Page 103 of A Court Bright and Broken

If I hadn’t been worried about how my family was getting along without me, I would have been in heaven.

For the first time in my life, I actually hadtimeto read entire books and sometimes took advantage of the copious candle supply to stay up late to finish one.

And there were so many. It felt like a treasure hunt every time I searched through the crates.

It was such a pleasure to read books I hadn’t already read a thousand times—though I’d always have a place in my heart for my favorites.

Immersing myself in new worlds and falling in love with new characters made me forget I was even reading and lose track of the passage of time.

There were epic adventures and stories of magic, of courage, and heart-wrenching tales of love lost and found.

Of course I couldn’t read every moment of the day. I tried my best to exercise my ankle, walking short distances before sitting and resting again.

One day while Stellon was away, I stopped for a break in my laps around the suite to look out the window. There were many, lining one whole wall of the receiving room and much of the adjoining bedroom. They allowed copious sunshine during the day and a marvelous perspective of the stars at night.

Day or night, the view from them was breathtaking.

Beyond the manicured palace lawn, the ocean sparkled in the bright sun like a cloak of blue velvet scattered with tiny diamonds.

Closer to the palace, the windows looked down on the courtyard. There had been a few social gatherings out there as part of the Assemblage, making it busy occasionally. Most of the time it stood empty.

Except around four p.m.

Every day at that time, Stellon’s brother arrived to meet his weapons trainer for practice.

I’d watched many times as Pharis honed his sword fighting skills and practiced knife throwing and archery. He was quite good, hitting targets set surprisingly far across the courtyard.

He was also quite fit.

After a few minutes of practice, he always removed his shirt, revealing a wide chest, and rounded shoulders, and sinewy muscle that bulged and moved beneath the skin of his abdomen as he trained.

I supposed as the second son, he had extra time to develop his body and battle skills to perfection.

Stellon was in good shape as well, but not quite likethis. It was easy to understand why he wouldn’t put himself through such a punishing daily routine. As Crown Prince, he probably didn’t have the time.

And the heir to the throne would never be sent off to war—he was far too valuable.

It happened to be a little after four today as I stopped by the window and looked down, hoping to assuage my boredom.

As usual, Pharis and his trainer were there, going through their paces.

The day must have been particularly hot because he was already perspiring, his body slick and shining as he vigorously moved.

Either his coloring took after his mother’s or he spent more time in the sun than Stellon did—his skin was deeply bronzed. The way it stretched tightly over his sleek muscles reminded me a bit of some of the statues I’d seen around the palace.

Not even a master carver could fully capturethiskind of masculine beauty, though.

Pharis might have been a villain, but he was also a work of art.

With his shirt off, I could see the tattoo I’d glimpsed the edges of that night at the ball. It was quite large, covering a large portion of his chest and narrowing as it moved down the front of his body.

At this distance I couldn’t make out the symbol clearly, but it must have had some significance to him for him to endure the pain of having such a large tattoo applied.

I was always careful never to stand too close to the panes of glass. If I were spotted inside Stellon’s rooms, it would no doubt raise all kinds of alarms.

But today I must have involuntarily moved closer because I found my forehead contacting the warm glass.

And then Pharis turned and looked up, directly toward the window. I stumbled backward, my heart thrashing inside my chest.

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