These Twisted Bonds (These Hollow Vows, #2)(132)

“Are you nervous?” Pretha asks.

I shake my head. “Not even a little.”

Tonight, Finn and I will complete the bonding ceremony. We’ll get married too someday, but for now the bond will allow us to share power both ways, which, as I’ve told him repeatedly, is important to me. But the truth is, I simply crave this additional connection to the male I love.

“The last time I did this, I was looking for the wrong things,” I tell Jas. “The Banshee had scared the pants off me, and I wanted the bond with Sebastian so he could protect me. I thought it would be fine, because I loved him, but it was a mistake, and I think we both knew that.”

“It’s not too late to change your mind,” Misha says, pushing into my chambers as if he owns the place.

He’d gone home to the Wild Fae Lands after we celebrated my taking the throne, but he visits often. Sometimes I think he’s afraid that Pretha will take his spot as my best friend if he doesn’t see me frequently.

“Why are you here?” I ask. “We’re not doing a public ceremony.”

He clutches my hand to his chest. “I’m here just in case you decided you’d rather have me.”

I snort. “Maybe next time, Misha.”

“Can’t blame me for trying.” Dropping my hand, he kisses each cheek. “You look stunning. He’s a very lucky male.”

“I’m the lucky one,” I say, grinning.

Kane is next to stick his head in the door. “Is the party in here?” he asks before pushing in. He spots me and stops in his tracks. “Gods above and below, look at that dress.”

I blush. “Thank you.”

Kane looks at Jas and gives her an uncharacteristically charming smile. “You’re still gonna make something for me next, right?”

Pretha grunts. “You realize she’s not your seamstress, right?”

“I don’t mind,” Jas says, and my heart swells a little. It feels so good to see my sister finding her place in this world. “It gives me something to do.”

Finally, when Jas and Pretha are done fussing over me, Finn appears, and his eyes are all over me —hungry, lustful, loving, and grateful all at once.

“How did you know black leather was my favorite color?” he asks, sliding his arms around me and pulling me close.

“Well, I . . .” I realize that everyone’s staring, so I wrap us in our own little cocoon of shadow where they can’t see or hear what we say. “If I recall,” I say once we have privacy, “you said anything I wear is your favorite.”

His mouth quirks into a lopsided grin. “Right. I forgot.” He presses a kiss to my lips. “Are you sure you want to have a front seat to my nonstop lustful thoughts about my tethered match?”

“What part of I don’t want to wait another day makes you doubt me?”

His face softens. “Give a male a break, Abriella. This is hard for me.”

“How so?” I ask.

“I’m afraid I’m going to wake up.”

I melt. “Don’t make me look soft; it’ll ruin my badass queen look.”

“Never.” He winks at me. “You love me?” he asks.

“I love you,” I say without hesitation or reservation. “You love me?”

“I love you,” he says. “But I would love you even if you never wanted to bond with me.”

“Same,” I whisper. “Always.”

He squeezes me tight. Our little cocoon falls away, and we appear on the rooftop terrace of our mountain cottage. The stars shine so brightly overhead that they bring tears to my eyes.

“Pick a star,” he whispers in my ear. “Make a wish.”

I thread my fingers through his and make the same wishes I’ve made every night since taking the throne. The only wishes a queen should hold so dear.

I wish for peace. I wish for every faerie in my court—in the entire realm—to know and have a love like this.





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Acknowledgments

First, I need to thank everyone who read These Hollow Vows, the first book in this duology, and contacted me with giddy excitement for more of this world. I needed your enthusiasm more than you know, and I am so grateful for every kind word, review, rant, and rave. Thanks to my longtime romance readers who don’t necessarily read YA or fantasy but read These Hollow Vows and cheered me on through this new career plot twist. I’m so grateful for your support!

I have so much gratitude for everyone who got me through 2020. Drafting this book (and two others) while also trying to get through a pandemic and all that entailed was challenging in so many ways. Thank you to my kids, who would’ve rather had their mom’s full attention while they navigated eLearning but thrived anyway, and to my husband, who listened to more than his fair share of meltdowns when I truly didn’t think I could play the role of super mom for one more day. Thanks also to my sisters and friends for your understanding, support, and encouragement when I felt like I was failing at everything. I can give sugar coatings and talk silver linings with the best of them, but 2020

was rough, and the people I love most got me through it.

Thank you to my friends, who encouraged me through the hardest phases of this project and many others. Mira Lyn Kelly, my bestie, my brainstorming buddy, I still owe you that Toyota Corolla.