These Twisted Bonds (These Hollow Vows, #2)(61)



Abriella! My mom’s voice. Like a siren call in the distance. Crashing waves fill my ears, and cold water licks my shins.

It’s not real. Do not engage.

Another male slumps on his horse and weeps. “No. Please don’t! I’m so sorry!”

A small part of me regrets dragging anyone through this mental torment, but I shut it down.

The final males stumble off their horses and scramble toward the temple steps. One cradles his head in his hands and claws at his hair as if he’s trying to rip it from his head.

Abriella! Hurry. The water’s getting too deep.

Ignoring my mother’s voice is like ignoring the need to breathe.

Abriella, please. Hold my hand.

I know if I turn my head, I’ll see her. I know if I offer my bound hands, she’ll free them and hold me close. I’ll get to look into her eyes again. Everything will be okay.

I can’t help but hesitate. My feet refuse to move.

It’s not her. My mother is gone.

I squeeze my eyes shut, blocking out the Sluagh’s siren call.

“Brie, over here!” Sebastian’s voice is so close. But has he come for me or are the Sluagh making me think he did? “Brie, let me help you.”

I want to see my mother’s face just one more time, and when I turn, I’m treated to her beautiful smile, her kind eyes—right before a wave crashes over her and pulls her under the sea.

“Mother!” I shout, diving in after her.

Hands claw at my legs, pulling me under, but I fight them and swim toward her. My mother’s chestnut hair floats around her in the water and her eyes close.

No.

Teeth like razor blades dig into my legs, my arms, rip into my gut, pulling me back from her. I fight them with the last of the air in my lungs.



“Abriella, breathe! ”

I force my eyes open to see Sebastian’s face backlit by the morning light pouring into the temple’s sanctuary. He’s bending over me, and those beautiful sea-green eyes are ravaged with worry.

“I knew you’d come,” I whisper, but I can’t keep my eyes open. Then a soft wind picks me up from the ground and I’m in his arms, being carried away from the temple and down the mountain.

“I’ll always come for you,” Sebastian whispers.



I’m vaguely aware of the voices around me. Sebastian’s frantic requests and a low voice I somehow know belongs to a healer.

“There’s nothing more I can do,” the healer says. “The toxin is everywhere in her system, and any attempts to actively heal strengthen the poison.”

“She’s hurting,” he says, his voice raw.

“All we can do is wait. She needs rest. She needs to be home. Put her close to anything she naturally draws power from. Take her to the roof and let her rest beneath the stars.”

“We’re bonded,” he says, gasping. “Can’t I do something? Can’t she pull from me somehow?”

“The bond doesn’t work like a tether. You know this, Prince Ronan.”

My muscles scream as I’m scooped into someone’s arms.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “Abriella, I’m so sorry. I know what to do.”

And then I feel weightless, like I’m leaving my body. And it’s a relief, even as I fight it. I need to be in my body. I’m afraid if I leave it, I’ll never come back. If I disconnect from this physical pain, I’ll never find the courage to return.

I’m thrown back into myself in a rush, and I feel the arms around me shift, feel Sebastian stumble.

“Thank you,” Sebastian murmurs, and then I hear the sounds of a goblin thanking Sebastian for his payment.

“What happened?” Finn’s voice.

“I found her outside a temple in the Goblin Mountains. The others were dead, and she was like this—as if some creature tried to tear her apart.”

“Pretha, send for my healer.”

“No!” Sebastian shouts. “My healer already tried, but there’s a toxin in her system that fights back —it’s made stronger by any effort to heal her. She needs to be surrounded by her darkness. She needs . . .”

I force my eyes open. I’m in Sebastian’s arms, and he’s staring at Finn. I turn to see Finn’s face—I desperately need to see that face after being locked in my own nightmare—but I don’t have the strength.

“She needs everything she can draw power from, and she told me her power is stronger with you.”

“I understand,” Finn says softly. “I’ve got her.”

I whimper as they shift me into Finn’s arms and pain tears through me. When I open my eyes again, Sebastian’s backing out of the room, tears streaking down his cheeks.

“Please,” Sebastian says. “Please do whatever you can.”

“Thank you for bringing her to me,” Finn says.

Consciousness comes and goes, but I’m aware of the soothing darkness, Finn’s heat, and the leather and fresh pine smell of him.

“Shhh,” Finn whispers. Was I crying? “Shhh, you’re home now.”

“Home,” I say softly, burying my face in his arms. I don’t know where we are, but home feels right.

“I’ve got you,” Finn says. “Don’t give up. Don’t you dare fucking give up. You’re safe now.

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