Page 121 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

“Maddy, I’m sorry, honey,” she tells me as she smooths her hand across my head. “Please don’t be mad at me. I’d take you if I could.”

I stare at my bedroom window. The curtain is open, and the moon is like a crystal ball in the sky, giving the illusion that the night is magical.

It never is.

“I’m sorry,” she says again. “I have to go.”

The mattress rises as she gets off my bed to leave. I tell myself to stay angry with her, but knowing I’ll miss her, I turn and call out, “Wait.”

But all alone.

Always alone?—

My eyelids snap open, and I engulf huge breaths of air into my lungs. Confusion fogs my brain as I frantically peer around, struggling to grasp where I am. A few gasping breaths later, I put the puzzle pieces together.

I’m in River’s room, sitting up in his bed. Sunlight is trickling through the crack between the curtains, and the air carries a stillness to it that conveys River and Finn are still sleeping or left.

I rub my hand over my aching chest. Those types of nightmares are nothing new. I know I’ve had abandonment issues for a while, stemming from every time my aunt left. I wanted her to stay—she was my only constant—and now I can’t even get a hold of her.

In a hopeless dumb manner, I collect my phone and check my messages to see if she’s messaged me back. Nope. I only have messages from my mother and Drew that state the same old bullshit. Although, my mother wants to know why I snuck into the house last night, like she believes I’ll just reply to her.

Heaving an exhale out of my lungs, I set my phone down and scoot to the edge of the bed, preparing to get up. River and I should be meeting up for practice in about an hour, but since I’m in his room, I’m unsure if I should wait for him here.

Before I can figure out what I want to do, I hear a door close from inside the dorm. It’s followed by a soft clinking noise.

With the threat of the society looming over me like a dark cloud, I quietly get up, tiptoe over to the door, and gently crack it open to peer out.

Standing on the other side is River. He has his fist raised as if he’s about to knock, and we both startle each other.

“Holy crap.” He presses his hand to his chest as I swing the door open the rest of the way. “You scared the hell out of me.”

“You scared the hell out of me,” I reply while catching my breath.

He has on a pair of running shorts, a T-shirt, and sneakers. His hair is pulled back, and he’s holding a brown paper bag. He smells sweaty, making me question … “Did you run already?” I aim for a neutral tone, but hurt seeps through.

I’m unsure why I’m even hurt, other than I have this inkling perhaps he went running to avoid spending time with me after what happened last night.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a jog, but we’re still working out.” He pauses. “You still want to, right?”

“Yeah …” I’m so perplexed. He’s acting so offish. “You don’t have to train me if you don’t want to. I get it if last night made things too weird between us.”

Loose locks of his hair fall into his eyes as he shakes his head. “No, not all.” He rubs the back of his hand across his forehead. “I’m sorry I’m acting weird. I’m just … There’s something I need to talk to you about. It’s important but might make things awkward between us … I don’t know.”

Tired of this discomfort between us, I step back and motion for him to come inside. “How about we talk, and then try to get rid of the awkwardness?”

He enters, nodding, but doubt weighs in his expression. “You might want to sit down. It’s a lot.”

I take a seat on the bed, tucking a leg under my butt. He hesitantly sits down beside me, leaving space between us.

He sets the bag he’s holding down then stares at his hands for a maddening amount of time. “Finn and I came up with an idea on how to keep the society from targeting you,” he starts, his gaze finding mine. Worry is stirring in his features. “I’m not sure how you’re going to react to it, though.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” I gesture at him to spit it out.

His cheeks puff as he exhales then rests his hand on the bed, close to my hip but not quite touching. “There’s a rule within the society that if you’re dating a member, they’re protected from getting targeted.”

“Wait …” I slant back in surprise. “You want me to date Finn?”

He slowly shakes his head, and his worry is replaced by nervousness. “No, I want you to date me.”

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