These Twisted Bonds (These Hollow Vows, #2)(102)

“Only the times you used so much power, and even those times would’ve required a fraction of what you’d used if you had the proper training. You’re getting better, and you’ll continue to improve.

I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You aren’t. You’re improving every day. I’ll teach you how to use your power so efficiently you’ll rarely ever tap into mine.”

“And when I do?” I ask.

“I’ll be okay. This is what I was made for.”

Those words make me flinch.

“It is a great honor to be tethered to a shadow queen. My ancestor King Kairyn was the last known tethered—before his match, Queen Reé, was assassinated.”

“So you’re not a descendant of Mab?”

His lips twitch, as if he knows I’m asking if we’re distantly related somehow. “No. Kairyn got the crown from Queen Reé when it was thought her line was killed off.”

“They were tethered, but were they married?”

“No, but legend has it that she loved him more than any of her husbands.”

My eyes widen. “Then why didn’t she marry him? ”

He chuckles softly. “It simply wasn’t done. Queens didn’t marry their tethered. It was considered too dangerous. The tethered’s purpose is to protect the queen. To lend her his strength and magic. If they were married, she might not want to compromise him.”

“Were all the queens romantically involved with their tethered match?”

He swallows. “The tethering draws the pair closer together, so chemistry and deeper feelings were easily discovered, but there are as many tales of platonic love between matches as romantic love.”

“Is it forbidden for a queen to bond with her tethered match?”

Finn is quiet for so long, I wish I hadn’t asked. Maybe I’m wrong about his feelings for me.

Maybe he doesn’t want more than we can have right now. When he finally speaks, his voice is as soft as the wind. “The power moves in only one direction between a tethered and his queen. If they were bonded, they would be linked and the power would move both ways. For that reason alone, it was never done—or at least never spoken of. Queens couldn’t have their tethered matches pulling from their strength.”

“But what if that was what the queen wanted?” I ask.

“That, like all things, would be up to the queen herself.” His hand drifts down to my hip, squeezing. “But if you are the queen in question, I can say with confidence that your tethered servant would be honored to share the bond with you.”

His careful words make my heart ache. I never considered how much my decision to bond with Sebastian hurt Finn. I was too busy feeling betrayed by both of them to give it a second thought. “I told Sebastian that he needs to let me go.” I draw in a deep breath. “He’s holding on, but I can’t have him believing I’m going to give us a chance. Not when I have these feelings for you.” I close my eyes.

“I know it might seem like I’m being influenced by the tether, but it’s more than that. It’s been more than that for a long time, and I just want . . . I want a chance for us to explore that. Without the bond in our way.”

Finn’s lips brush my neck again and he breathes in deeply. His hand drifts from my hip and up my side, his thumb skimming the underside of my breasts. “If I tell you something, will you promise me not to decide tonight or even tomorrow?”

“What is it?” I ask, studying his face in the starlight.

He strokes his thumb across my bottom lip. “On the other side of the portal, deep in the Underworld, the Waters of New Life flow. Water so clear it can strip away your mistakes, your regrets. Water that can, if you ask it, undo the bonds you’ve taken with others. Only there can severing the bond be your choice alone.”

Which would mean I could be with Finn without feeling Sebastian between us. I wouldn’t have to shield myself from Sebastian so diligently. It would mean a fresh start. “I could ask the waters to strip me of my bond with Sebastian?”

He swallows. “Only if you wish.”

“Then you and I . . .”

Finn shakes his head slowly. “Only if you wish,” he repeats.

I do wish, but I take a moment anyway, considering what I’d do if I didn’t have feelings for Finn.

“It’s a wonder how I can loathe this bond so much when loneliness dogged me most of my life. It should be a relief, the constant awareness of another. But I was never allowed time to settle into this new body as myself alone. I need that.”

“I want that for you.” He slides his hand into my hair and cradles the back of my head, kissing me firmly before pulling me against his chest. “Sleep, Princess. These decisions don’t need to be made tonight.”



Lark visits my dreams again, and the sight of her silver eyes and flowing dark hair makes me smile.

“It’s been a while,” I tell her, squinting when she fades in and out of being like a weak illusion.

“You can’t take the throne from the Underworld.” Her little voice sounds different tonight. Tired.

“Why are you telling me that?” I ask. I’ve learned, after all, that when Lark visits me in a dream, I need to listen.