Page 73 of A Court Bright and Broken

As we rose, my stomach seemed to fall. A minute later, the door slid open again, and we emerged to an entirely different environment from the one we’d left.

The third floor of the palace was quiet. Instead of bare marble floors, these were covered in a rich red carpet. A very long, high-ceilinged hallway was lined with candle lamps and punctuated by three tall closed doors.

“Your rooms are this way,” Stellon said, turning to the left and walking down the hall.

The guards’ footsteps behind us were silent now, thanks to the plush carpet. Walking on that was a strange sensation as well.

I’d stood on a rug or two in my life, but this was a whole different thing, soft and supportive at the same time. Even the beds in our cottage would be less comfortable.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Stellon commented.

“Just tired. And a bit overwhelmed.”

“Ithasbeen an emotional night—and a busy one,” he said. “Feel free to sleep as late as you’d like.”

He stopped in front of the first door. “And here we are. Would you like me to come inside and show you around?”

“No,” I snapped.

Then, remembering I was supposed to be happy about the recent developments, I modulated my tone.

“I’m so tired. The only thing I need to see is the bed, and I trust I’ll have no trouble spotting it.”

Stellon grinned at me as if I’d said the most clever thing he’d ever heard. “Very well. I’ll leave you to it.”

For a moment, I was hopeful. The guards who’d followed us walked away, disappearing down the hall. I’d assumed they’d be posted outside my door all night, but maybe they just patrolled this level of the palace?

If I could get rid of Stellon quickly enough, maybe I could slip out of my room and then out of the front doors before the clock struck twelve.

He must have noticed my surprise because Stellon said, “Don’t worry. They haven’t gone far—they’ll be back in just a moment. I asked them to give us some privacy to say goodnight.”

Asked them? I hadn’t heard him say anything to them. Oh. He must have spoken to them mind-to-mind.

Gazing down at me, Stellon cupped my cheek in one hand and set the other one on my waist.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am that you decided to come to the Assemblage and attend the ball tonight,” he whispered. “If you had not, I would have ended up marryingthe wrong person and probably being miserable for the rest of my life. Now I can’t wait for the rest of my life to begin.”

Though the rest ofmylife might end up being quite short indeed, I couldn’t help but be captivated by the aching tone of his voice and the beauty of his face.

His eyes glittered in the candlelight, reminding me of the jewels I’d seen some of the fine ladies wearing tonight.

If I’d been arealElven noblewoman, I would probably have been in paradise right now.

“I hope both our lives will be happy,” I said, and I meant it.

I wished Stellon no harm—I just wanted to get far away from him and his whole world.

“I know they will be,” he said. “I intend to spend the rest of my days making sure yours are as perfect as you’d wish them to be.”

Bending his head down to mine, he kissed me.

The last thing I needed to do with my final half hour before midnight struck was to fall under the spell of his kiss and forget entirely that time existed.

But refusing him would only raise suspicion about what I planned to do—leave as soon as he stepped back into that lift.

So I kissed him back.

And since it was impossible not to, I let myself enjoy it. It might very well be the last kiss I ever experienced.

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