, Loren! One of the fae!” I hiss. “I am no one. For a human girl like me, being bound to him can only mean one of two things—that he is my destiny, or he will be my undoing.”

Either way, the course of my life will change forever.

No matter how desperately I wish to escape it.

Loren presses his lips together, staring me down. He knows what I say is true. Even he can’t explain this away.

“Then run away with me.” Desperation bleeds into Loren’s voice. He takes both of my hands into his. “We can leave this place and never come back.”

My heart is heavy.

“We can’t,” I say, hoping he’ll see reason. “You know how possessive the fae are. There’s no telling what he might do. And what about your mother? Your sister?” Since his father’s death several winters ago, Loren has supported his family by working in the gold mines alongside my father. “They need you.”

“And I need you, Cryssa.” His gaze bears into mine, deep with pain. “I refuse to give up on our plans to marry.”

“Where would we go?” I ask, though I already know the answer. “There is no place we can go where he won’t find us.”

Fae males’ jealous nature is notorious throughout all of Inatia. I would never forgive myself if something happened to Loren because of me.

“I don’t care where we go,” Loren tells me. “I’d take you and run to the ends of the earth if it meant I could live out my days at your side.”

“Please, Loren,” I beg. “This is already hard enough. We must…We must stop seeing each other.” My voice threatens to crack, tears welling in my eyes. “With my destiny bound to another man, a fae male at that, we both know how this will end.”

“Cryssa, please, don’t do this.”

“There is no running from this. It will only hurt more if we allow our relationship to continue.”

Loren furrows his brow, agony brimming in his expression. “You can’t mean that.”

I reach out, cupping his cheek. “You’ve been my best friend since we were children. For that, I will always, always, love you, Loren Grayweaver. But my fate is sealed. I—” I swallow the lump that’s lodged in my throat. “I cannot bear to drag you down with me.”

Twisting out of his grip, I stand and walk away.

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