These Twisted Bonds (These Hollow Vows, #2)(21)

“It’s not poisoned. I have no interest in killing you. As I mentioned, we’re in uncharted territory here. It’s hard to know what would happen if you died.”

I roll my eyes and take a sip. “How reassuring.”

“I need you, but even if Sebastian had the crown and the power and were sitting on that throne right at this moment, I would still need you. The Unseelie realm is deeply divided. Mordeus’s followers weren’t loyal to him so much as to the way he ruled. His unfair laws and punishments favored the elite few, and that’s exactly what they wanted.”

“The elite few?” I frown. “I thought the masses were behind Mordeus, and that’s why Oberon couldn’t take his rightful place as ruler when he returned from the mortal realm.”

“The masses weren’t behind Mordeus,” Misha says, sounding resigned. “The masses were dying in that damn war. But the vocal minority was behind him, and they had power and influence of their own. They supported Mordeus when he stole the throne from Oberon, because they knew Finn was dedicated to the commoners—his rule would’ve redistributed the power and privilege in their court.

Mordeus’s followers were willing to launch a civil war to avoid that, and I’d bet they still would be, wherever they are. Sebastian doesn’t even have that.”

I frown and try to bite back the question, but if I’ve learned anything from my goblin friend, Bakken, it’s that information is power. “They still would be? What do you mean by that?”

Misha shrugs. “I mean they’re in hiding. After you killed the false king, his followers fled, fearing Finn would bring his secret legions down on the palace. But wherever they are, they’ll be back.”

“Finn has secret legions? As in military?” Is that the Cursed Horde they mentioned in the vision?

Misha leans back in his chair and studies me. “What do you think Finn spent the last twenty years doing? He’s been gathering his forces in the mountains, training them, preparing for the possibility that the crown might be lost forever and he’d have to oust Mordeus from ruling without it.”

I study my wine. When I first met Finn, I accused him of living in luxury while his people suffered. But as I grew to know him better, I knew he would do anything for his people. Even now, despite everything, I feel guilty about my offhand attempt at cruelty.

“So there are those who supported Mordeus,” Misha says, continuing with his explanation, “and then there are those who follow Finn. But there are also those who want to see Prince Ronan on the throne, who fought in the Great Fae War and think that only a ruler with both sun and shadow in his blood can unite the realm and save their children from endless war.”

I shake my head, remembering the argument I saw through the hawk’s eyes. “Finn said that couldn’t happen, that it was impossible for Sebastian to rule over both courts.” I frown.

“Finn’s right, but the appeal of Sebastian’s rule isn’t that he’d rule both courts. The hope is that Queen Arya wouldn’t go to war with her son’s kingdom.”

“Oh. But wouldn’t she?”

Misha scoffs. “I’ve yet to find something she wouldn’t do for more power, so I think those holding out for that are putting stock in an overly optimistic assumption. Regardless, the fact is this: the shadow court has never been as divided as it is now, and as long as it’s so broken, it’s weak.”

“Okay, but you’re king of the Wild Fae. Why do you care so much about the Unseelie Court?”

His eyes flash and his nostrils flare, his temper slipping for just a beat before he reels it back in.

“A strange question from the former mortal who risked her own life to help dozens of Unseelie children escape the queen.”

“Anyone in my position would’ve helped.”

He hums. “I’m not so sure, but I find it quite endearing that you believe this, after all you’ve been through.”

I look away, my face burning with embarrassment. I don’t need Misha believing I’m some na?ve girl, and I don’t want him digging into why I feel this compulsion to help. The truth makes me vulnerable.

He sighs. “I care because what happens between the courts affects my lands and my people. I care because I know that as long as the shadow court is weak, the golden queen will capitalize on that weakness.”

“Meaning what?”

“War is imminent,” he says, “but this time instead of being locked into a centuries-long battle between two equally matched courts, the Seelie will be victorious. The golden queen will win, and the consequences will be catastrophic, not just for the Unseelie Court but for my territory and the human realm as well.”

“What could she possibly want that’s worth risking the lives of thousands?”

Misha turns up his palms. “What are all wars about? Resources, territory, power.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Specifically?”

“The Goblin Mountains that divide the courts are split down the middle by the River of Ice. The mountains to the east of the river are part of the Unseelie Court and the mountains to the west, the Seelie. The Great Fae War was waged when the golden fae tried to take the entire mountain range as their own.”

“What about a mountain range is worth losing so many soldiers?”