Page 157 of A Court Bright and Broken

My father had ordered that I remain incarcerated here until the wedding ceremony.

Just thinking of his smug face and victorious tone had me ripping the remaining drapes from the windows and tearing the last intact pillow in half.

Feathers puffed up into the air then fell gently to the floor where they joined the innards of the other pillows and the down-stuffed bed covering.

Some warrior I am, battling bed linens.

I felt so impotent. I had failed to keep my promise to protect Raewyn. Now she was back in the dungeon and destined for a life as a concubine.

Apparently shewouldbe allowed to live.

For some reason, when Pharis had betrayed me, he’d left out mention of Raewyn’s involvement with the Earthwife and her plot to assassinate us.

Perhaps, like our father, he’d wanted to keep a little something in his pocket to blackmail me with for the rest of our lives.

I punched the bedroom wall that kept me trapped, breaking a hole in the plaster as well as a few bones in my hand. The pain was nothing compared to the way I felt inside.

It killed me that I could do nothing to punish the evil Earthwife for causing this mess—and even worse, nothing to protect the woman I loved.

Exhausted and defeated, I sank to the floor. The resulting breeze lifted a few of the feathers, causing them to whirl in a taunting dance around me.

I closed my eyes and pictured Raewyn in the dark dungeon, cold and afraid for her life. Grief poured over my heart, as thick and black as tar.

A brief rap at my bedroom door caused me to lift my head.

It opened, and none other than Pharis the traitor stepped inside. He had the gall to appear concerned.

“I came as soon as I heard,” he said, rushing over to me.

Then he looked around at the carnage of my room. “What the shaded stars happened in here? Did one of Mareth’s wild animals invade your suite?”

Clambering to my feet, I took a swing at him, meaning to punch him in the jaw. He ducked out of the way, leaving my fist to connect with nothing but air.

“What was that for?” he shouted.

I tried again, attempting to fell him with a right hook, and failing as he dived to the side.

Pharis had always been quicker than me, and it didn’t help that I hadn’t slept in more than a day. I felt almost drunk withexhaustion, staggering from the momentum of the swing I’d failed to land.

My brother stepped close and grabbed one of my wrists, moving quickly behind me and pinning my arm behind my back. I was effectively immobilized and spitting mad.

“You traitor. You absolute bastard,” I hissed through teeth locked in a grimace.

“What’s gotten into you?” he asked. “Why are you insulting me and trying to take my head off? I came to check on you. I heard Father’s soldiers caught you in the stables with Raewyn.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Youheard, did you? I’m not an idiot. You’re the one whotoldhim, you turncoat.”

Pharis relaxed his hold on me just a bit—not enough to allow me to turn around and fight him again.

“It wasn’t me,” he said over my shoulder.

When I responded with an incredulous, “Ha,” he repeated the lie.

“It wasn’t. I made you a promise, Stellon, and I kept it. I don’t know how he found out about her.”

I swear to you, brother, on our dear mother’s name… I told no one.

The mind-to-mind vow stilled me.

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