Page 75 of A Court Bright and Broken

Whirling, I ran back to the sitting room and approached the glass doors. Depressing the handle, I found they swung open easily.

There wasn’t a moment to waste.

I stepped through the doors onto the balcony that ran the length of the suite. The night air smelled like freedom.

Unfortunately, my room was on the third story. Going to the railing, I peered over the edge. Music drifted up from the open doors of the ballroom somewhere below.

Farbelow. Jumping to the ground was not an option.

But there might be another one.

Here at the back of the palace, the ocean-facing rooms were filled with the sweet scent of Bougainvillea. The bright pink flowers grew on copious vines that climbed the walls from the ground to nearly the roof.

Stretching out an arm, I delved my hand beneath the blooms to test the strength of the vines. They felt solid.

Whether they were solid enough to hold my weight was a different question, but I really had no other choice. If I stayed here, I was dead for sure.

Better to die trying instead of waiting for it like a sitting duck.

I found a good handhold then, dragging my heavy gown up to my knees, threw one leg awkwardly over the railing and dug my shoe into a snarl of vines.

My heart hammered as I grabbed onto the vine with my other hand and carefully drew my other leg over the ledge and away from the balcony. My legs and arms were already shaking, probably more from fear of the great height than from muscle strain.

That would be coming soon no doubt, so I needed to descend the castle wall as quickly as possible. Thankfully the pointed toes of the shoes Sorcha had given me made good climbing anchors.

Testing my footing with each move, I painstakingly made my way to the bottom of the vine.

By the time I reached the ground, the muscle fatigue I’d anticipated had definitely set in, but I wouldhaveto find some reserves of energy.

It was time to run.

Fate must have been on my side because a bank of fog had steadily moved in off the ocean, dimming the light of the moon and stars and casting a significant portion of the castle’s lawn into darkness.

It would take only a short dash to escape the circles of torchlight that bordered the base of the palace.

Then I would be free to run for home.

Of course I’d have to pass through the castle gates first, but it was late—surely I wouldn’t be the only ballgown-clad lady leaving the grounds? The castle couldn’t have possibly contained enough guest rooms to house every member of the Fae attending the ball.

I’d have to hurry if I wanted tostillbe wearing this gown by the time I reached the gate and still look like a “lady.” There could only be a few minutes left until midnight now.

What exactly would happen when the witching hour arrived? Would these clothes simply disappear, leaving me naked?

The thought sped my steps.

Unfortunately the beautiful shoes that seemed to have been made for climbing vines werenotmade for running—and definitely not on uneven ground.

One of the pointed toes caught a protruding root, and my ankle turned. The other shoe snagged on the hem of my gown, and I went down hard.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. The wind must have been knocked out of me.

When my breath returned, it was accompanied by a wave of pain that crashed from my foot to my knee on the left side.

Oh no. I did not have time for a sprained ankle.

Intending to run again, I pushed up to my knees, then to my feet. That’s when I realized one of my shoes had come off during my fall. No matter—barefoot was better anyway.

I was reaching down to remove the other shoe when it simply… disappeared.

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