These Twisted Bonds (These Hollow Vows, #2)(65)

“I know.” I swallow hard and drop my voice. “I feel it. I feel you. I know you.”

He swallows. “I’m so sorry if any of my decisions ever made you think I’d support her in any way. But now it’s as if she’s trying to punish me—trying to turn my court against me before I even have a chance to take the throne. And I . . . I don’t understand why.”

I squeeze his forearm. “You’re doing the right things. Just keep working with us—with Finn and his people, with me. We’ll figure this out.”

“Good,” Sebastian says, then eyes the room behind me. “Now that you’re better, we can move you to my room.”

“We probably shouldn’t share a room, Bash.” I bite the inside of my cheek, then force myself to meet his eyes. “I want us to work together. I want us to be friends, but I can’t offer anything beyond that.”

His fair cheeks flush, and his eyes darken. “But you don’t mind sharing a room with him? ”

Blinking, I look over my shoulder. I didn’t know this was Finn’s room, but it makes sense—the way his wolves lounged in the corner, the way the sheets smelled like him. The Midnight Palace would’ve been his home before Mordeus stole the throne, and the palace is big enough that Finn’s chambers were probably untouched when he returned.

When my thoughts stall on how I just slept in the same bed where Finn’s spent countless nights, I cut them off and shrug. “It doesn’t matter. We’re leaving today.”

He slides his hand down my arm and squeezes my fingers. “Come back to me—after? Give me a chance to win you back?”

“Are you two coming?” Pretha asks from down the hall. She’s smiling, but her expression is tight.

“The others are waiting in the briefing room.”

I gently extract my hand from Sebastian’s. “We should go.”

We follow Pretha into a room I’ve never been in before where Finn, Misha, Kane, Tynan, Riaan, and Jalek are gathered around a large table. There’s a glass of water at each spot, right next to an empty glass. Down the center of the table are three separate decanters of amber liquid, as if this is some sort of whiskey-tasting party and not a meeting to plan our strategy to protect this court from a power-hungry queen.

Good to see you on your feet again, Princess, Misha says in my mind.

I flash him a quick smile. Glad to be on my feet.

“Nice of you two to join us,” Finn says, his gaze skipping over me and stuttering for a beat on my hand—which Sebastian has taken in his again. Finn turns to Riaan. “What’s the status of the queen’s forces in the mountains?”

“They’re in a holding pattern right around the border,” he says. “Their numbers are growing, but there are no signs of them advancing.”

“And why should we listen to him?” Jalek asks. “He served Arya.”

Riaan’s eyes blaze with anger, but he leans back in his chair. “I served my prince, ” he says. “And continue to.”

Sebastian releases my hand and approaches a vacant chair. “I think Riaan proved himself when the capital was attacked. Without his help, we wouldn’t have been able to end that fire fae legion as quickly as we did.”

But you don’t trust him, Misha says in my mind as the others continue to talk.

I don’t trust anyone, I tell him.

Liar.

Can you get into his mind? I ask. See if we can trust him?

I already tried. He’s too well shielded.

Is that suspicious?

No. It’s just good sense.

“—now that the Midnight Raiders are positioned in the mountains,” Finn is saying.

I jerk my attention back to the conversation at the table. “They are?” I ask, taking the chair beside Sebastian. “I thought they were protesting.”

Sebastian shakes his head. “Finn and I met with the captains and made it clear that we’re working together.” He reaches for the hand I have resting on the table and squeezes, and Finn follows the movement.

I give Bash a polite smile before gently extracting my hand from beneath his and placing it in my lap. “If the Midnight Raiders are in the mountains, who will protect the capital?” I ask.

The table returns to discussion of military strategy, and I try to ignore the ache of rejection I feel rolling off Sebastian. Misha was right, the bond is much harder to block when we’re close.



“I thought we were headed into the mountains to see the High Priestess,” I say to Finn as Kane leads us off the mountain trail and toward a small village. I didn’t expect we’d be traveling with a caravan, but Kane, Misha, Pretha, and Tynan all joined me and Finn on our journey. Even Finn’s wolves are traveling with us, though they spend most of their time out of sight, investigating off the trail.

Finn and I ride side by side just behind Kane, with the three Wild Fae following behind us.

“We are,” Finn says, “but she won’t meet with us before Lunastal.”

I turn on my horse and arch a brow. “I thought that’s why I was here with this”—I wave my hand around my head—“almighty power of mine. So we’d be welcome?”

Finn snorts and shakes his head. “We’re heading first to Staraelia, a town in the foothills, where we will meet with the locals and let it be known that we plan to meet with the High Priestess. If we’re lucky, she’ll see us on Lunastal rather than making us wait until later in the week. And then we need more luck if we’re going to convince her to open a portal to the Underworld.”