Page 32 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

Raine groaned as he shifted on the chair, his eyes half shut. “I do.”

Squeezing her hand, Merrick said quietly, “We send for Alarin tonight. And I’ll see if a few other friends might also answer a summons.”

ChapterEight

Lessia stared up at the ceiling of her small bedroom.

The moon cast silvery shadows that danced across the thin wooden beams, tangling with the firelight that reflected from the small lantern she’d placed on the floor.

The group had finished their drinks in silence after the decision to reach out to her father, and the liquor must have been strong because Venko first, then Ardow, fell asleep on the couch, their snores echoing through the living room.

A trail of drool twisted down Ardow’s chin by the time Lessia quietly bid Merrick and Raine goodnight, and she’d hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should try to help him to bed.

Then she’d thought better of it.

Perhaps waking up stiff from the uncomfortable sleeping position and with what she expected to be a violent liquor sickness would shake some sense into him.

She couldn’t understand why he wanted to return to the rebels so badly.

Ardow had never been violent.

From the moment she’d met him, she’d trusted him because of his gentle nature.

Even being part-Fae, he didn’t have the temper she sometimes struggled so hard to rein in herself.

Dragging her hands down her face, she groaned.

She should have accepted the cup Raine had offered her.

There was no way she’d be able to sleep.

Not with all the thoughts that vied for dominance in her mind.

How her father would react when he found out.

How they’d get back to Ellow.

How they’d get Loche to see their side.

How she’d get the children to safety once more.

She held back another groan, wishing she could drag the worries from her mind as easily as she could pull at the blanket lying across her legs.

Lessia listened to the quiet house, and when no voices floated over the soft breathing and the wind tapping the windows, she sat up and pushed the cover off.

After picking up the lantern, she tiptoed to the door and eased it open.

The house was dim, and only the moon shone on Venko and Ardow, who still half sat and half lay on the couch.

But to the left, soft light flickered out of a cracked door.

Making her way over, she made sure her steps remained silent, having no energy to deal with the two men she could barely look at without rage fluttering inside her.

Not that she had the energy to deal with the other two males either.

Raine was nothing like she’d expected.

She wasn’t sure what she’d hoped for when Merrick suggested they go here, but a barely functioning drunkard wasn’t it.

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