Page 153 of A Court Bright and Broken

“From there it’s a quick trip to the door closest to the stables,” I said. “We might be a bit exposed right there at the end, but I don’t think we’ll be seen—not many are up and about in the palace at this hour.”

A glance at the standing clock told me it was the wee hours of morning, still a couple hours of precious darkness left to aid our escape.

“We’ll go to the stables and saddle Malo then ride for your village. You’ll wear a cloak to cover your hair and face. The gate guards might wonder, but I’ll lead them to believe you were a Fae guest here for the Assemblage, and I’m giving you a ride home a bit early. Of course they’ll make salacious assumptions, but let them. They’ll never know your identity.”

“I’m hardly concerned about my reputation at this point,” Raewyn said.

“Exactly,” I said. “It’s your life I care about. I’ll do whatever is necessary to protect it. I love you, Raewyn. I always will.”

Tears sprang to her eyes, and she shook her head in wonder. “I don’t deserve such loyalty. Not when I agreed to the Earthwife’s plan. How can you still love me, now that you know the whole truth of it?”

“Because I know the truth ofyou—of your heart. There’s no way I could have fallen so deeply in love with you if I hadn’t known, deep down, that you loved me, too. That you would never hurt me.”

An overwhelming wave of despair crashed over me. “How am I going to live without you?”

“Stellon,” she whispered, grasping my face between her palms.

Our mouths came together, moving in a frantic, almost painful joining of lips and teeth and tongues. This was not a joyous expression of tender emotion but a desperate hunger.

The feel and taste of her inflamed me instantaneously, sending a wildfire of need through my body. My fingers literally shook with the urge to strip off the light shift again and physically ensure we could never be parted.

Instead, I willed my hands to go still and gradually ended the kiss.

“We have to go,” I whispered against her lips. “Your life depends on it.”

Holding her waist, I set her feet on the floor and rose from the settee.

“How is your ankle? Could you run if you had to?”

She lifted the foot, turning it in a circle before setting it down again and doing a little hop to test it.

“It’s not exactly comfortable, but as you said, my life depends on it. I’ll do what I have to do.”

“Good. Now get dressed as quickly as you can. We don’t have long before dawn.”

Pressing one last kiss to her forehead, I went to do the same, gathering my riding clothes and pulling them on hastily before moving to the painting that concealed the secret passageway’s entrance.

A few minutes later the two of us stood, holding hands in front of the opening. In my other hand, I gripped the hilt of my sword.

“It’ll be dark in there, but I know the way,” I told Raewyn. “Just keep hold of my hand and don’t speak. Once we get to the kitchen, I’ll peek out and make sure it’s safe to cross to the outer door.”

She nodded rapidly, her chest rising and falling and her eyes wide.

As we moved silently through the dark tunnel, I thought of my brother and sister with gratitude.

Had the three of us not decided to create this secret maze for ourselves and spent years of our childhood working on it, I might be facing the prospect of watching Raewyn hang instead of just having to leave her in her village and ride away.

At the moment, I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to stand doing even that, but that was a question for the future. For now, I had to get her safely away from the palace.

Hopefully no intrepid kitchen maids had decided to get an early start on the day. I didn’t want to have to hurt anyone during our escape, but I’d do what I had to do.

Raewyn’s safety was the only thing that mattered to me anymore. If I had to slash a path of blood from here to her village, that’s what I’d do.

The barbaric thought made me wonder for a moment if I reallywasany better than my father. Pharis might be a better Crown Prince after all.

From what I’d seen, he would never feel this level of desperate love foranyone, which meant he’d be better suited to rule overeveryone.

As for me, from now until the end of my immortal life, the better part ofmyheart and mind would remain with Raewyn, no matter how far away she might be.

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