These Twisted Bonds (These Hollow Vows, #2)(53)

“Indeed.” Finn rocks back on his heels. “If only you’d known this would happen.”

“Even if I’d suspected,” Sebastian says, nostrils flaring, “I would’ve given her that potion.”

My heart squeezes. Is that true? Would he have saved me at the cost of ruling the shadow court— or is that his pride talking?

Sebastian’s chest heaves, and when he closes his eyes, I can see him reining his temper back in.

After several long, deliberate breaths, he tells Finn, “As you know, ending our bond is not so simple.

Even if . . .” Swallowing, he finds my gaze and holds it. “Even if we both wanted that. And I certainly do not. You’ll need to come up with something else.”

“You have nothing else to offer me,” Finn says.

“Think of something,” Sebastian growls. “Since Abriella’s uninterested in sharing the bond with you anyway,” he says, with no small amount of satisfaction in his voice, “asking for her bond is moot.”

I swallow. I might not know what game Finn’s playing, but that doesn’t mean I can’t play my own.

“What if Sebastian just dissolved the bond between us,” I ask Finn. “Wouldn’t that be enough?”

“No,” Sebastian barks. He closes his eyes for a beat, then shakes his head, and when he speaks to me again, his voice is softer. “I know you think that’s what you want, but it’s off the table.”

Finn taps a finger to his mouth, considering. “There’s a ritual—an old one that my maternal grandparents used in the war—that allowed a member of a bonded pair to shift the bond to someone else for a time. You see, when couples were divided during wartime and one was left at home while the other went to fight, the idea was to protect the individual at home from the pain and anguish of the front lines. Transferring the bond could also protect the bonded partner should the warrior become a captive —as those connections were often used against the Raiders to get them to reveal proprietary information. So some priestesses came together to create this ritual that would enable the bond to be temporarily shifted from one individual to another.”

“I’m . . . familiar with the concept,” Sebastian says cautiously.

“Then you know it’s possible, and that there’s no way for me to use it to permanently steal your bond with Abriella.”

Sebastian folds his arms. “Why?”

Finn shrugs. “The people outside your gates aren’t the only problem. As I mentioned, I worked to ensure that my people would have the protection of a fully functional army should I never recover the crown. Now those forces wait at the ready under the command of General Hargova.”

“The Cursed Horde,” Sebastian whispers, something like awe in his voice. “They’re real?”

Finn chuckles. “They may be near invisible, but they are real. They trust me to a degree, but they trust the power of the crown more. If Abriella and I visit them as a bonded couple, we could convince them to join the Raiders and your guard—to be a united front against any future attacks by the Seelie Court.”

“Abriella and I can go,” Sebastian says. “We already are a bonded couple. And I have the crown.”

Finn arches a brow and remains silent a moment. “The problem is, while they may only trust me to a degree, they don’t trust you at all. And as you mentioned, that crown, in its current condition, is useless.”

Sebastian looks at me and holds my gaze for a long time, so long that I realize he’s trying to communicate something.

The moment I lower my shield, I’m slammed with the impression of jealousy and fear. He’s afraid that if he does this, he’ll lose me. And that if he doesn’t, he’ll lose his father’s kingdom.

“I need to think about it,” he says softly. He tucks his hands into his pockets and strides toward the throne room doors. He stops with his palm pressed against them and turns to look at me. “Abriella, I have a meeting, but I’ll be taking lunch in the dining room in two hours. I hope you’ll join me. We have a lot to discuss. I think you’ll be pleased with all I have to report.”



When I climb the palace’s highest turret, it’s my first chance to see the teeming throng beyond the distant gates.

Somehow I’m not surprised to find Finn already here, standing stoic in the midmorning light as he looks out to where his people are protesting. When he turns to me, his face is lined with worry. Gone is the male who was laughing in Sebastian’s face and ambivalent about the fate of the court. In his place is the shadow prince who would sooner die than see his court fall.

“Don’t you dare do that again,” I say softly. “I am not for sale. Nor am I his to give. I am not something to be bartered or sold or—”

“Obviously I know that.” His jaw ticks.

“You’re an ass. You never wanted me to stay hidden the whole time. You knew I’d get angry and come out of the shadows. That was part of your plan.”

“It worked,” he says, shrugging. “If you’d been by my side from the start, he’d think we were working together—that you were in on my plan—and he’d be suspicious of even a temporary arrangement.”

“I don’t understand what game you’re playing.”