Page 112 of A Court Bright and Broken

It was what we both wanted.

But the thought of him downstairs, meeting and greeting—and flirting with—scores of beautiful, elegant women…

Anyway, I’d forced my mind away from whatever Stellon might be doing and planted it firmly back on my family.

In spite of my distracting surroundings andverydistracting host, all that mattered was getting back to them before Sorcha did.

That meant getting this ankle fully healed so I could walk. Or run. Whatever it took.

Stellon had said that saol water possessed healing properties, so in an attempt to heal faster, I’d poured myself a little more than was probably advisable.

Okay, well, alotmore.

On the plus side, it had the helpful side effect of drowning my sorrows.

I’d been so stupid to get all nervous and fluttery lying beside him last night. And then this morning, imagining that he might be about to kiss me? I’d literally cringed thinking about it after he left.

What a little fool.

But now… all of that embarrassment and shame felt very far away. I could hardly manage to even recall the troubling thoughts that had plagued me throughout the day.

I felt more relaxed than I had in a long time—possibly ever. I was also a bit sleepy.

There was no point in waiting up for Stellon. That was the kind of thing sweethearts did, and I was certainly not one of those.

In fact, Iwantedto be asleep when he got home—who needed to hear tales of the glorious evening he’d spent wining and dining his many eager bridal candidates?

I’d just removed my dress in preparation for bed and was standing there in only my shift when the bedroom door opened.

Stellon entered, looking around the room.

When his gaze landed on me, his eyelids flared and he gave me a smile so dazzling, I felt it in my thighs.

“You’re home early,” I yelped. “You said you’d be out late. I still hear the music drifting from the windows down below.”

“Disappointed?”

His smile didn’t drop as he moved closer. “Did I interrupt your ax-throwing practice?”

“I’m notinthe competition,” I said. “Obviously. Humans aren’t even invited.”

Why had that come out sounding so snippy? I didn’t want to be invited.

Did I?

“And if they were?”

Stellon continued moving slowly toward me like a prowling mountain lion. “Would you throw your hat in the ring, Firebug?”

“Of course not.” Unfortunately, the word “course” came out a bit slurred and sounded more like “coursh.”

“Istillwouldn’t be interested, no matter how—”

I caught myself just in time. I’d been about to say, “No matter how you look in that fitted shirt and those tight breeches.”

Thankfully Stellon had no idea what a hard time I was having keeping my eyes off of them.

Cursed saol water.

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