These Twisted Bonds (These Hollow Vows, #2)(14)

The sound of trickling water draws my attention, and I peer over the railing to see a small creek flowing through the corridor below, cutting through a stone floor that looks as old as time and gives the impression that everything else here was built around it.

“What is this place?” I ask.

She smiles but keeps her gaze on the steps as we make our way to the landing. “This is His Majesty’s home, known to most of the realm as Castle Craige, named for the way it was built around and within the mountain itself. Is it not the most beautiful of all the courts’ palaces?”

“I believe it is.” Not that I’ve seen much of the Unseelie palace—I wasn’t exactly offered a tour on my visits with Mordeus. It’s difficult to imagine any beauty like this in a place where such an evil king ruled.

The stream winds through the airy corridors, and we walk alongside it until we reach an open terrace overlooking a lush green valley. The stream cuts under a massive mahogany table and beneath the glass railing, where it cascades over the terrace’s edge.

“It’s beautiful,” I breathe without meaning to.

“Thank you,” Misha says, pulling my gaze away from the steep drop. He’s holding a glass of wine and lounging against the base of a massive sequoia that appears to be rooted in the terrace’s stone floor. He straightens and steps toward me. “I wish I could take credit for it, but it was my ancestors, many generations before mine, who thought it fitting to allow the wilds to form our palace.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” I admit. “It’s lovely.”

“As are you, Princess.” He looks me over slowly, his brows inching up his forehead with his perusal as if every bit of me is some new surprise. “Now that you’re clean, I can certainly see the appeal.”

“The appeal? ”

His russet eyes are bright when they meet mine again. “As we speak, two of the most powerful males in our realm are fighting over you.” He waves a hand up and down. “Now that you’re cleaned up, I can see why. Perhaps I’ll let them destroy each other and keep you for myself.”

I gape. What a pig. “You will not. ”

He arches a brow, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement. “No?”

“First, I won’t be kept by anyone. Second, you’re a married man, and I’m sure your wife wouldn’t appreciate—”

“My wife wouldn’t bat an eye.” He chuckles softly. “This isn’t the mortal realm. Marriage doesn’t come with the same expectations here. Especially not among the royalty.”

“Right. Those silly peasant mortals expect love and trust from their life partners. That must seem so ridiculous to you faeries who put power and status above all else.”

He cocks his head to the side and studies me. “Did I hit a nerve?”

I swallow hard and reel in my emotions. I’ve shown too much of myself. “No. I don’t care what marriage means to you.”

He scoffs. “Sure you don’t. But you can relax. I’m not interested in anything from you but an alliance. Shall we?” He waves a hand, and a feast appears on the table. Piles of fresh-cut fruit, bowls of steaming potatoes, trays of thinly cut meats drizzled with aromatic sauces.

My mouth waters, and I’m suddenly famished. In the short weeks I’ve been in Faerie, I’ve become accustomed to regular, hearty meals, but I’ve only eaten once since leaving the palace. My stomach feels as if it might eat itself if I don’t feed it soon.

I’ve trusted Misha this far. I might as well continue, so I take a seat and wait as he sits opposite me. We quietly fill our plates, and I’m careful to let him take several bites before I begin. A small amount of caution can’t hurt.

But after I take my first bite, I nearly lose myself in the pleasure of it. The meat is tender and perfectly seasoned, and the fruit bursts with sweetness on my tongue.

I slow down only when I realize that Misha has leaned back in his chair and is watching me.

“What?” I put down my fork, my cheeks heating.

“I’m sorry I didn’t feed you when you arrived. You looked like you might fall over, and given that you’d recently taken the potion, I thought sleep would be best.” He glances at my plate, and I realize I’ve already eaten half of the food. “I may have chosen poorly.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not, but you will be. A few hearty meals and some more sleep, and you’ll feel nothing like you did when you arrived yesterday morning.”

I frown. “Yesterday? You mean this morning?”

He shakes his head. “You slept for a day and a half, Princess, and it probably wasn’t enough. I’ve heard stories of people sleeping for a solid week after taking the Potion of Life. Even after that, they’re usually urged to stay in bed for several days so their bodies can recover from the transformation. But you did neither. You had one night’s sleep before running across the Seelie countryside. Never mind the extraordinary amount of magical energy you expended to escape the Golden Palace and then help those children. By all rights, you should’ve collapsed before you made it past the palace gates.”

“Yet here I am.”

“Here you are. More powerful than I can explain.” He looks me over slowly, and everything about his perusal feels like approval. It’s tempting to feel flattered by the attention, but I resist. It’s undoubtedly some sort of manipulation.