Page 24 of A Court Bright and Broken

She nodded in satisfaction, grinning ear to ear. “Thank you.”

“My point is that we all have our burdens to bear,” I said. “No one’s life is perfect. I’mfine, so you can stop worrying about me.”

I’d learned long ago that I couldn’t have what I truly wanted, so I’d stopped even thinking about it. What was the point?

My mind returned to the human girl. For a moment I considered trying to find her, sending emissaries out to all the surrounding villages and conducting a door-to-door search.

But again, to what end?

She was human. She clearly hated the High Fae. And I didn’t believe for a moment there were no men in her village who sought to court her.

Besides, it was forbidden.

Even if she somehow returned my perplexing interest, it couldn’t go anywhere. In two weeks I’d be betrothed to some “appropriate” woman of my own kind.

There was simply no place for someone like Raewyn in my life.

Never mind the fact that for a few moments in her presence, I’d felt complete. There’d been a break in the incessant longing for… something.

I’d never experiencedthatbefore with anyone or anything.

Suddenly, I wished I’d never gone to the market today, that I’d never met her.

Or that I could at least forget I had.

Chapter 7

I Would Do Anything

Raewyn

My heart grew heavier with each step I took toward home.

It wasn’t that I resented my responsibilities there—my step-sisters were a joy to me, and my father had earned my loyalty and care.

It was just that I dreaded telling Papa about the lost locket. He would know as well as I did what it meant. Hunger for us all and more pain for him.

The medicine provided to him by the village mother had run out.

Now I couldn’t buy more.

Our village mother, Sorcha, was an Earthwife. She was wise, possessing powers beyond the understanding of the rest of us, and her tinctures and potions had done wonders for just about everyone I knew, including Papa.

But she did not give something for nothing. None of the Earthwives did.

Most people I knew viewed them as a necessary evil. Their wards were our only protection against our Fae overlords, keeping them from invading our villages whenever they pleased.

But they were also crafty, and those who made deals with them seemed often to find themselves living in regret.

I glanced at Sorcha’s cottage as I walked past, feeling a shiver go down my spine and wondering if I might be able to persuade her just this once to provide Papa’s essential treatment on a loan until I could figure out how to come up with payment.

Maybe I could do some work around her home or in her gardens? I planned to visit her in the morning and ask.

Arriving at the rough wooden door to our own tiny home, I took a deep breath, pasted on a smile for the sake of Tindra and Turi, then turned the knob and entered.

The girls looked up from their game of sticks and stones on the dirt floor and leapt to their feet, rushing me in a flurry of curls and giggles.

“You’re finally home,” Tindra cried. “Did you bring us something?”

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