A Promise so Bold and Broken (Compelling Fates Saga, #2)

by Sophia St. Germain

Cupping her chin, he lifted her eyes to his again. “The gods may not show themselves anymore, but they’re here. They’re in every creature in our world, in all the beauty and the ugliness, in good and evil, in glory and flaws. And they are most certainly in you. They choose a person’s gift for a reason, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t question mine for a long time. Truth be told, I still question it—but I wield it, Lessia. I decide what it is and what it isn’t.”

A prickling sensation whispered over her face when she drew a happy breath, and as she lifted her eyes, Merrick’s dark ones collided with hers, knocking the breath right back out of her again with their intensity.

When he glanced at it for a moment, she whispered, “I’m not making you dance, I promise.” The low chuckle leaving him rumbled through her, and her body trembled when his warm hand wrapped around hers. “But I am.” Merrick’s gravelly response made her sway, and he had to steady her when she stared up at him. “You… you’re what?” Lessia asked, that lightheadedness returning when Merrick tugged at her hand, turning her back toward the dance floor. “Dancing.” “But…” Lessia frowned at him, bringing them both to a halt. “You don’t dance.” She must be drunker than she’d thought. Merrick laughed, a rough, quiet laugh. “I’ll make an exception.”

It wasn’t the dancing her father had taught her growing up. It wasn’t Loche’s elaborate moves. It was Merrick. It was trust. It was assurance. It was friendship. It was… Her breath hitched when Merrick’s cheek brushed hers, and she could feel his muscles growing taut as her heartbeat surged.

“What are you thinking about?” Merrick asked after he drained the rest of the glass. “Whether I’m allowed to pet you.”

it’s easy to turn to rage when love stabs a dagger right through your heart.”

Merrick’s eyes captured hers. “There is no playing in war.” “I know.” Lessia tightened her grip on the sword. “But you and I aren’t at war.” “Aren’t we?” Merrick raised a brow, and Lessia’s face heated.

“You wouldn’t have to fight for me. I… I can’t say it would be easy, given what we’re facing, but I’d make sure this—us—would be the one place you can rest, where you’re always safe, where you never have to put on a mask to conceal your true feelings.”