Page 19 of A Court Bright and Broken

His voice sounded gruff, and he didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands, reaching for me again then closing them on thin air and pulling them back.

“These things have a way of working themselves out,” he said.

“In your life perhaps,” I said. “I have to go. I need to get home. The girls will be wanting their supper.”

Chapter 5

Invitation

Stellon

If it was the last thing I ever did, I was going to reunite this woman with that locket.

I’d order some troops to find the band of marketplace thieves. A few minutes with my best men, and they’d cough it up.

If they didn’t have it, my soldiers would turn the Rough Market upside down, searching every rickety booth and tent until the necklace was found.

Then I’d have it delivered to her village—along with a bag of coins my soldiers wouldn’tallowher to refuse. Better yet, I’d deliver it myself to make sure she took it—the least I could do after what she’d done for me.

The young woman turned her back to me and started marching down the lane away from the palace, apparently deciding not to wait for an escort.

“Raewyn, wait.”

Suddenly overcome by a baffling sense of desperation, I grabbed the back of her cloak, stopping her forward motion.

“Give me a few minutes to muster an escort party for you. You can’t walk home alone.”

And I certainly couldn’t escort her myself. It was a miracle I’d made it this far without losing consciousness.

She spun to face me. “Do youreallyexpect me to go off on my merry way with a group of strange Fae men? No thank you. I’ll be fine on my own.”

This woman was so exasperating. Though admirable, her sense of independence was simply foolish in this situation. The open road was hazardous for any lone traveler, especially a female.

Worse, I was absolutely certain she meant to return to the Rough Market.

The band of thieves could still be there—and they would make her pay for not only injuring them but humiliating them as well.

“I’ll send one of my men back to the market to fetch my horse,” I said. “It won’t take long. When he returns with it,I’lltake you home.”

In the meantime, I could be healed so I’d be able to withstand the journey. Riding Malo in this state would be sheer torture.

Raewyn’s jaw unhinged and hung open. “Yourhorse? Do you mean to tell me you had transportation, and you let me support your heavy carcass all the way here?”

“I couldn’t have mounted a horse in my condition,” I explained. “Much less ridden him all this way.”

Her fear about my broken ribs wasn’t unfounded. It was nothing our healer couldn’t handle—a few hours from now, every crack and bruise would be repaired. But at the moment I felt as if I might pass out with the next inhale.

“Please take me up on my offer to come inside,” I said. “You can eat something while I’m being healed, and then I can put you on Malo in front of me and get you home much more quickly than you can walk there. Or better yet, we could ride together in a carriage. That’s what my sister prefers.”

If Raewyn didn’t want to ride, I’d at least walk with her and provide safe escort. The Rough Market wasn’t the only place ruffians like the band of thieves hunted for innocents like her.

Just thinking of it had my anger burning again. Whyhadshe been there alone?

I knew her father was disabled, but was there no one else who cared about her welfare? She’d said she was responsible for looking after her younger sisters… but who looked afterher?

Raewyn shot me a look that suggested I was more daft than the court jester.

“You can’t take me home—on horseback, or in a carriage, or astride adragon. My reputation would never survive the scandal of being seen with you.”

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