These Twisted Bonds (These Hollow Vows, #2)(49)

“There are riots outside the palace,” Kane says.

Finn frowns. “In response to what?”

“Prince Ronan ordered the Midnight Raiders to move into the mountains, and let’s just say they weren’t open to the golden prince stepping into a position of authority. Reports say they want his head.”

“Well, that’s convenient,” Finn mutters.

I gasp at Finn. “Are you serious?”

Kane turns those creepy red eyes on me. “I thought you loathed the golden one. Didn’t he deceive you?”

“That doesn’t mean I want him dead, ” I snap.

“We wouldn’t be in this mess if he were,” Kane mutters, and I glare at him. He turns his attention back to Finn. “For the time being, his guard is keeping them at bay, but the crowd grows. They’re demanding to see their true king.”

At least now I understand what I felt from Sebastian earlier. His worry was undoubtedly in response to the riots.

Finn grimaces. “Whoever the fuck that is,” he mutters.

“They want you on that throne,” Kane says.

“What can we do?” I ask.

“We?” Finn asks.

I turn up my palms. “Surely this isn’t what you want—seeing your own court descend into chaos.”

“What I want, Princess, is to repair the damage Mordeus did to my home over the last two decades. What I want is for the parents of the sleeping children to be able to see their bright eyes again. I want to figure out how to fix this before we lose more children to the Long Sleep, before every member of the next generation of my court is lost, trapped in their own slumber.”

“They want you, ” I say softly. “That’s what Misha told me. He said that many silently supported you through Mordeus’s rule and that if you and Sebastian formed an alliance, if you worked together, the majority of the court would be united.”

“Misha talks too much.” He blows out a breath. “All those people want is someone they can trust.

They don’t know anything about Prince Ronan except for who his mother is and what she did to them.

How are they supposed to take him on as their prince, as their king? How are they supposed to trust anything he says?”

“Don’t let them kill him,” I whisper.

Finn’s eyes flash and his nostrils flare. “It’s tempting.” His gaze rakes over me, and he shakes his head. “But as we already established, if Sebastian dies, we don’t know what happens to the crown. I have no intention of letting a mob get at him, as satisfying as it may be.”

“How noble of you,” I snap.

Kane clears his throat and glances longingly toward the corridor. “I can leave.”

“Stay,” Finn and I bark at the same time, neither of us taking our eyes off the other.

Finn lifts his chin. “What do you want from me, Princess?”

Kane groans behind Finn, looking back and forth between us like we’re two bombs about to explode.

“I want you to go, ” I snap. “Be that person. Be the one who rules and protects them. Prove that you want what’s best for them by forming an alliance with Sebastian. It might not fix the court, but it will make it stronger while we search for a long-term solution.”

He folds his arms. “What makes you think your prince is interested in an alliance?”

I shrug. “What makes you so sure he’s not?” After everything Sebastian explained to me, it’s hard to know what to think—to know what was true and what was manipulation—but in my heart I still believe he is good, that he wants what’s best for his father’s people. He had so much hope for these courts and for the continued peace between them that he betrayed me to make it happen. He and Finn aren’t so different.

“I’m going with you anyway,” I say. “I might as well help convince him while I’m there. We’ll figure this out together.”

“The only thing your presence will help us figure out is how much he’s willing to grovel to get back into your bed.”

“Even so,” Kane says, “having Abriella on our side might work to our advantage.”

Finn scowls at him.

“You can’t deny she has a way with you princes.” Kane turns up his palms. “Kings too, it appears.

She even has Misha wrapped around her finger.”

First Pretha and now Kane? I flash him a glare. “I do not!”

He chuckles. “Don’t worry. He hasn’t noticed yet.”

“Misha’s a friend.”

“You’re excused, Kane,” Finn growls, and Kane doesn’t waste a moment before disappearing into the castle.

When we’re alone again, I turn back to Finn. “Let me do what I can to help you convince Sebastian.”

“You’ll make it sound like he’s doing us a favor. Let me handle this.”

“You told me once that he wasn’t your enemy. What changed? Why do you wish him ill now?”

“That was before he destroyed my court with his reckless decisions,” he snaps.

“You mean before he saved my life.”

He closes his eyes. “That’s not what I said.”

I lift my chin. “Your court is in trouble because he saved my life and chained the power of the crown to my existence. Say it however you want. That’s the truth.”