Page 124 of A Court Bright and Broken

“You sound rather cross about that,” she said. “Don’t worry. You’ll have a bond-mate by the end of the Assemblage, and the waiting will be over.”

The prospect literally made me shudder. How was I supposed to consummate a marriage with an “appropriate” Elven bride when the only person my heart—and my body—wanted was Raewyn?

I was in so much trouble.

“What do women like?” I asked Mareth.

She laughed. “What? For one thing, I’m pretty sure you already know. You’ve never been lacking for female attention as far as I’ve seen. For another,whyare you even worrying about that?”

Leaning in and using a conspiratorial whisper, she said, “I’ll let you in on a little secret… they’re all sure bets. They wouldn’tbehere if they didn’t already want to marry you.”

“Oh I know that.”

I waved my hand through the air dismissively, as if it was no big deal.

“I just… I wondered if Ididwant to seduce someone, to make her, you know, fall in love with me or something, what should I do? What do women like?”

Mareth’s amused grin fell away, replaced by a contemplative expression.

“Well, assuming you’re already doing the obvious things like being nice to her, treating her with courtesy and respect, let’s see… presents are always fun.”

She lifted a hand from the rabbit she’d been petting and held up a finger.

“But only if they’regoodones,” she said. “And I don’t mean something expensive. I’m talking about gifts you’ve put somethought into. Like, you pay attention to what she’s interested in, to anything she might mention being fond of, and find a gift that has something to do with that. Something that has meaning to her.”

She went back to stroking the little pet. “It shows you’ve been paying attention, that her needs and desires are important to you.”

I nodded eagerly. “Okay, good. What else?”

“Hmm… well, surprises are nice.”

“Isn’t that the same as presents?” I asked.

“No, I mean a different kind of surprise… giving her anexperienceshe doesn’t expect, maybe something she’s never done before or seen before, something she’s always wanted to do. Or maybe something she’s never even thought to want.”

I nodded, making mental notes. “This is good. Keep going.”

“Of course, the greatest gift of all is just sharing yourself with her,” Mareth said, sounding wistful. “Telling her what you’re thinking and how you feel. All women love honesty—at least I do.”

A sense of conviction weighed on me like a cloak lined with lead plating. All my problems with Raewyn had stemmed fromnotbeing honest with her. But I’d been afraid to overwhelm her with the full truth, some of which was pretty scary.

If she truly knew everything about me, all the things I’d done, she’d find it impossible to love me back.

Mareth leaned her head against my shoulder. “By the way, I think it’s really sweet that you’d want to please your new wife.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much, though, if I were you,” she assured with a pat on my forearm. “As long as you act like your true, kind self around her, she won’t be able to help falling in love with you. You’re going to be an excellent husband.”

While I appreciated the sentiment, my sister was dead wrong. I was going to be aterriblehusband, because for theeternity of my marriage, I would long for the human girl who got away and wish I’d been able to makehermy wife instead.

Mareth’s tone was as glum as my mood when she spoke again.

“You and Pharis are lucky if you ask me.I’mthe one who’ll live in misery the rest of my immortal life if I select the wrong bond-mate. But once you marry—as long as you produce theall-importantheir—you’ll be able to do whateveryouplease.”

And that’s when it hit me. A new hope.

Kissing the top of my sister’s head, I sprang up from the couch and bounded toward the open door.

“You’re a genius. Thank you.”

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