Page 140 of A Court Bright and Broken

“I’m… not who you think I am. I’ve done terrible things,” I said, trying to get her to understand.

“I told you how my father used my glamour gift to augment his own Compelling glamour?”

She nodded.

“Well, there have been times that what he wanted, what he was determined to have, was… everything,” I said.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” she said, “considering how much he’s taken from the people in our village—and all the others. So he’s done the same to the Fae people? Enforcing an unfair tithe?”

“Not exactly. But yes, in some cases he’s taken their money, their land, their property… sometimes… their lives,” I said.

“What?”

I nodded, taking in the horror dawning on Raewyn’s face. “Sometimes what my father wanted… was theirdeaths.”

“And you enhanced his glamour,” she said, understanding now.

“Yes. No matterwhatit was he wanted. I’ve never known there was any other way, any other choice.”

“You actually helped himkillpeople?” she asked.

“I tried not to think of it that way. It’s not like I held them down while he stabbed them through the heart. He said he needed my help… I amplified his glamour… and then I’d find out the person he’d wanted to get rid of had died shortly thereafter. One of them actually died right in front of me. One of the worst moments of my life.”

I held out a hand.

“I’m not making excuses. It’s not like I was completely ignorant. I just… tried not to think about it too much.”

I swallowed, looking away. “It haunts me though. Who knows how many lives I’ve ruined? Or… taken?”

Hurriedly I added, “I just thought you should know. I don’t want there to be any lies between us. And you… well, I wanted you to know you’ve made me sort of face my past and questioneverything. You make me want to dobetter, be a better version of myself.”

She stared at me for such a long time I thought she wasn’t going to say anything at all—maybe never speak to me again. Then she finally spoke.

“I’m not who you think I am either.”

I blinked in surprise. “What do you mean? You’re Raewyn. We met in the marketplace.”

“Yes, that’s true. But there are things I haven’t told you.”

She licked her lips and looked down at her lap where her fingers fidgeted, twisting together.

I nodded in encouragement. “Go on.”

Whatever she had to confess would pale in comparison to my shameful past.

“Ididget into the ball that night,” she said.

My head jerked in surprise. “But I didn’t see you there. I’m not sure how I could have missed you.”

Now that I thought about it though, once I’d spotted Lady Wyn, my eyes had hardly deviated from her beautiful face.

“You did see me,” Raewyn said. “In fact, we danced. And talked.”

What was she talking about? There was nowayI would have forgotten that.

Her breathing was very shallow, and her entwined fingers were so tightly twisted they’d turned white.

“And at the end of the evening… you proposed to me. Stellon… I’m Wyn. That was me.”

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