Broken Wings Read Online Free

all
right?"
    "He'll get over it." Nare waved away
her concern and pointed to the note.
    Get over what? She read the
note…

    Raea,
    This is the
32 nd time I've started trying to write to you. I'll try again, but
I don't know if I can say it any better. I couldn't say it in
person, because nothing sounds right, and this probably won't
either.
    I thought about you all
night and what you said. I never meant to hurt you or force you
into anything. I knew it was wrong of me. There's no excuse for
upsetting you, and nothing else I can say sounds more adequate. I
just want you to know how sorry I am and that I would do anything
for you.
    I will always love you.
Please come back.
    Elis

    He admitted his mistake, but what
about the next time? Would there be a next time?
    "Typical." Nare's eyes jumped from the
paper to her, her arms crossed.
    What was her problem?
    "They never think before
they act. Do they?" Nare's bitterness softened away with a sigh. "I
heard him crying last night, even though he denied it. He locked
himself in his room. I tried to talk to him, but he told me to go
away, said I shouldn't be there and that this was my fault. My fault. As if I had
anything to do with his stupidity. Besides, Evelyn invited me to
stay, and it's her house."
    Crying? Over her? Her poor Elis. What
had she done? Her stomach twisted into a wretched mess.
    Elis…
    "Anyway, don't worry too much. Take
your time, Raea, and don't let him push you."
    But he didn't push her. She wanted to
be close. In fact, he'd pushed her away all last week. Elis had
been the one encouraging her to spend time with her friends. "He's
never pushed me into anything. He was just there, waiting." He'd
never expected anything. And her perfect memory—another mixed
blessing of the Starfire—returned of that moment she admitted her
feelings. He'd been so surprised, as had she to find out he liked
her the same way, but he'd never indicated he felt anything for her
until she admitted it first. He'd always waited for her.
    "Good. At least he did something
right."
    Raea opened her hand on the
small curl of feather ready to lift away with the slightest puff of
air. A part of him that he wanted her to remember. She would never
forget. If only she could be sure now. But what would she give up?
Bonding to one man the rest of her life sounded risky—shared
pleasure and pain? What did that mean?
    "He did everything right, except this.
I just need time. I'm not abandoning him."
    "But he's afraid you will."
    Yes, he was. The letter said that.
What if she did? She couldn't imagine being with anyone else, but
she had to know without a doubt that he was right for her. Why
couldn't Inari relationships come with instructions?
    Raea sighed and closed her fingers
gently around the tickling softness of the feather. "I'm not ready
for that kind of permanent commitment yet, but I love
him."
    "Elis better count himself lucky to
have you, or to have had you."
    What? No. Past tense was wrong, so
very wrong. Nare misunderstood. "I'm not leaving him. I just…" Why
did she say that? All she was doing was spending some time away.
Nare had a cruel way of making him into the bad guy. She totally
didn't get it.
    "Whatever. I should get back to the
house. He's probably panicking or something. He told me a few times
exactly how to get here and find you. Idiot. I remember everything
as perfectly as him. We're all—" Nare lowered her voice and leaned
close. ["We're all Keepers."]
    Raea sighed and folded the note. Nare
so didn't get it, but Raea knew no one else who could understand.
"Thanks, Nare."
    "No problem. See ya later?"
    "Later?"
    "I thought, since you wanted space to
think but are still training, I could take over for a
while."
    Nare annoyed Raea with her critical
view of Elis, but maybe she was right. Besides, hearing about Elis
from someone else might reveal an important detail or at least
provide some interesting stories.
    "All right," Raea mumbled.
    "Later." Nare strode away through