A Court Bright and Broken (Age of Fae #1)

32. Sure Bets

Chapter 32

Sure Bets

S tellon

The next morning, I went to see my sister.

Mareth was in the morning room, playing a merry game of chase with a pair of white rabbits who darted from one piece of priceless gilded furniture to another.

Giving up, she collapsed onto the large, tufted sofa, and the elusive creatures settled in the lap of her generous skirts so she could pet them. The glamour mark on her wrist glowed with pink light as she stroked the petal-like ears of one of her fluffy friends.

She looked up and spotted me, breathing heavily and smiling. “Good morning, Stells. I’m surprised to see you up at this hour. You’ve taken to sleeping in quite late the past week or so.”

“Yes, I… didn’t sleep much at all last night, actually.”

Between my racing thoughts and the discomfort of the settee, I’d probably gotten only an hour or two of actual slumber. When I’d finally given up and arisen, the curtains had still been tightly drawn around the bed where Raewyn had slept without me.

She had shut me out physically and figuratively.

Mareth’s eyebrow raised. “Really?”

“Not for that reason,” I said in a beleaguered tone. I only wished .

She looked at me strangely. “Are you all right?”

“Of course. I’m fine. Are you well?”

She nodded. “I’m fine, but I’m not the one whose fiancée ran away.”

“If you ever get a fiancé, he will run away because he’ll be so intimidated by the threats from your two big brothers,” I teased.

She laughed, the concern easing from her brow. “That’s why I shall have to accept the proposal of only the most intimidating man in the kingdom, someone who’ll be able to stand up to you two bullies.”

“There is no such man,” I said. “Unless you were to marry a dragon-shifter—and in that case, our father would drop dead of horror.”

She grinned. “Don’t tempt me. That would make you king, and you are far more fun.”

“Thank you. A feeble compliment, but I’ll take it.”

Dropping onto the sofa beside her, I reached over to rub the soft fur of one of the rabbits. It was extremely tame, allowing the contact without protest.

Of course if my sister urged it to, the thing would chew my arm off.

“It’s not good for you to be alone so much, Stells,” Mareth said. “Especially after what you went through.”

“I’m fine,” I insisted.

She gave me a side glance, and her tone turned brighter, more inquisitive.

“Pharis is convinced you’re not alone in there. He thinks you’ve already made your choice from the available candidates and have gotten an early start to your bonded relationship.”

Her teasing tone and expectant grin told me she was fishing.

“Well he’s wrong,” I said. “I assure you, I’m still as much a virgin as you are.”

“You sound rather cross about that,” she said. “Don’t worry. You’ll have a bond-mate by the end of the Assemblage, and the waiting will be over.”

The prospect literally made me shudder. How was I supposed to consummate a marriage with an “appropriate” Elven bride when the only person my heart—and my body—wanted was Raewyn?

I was in so much trouble.

“What do women like?” I asked Mareth.

She laughed. “What? For one thing, I’m pretty sure you already know. You’ve never been lacking for female attention as far as I’ve seen. For another, why are you even worrying about that?”

Leaning in and using a conspiratorial whisper, she said, “I’ll let you in on a little secret… they’re all sure bets. They wouldn’t be here if they didn’t already want to marry you.”

“Oh I know that.”

I waved my hand through the air dismissively, as if it was no big deal.

“I just… I wondered if I did want to seduce someone, to make her, you know, fall in love with me or something, what should I do? What do women like?”

Mareth’s amused grin fell away, replaced by a contemplative expression.

“Well, assuming you’re already doing the obvious things like being nice to her, treating her with courtesy and respect, let’s see… presents are always fun.”

She lifted a hand from the rabbit she’d been petting and held up a finger.

“But only if they’re good ones,” she said. “And I don’t mean something expensive. I’m talking about gifts you’ve put some thought into. Like, you pay attention to what she’s interested in, to anything she might mention being fond of, and find a gift that has something to do with that. Something that has meaning to her.”

She went back to stroking the little pet. “It shows you’ve been paying attention, that her needs and desires are important to you.”

I nodded eagerly. “Okay, good. What else?”

“Hmm… well, surprises are nice.”

“Isn’t that the same as presents?” I asked.

“No, I mean a different kind of surprise… giving her an experience she doesn’t expect, maybe something she’s never done before or seen before, something she’s always wanted to do. Or maybe something she’s never even thought to want.”

I nodded, making mental notes. “This is good. Keep going.”

“Of course, the greatest gift of all is just sharing yourself with her,” Mareth said, sounding wistful. “Telling her what you’re thinking and how you feel. All women love honesty—at least I do.”

A sense of conviction weighed on me like a cloak lined with lead plating. All my problems with Raewyn had stemmed from not being honest with her. But I’d been afraid to overwhelm her with the full truth, some of which was pretty scary.

If she truly knew everything about me, all the things I’d done, she’d find it impossible to love me back.

Mareth leaned her head against my shoulder. “By the way, I think it’s really sweet that you’d want to please your new wife.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much, though, if I were you,” she assured with a pat on my forearm. “As long as you act like your true, kind self around her, she won’t be able to help falling in love with you. You’re going to be an excellent husband.”

While I appreciated the sentiment, my sister was dead wrong. I was going to be a terrible husband, because for the eternity of my marriage, I would long for the human girl who got away and wish I’d been able to make her my wife instead.

Mareth’s tone was as glum as my mood when she spoke again.

“You and Pharis are lucky if you ask me. I’m the one who’ll live in misery the rest of my immortal life if I select the wrong bond-mate. But once you marry—as long as you produce the all-important heir—you’ll be able to do whatever you please.”

And that’s when it hit me. A new hope.

Kissing the top of my sister’s head, I sprang up from the couch and bounded toward the open door.

“You’re a genius. Thank you.”

No, I could not marry Raewyn. I’d still have to take an Elven bride. And I already knew she had no interest in being a member of any sort of retinue. But there was something I could offer her.

Hopefully it would be appealing enough to make her want to stay.

Armed with a new plan, I returned to my chambers later that evening with a bit more energy in my step.

Thanks to Mareth’s suggestions, I’d come up with several inspired ideas to warm Raewyn up for my proposition.

First, I carried with me what I hoped was the perfect gift. I’d promised one of our most talented artisans anything he wanted if he’d drop everything and craft it for me—today.

It had taken him many hours, but he’d done a masterful job. Raewyn was going to love it. If she didn’t, I had a few more gift ideas up my sleeve.

Plus, I’d scheduled a surprise for her tonight that she was sure to like.

When I entered the suite, she was, thankfully, not already ensconced behind the bed curtains but still awake and dressed, reading in a chair by the open windows.

“Good evening,” I said. “I trust you enjoyed the food I had sent up to the sitting room earlier today.”

She looked up at me then darted her eyes away quickly, gluing them to her book.

“It was fine,” she said in a monotone.

Well, that wasn’t good.

Soldiering on, I approached her, holding out the small box resting atop my palm.

“I brought you something.”

Raewyn looked up again, her eyes moving from the box to my face. “I don’t need any presents from you, Stellon. I’ve told you, the only thing I want is to go home.”

I sighed. “Yes, I know. And you won’t have to wait much longer. But in the meantime, I’d like for you to open this.”

She frowned at the box as if it might contain a poisonous snake or something. “What is it?”

“Open it and find out,” I urged. “I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to have it made for you.”

After a long hesitation, she reached for it and set the box on her lap to open its flaps.

As soon as she did so, the nest of tissue paper inside rustled, and up rose a tiny clockwork hummingbird, flapping its miniature golden wings so quickly they were a blur before my eyes.

I heard Raewyn’s gasp as the shiny metallic creature began to fly about the room, lighting for a second atop a lamp before taking off again. Her wide eyes followed its journey, and her mouth remained open in amazement.

Though Raewyn hadn’t said anything, I was more than pleased by her reaction.

“I know how much you like hummingbirds. I’ve seen you many times watching them from the window,” I said.

The miniature creatures had always fascinated me as well as they fed from the nectar-rich blooms of the Bougainvillea vines that climbed the castle walls and surrounded the bedroom windows.

“I thought you might like to have one of your own,” I said. “Call to it. It’ll come to you.”

Raewyn gave a short whistle, and the mechanical bird flew to her, perching atop her outstretched finger. She brought it close and studied it, wonder clear on her face.

“This is incredible,” she said.

Not only was my sister a genius, so was I. My smile was so big it hurt my cheeks.

“I’m glad you like it.”

My smile fell at her next words.

“I can’t accept it.”