Page 122 of A Court Bright and Broken

I stepped forward, reaching for her. She took a step back to avoid me. Her breaths were so fast and so loud I could hear them.

“I said, ‘Iloveyou.’ And it’s true. I’ve fallen in love with you, Raewyn. And yes, I tried to use my Sway to keep you from leaving, because I was desperate not to lose you.”

“Am desperate,” I corrected. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn't have. But I couldn’t think of any other way to keep you from leaving me. And I want to keep you—forever.”

She blinked rapidly, clearly trying to process this new information.

“Keep me,” she repeated. “Here… in the palace… forever? What does that evenmean? As the inaugural member of your very own ‘collection’ of human attendants?”

A shocked laugh escaped me. “No. No, not like that. I don’twanta retinue. I only want you.”

I actually had no ideahowit would work, only that Raewyn was what I wanted more than anything I’d ever wanted in my whole life.

She started walking in circles, and I couldn’t help but notice her limp was much less pronounced. The saol water had done good work.

“This is crazy,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t even know why you’re saying this.”

“Because it’s true. I—am in love—with you.”

Perhaps I should have been embarrassed to keep repeating it, but now that I’d released the truth, I couldn’t keep it inside.

Raewyn arrested her pacing long enough to toss me an aggravated glance.

“Well you need to get over it.”

“You can’t love me,” she said, flailing her arm toward me. “There’s no point.”

Her finger stabbed the air as she enunciated her next words. “Iamleaving. Maybe not tonight, butsoon.”

“I can’t even bear the thought of it,” I admitted.

“Start practicing, then,” she said, making her way to the bed.

A moment later, a pillow and then a blanket flew through the air in my direction. I caught each of them just before they hit the ground.

Raewyn crawled up onto the bed without my assistance and snatched the curtains closed, cutting off my view of her.

Her angry voice made it past the visual obstruction just fine though.

“We’ll speak of this no more. Start making plans for how you’re going to get me out of here when the Assemblage ends.”

“Raewyn… love…” My tone was pleading.

“Goodnight, Stellon,” she said.

Heaving a defeated sigh, I took the pillow and blanket to one of the torturous settees and attempted to make myself comfortable.

Lying there with my feet hanging off the end and my head whirring with thoughts, I went over the facts. No point in ignoring them.

Raewyn was human.

I was Elven royalty.

Any sort of real relationship between us was strictly forbidden.

Ihadto marry a member of the High Fae.

One fact kept rising above all the others. I loved her. She made me happier than anything ever had, and IknewI could make her happy, too.

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