Page 83 of A Court Bright and Broken

I’d forgotten just how lovely she was. Not as perfectly arrayed as my betrothed, but still… very appealing.

Nodding toward the empty glass, I said, “It’s been quite a night, I take it.”

Raewyn nodded. “It certainly has. Thank you for the water. You’re right. I do feel better. Quite good actually. Where did you say it comes from?”

“Elves collect it from tree roots in various caverns throughout the region, at the point where the trees draw water from the subterranean rivers. It’s a bit like sap at that point. Then it goes through a process of distillation involving heated mineral rocks… I don’t actually know all the details. Someone else handles that. Do you want more?”

She relaxed back into the settee cushions and rested her head against its curved spine.

“No, thank you. I’m afraid any more might put me right to sleep. As you say, it’s been quite a night.”

“So tell me what happened. How did you come to be imprisoned?” I asked. “And where is your dress?”

For a long moment, Raewyn just looked at me. “I honestly don’t know where the dress went. My shoes disappeared as well.”

That worried me. Had she been drugged before she was taken to the prison? Had the guards at the gate done something dishonorable?

If so, the culprits would be identified and hanged before the sun set tomorrow. I didn’t care that she was “just” a human—wrong was wrong.

“As far as how I ended up in the dungeon, I was trying to leave the palace grounds and was apprehended by two guards who took me there.”

I leaned forward. “Did they hurt you?”

“No. No, nothing like that. I was hurt thanks to my own clumsiness.”

“So you said you were trying toleavethe palace grounds. That means your invitation got you past the gates. Were you turned away at the ballroom entrance then?”

Anger boiled in my chest. Curse those snooty butlers.

Of course itwasunusual for a human to attend one of our soirees, but I’d meant the ball invitation to be a gesture of gratitude toward Raewyn for helping me in the marketplace.

How dare they judge her unworthy to enter and send her back out into the night to stumble in the darkness and get hurt.

“You didn’t really wantmethere,” she said, sounding a bit sad. “I’m sure you didn’t even think of me, busy as you were with all the dancing and feasting… and beautiful Elven ladies.”

“That’s not true. I looked for you. I kept hoping you’d walk through the doors.”

Until I’d spotted Wyn with Pharis and assumed she was the one his borrowed glamour had identified as my perfect match.

Though he’d denied it for some reason, itmusthave been true. I’d never felt so compelled by anyone before in my life.

Only the way I’d felt about Raewyn after our marketplace encounter and long walk home together could come close to comparing.

And actually, Ihadthought about her on several occasions during the evening when looking into Lady Wyn’s eyes.

The difference was Lady Wyn was a real possibility in my life. My fascination with Raewyn had always been a pipe dream, a lovely distraction.

And now she was here—in my room. I shook my head at the unlikeliness of it all.

“I’m sorry your evening went so horribly wrong,” I said. “You deserved to have a wonderful time, and instead you ended up hurt and locked away in the dark. Not a very good reward.”

“It wasn’t the best night of my life,” she said, and we both laughed.

“I want to make it up to you. I’ll ring for some food. What would you like? Name it, and it’s yours.”

“It’s the middle of the night.”

“That’s of no consequence,” I said. “The kitchen staff can be rallied on short notice. Pharis and I tend to stay up quite late and both have insatiable appetites. Pharis is my brother, in case you didn’t know.”

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