These Twisted Bonds (These Hollow Vows, #2)(84)

Finn’s face goes solemn. “The bloodstones were the real punishment for Mab’s trickery. They allowed their user to steal the magic and immortality from one with Unseelie blood and funnel its power into something else. Those stones made Mab and her entire court vulnerable, as they allowed the Seelie to steal our power without any of the consequence that Arya’s court suffered when she cursed our people.”

I swallow hard. “Do people use them?”

Kane rolls his eyes. “Are you asking if we have a magic stone that could turn you mortal again?

No, Abriella, we do not. Mab destroyed them so they could never be used against her or her court.”

I wait for the disappointment to hit. My only chance to be a mortal again was lost thousands of years before I was even born. And maybe . . . maybe I was never meant to live out my days as a human. Maybe I was meant to be something different, meant to find another way to help those who’ve been exploited the way Jas and I were as children.

I feel Finn staring at me and lift my head to meet his eyes. There are countless questions in those silver eyes, and I wonder if he thinks I’m wishing for a bloodstone for myself.

The sound of hoofbeats pulls our attention to the rocky path. Pretha draws back on her horse’s reins as she nears the clearing, then dismounts in once smooth motion. “You found shade,” she says, fanning herself. “I’ll take some of that.”

Kane guzzles from his canteen before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I suppose we should head back then.”

“Do you mind if we take a little break first?” Pretha asks. She ties her horse to a tree near the others and collapses on a log. She yanks at the top of her dress. “I’m overheated, and I need to cool off or I’ll be an unbearable grump tonight.”

“How’s that different from usual?” Kane asks.

Pretha glares at him, then turns to me. “Would you mind waiting a bit, Brie? I promise I won’t make us late for the festivities.”

I shrug. “It’s fine. If we can’t see the priestess until tomorrow, there’s no reason to rush.” I don’t mind at all, actually. I’m not eager to get back on that horse with Finn, and the hot afternoon is only part of the reason.

“We don’t have to be back for a few hours,” Finn says. “If we’re all in agreement, there’s no rush.”

“Thank the gods,” Pretha says, hiking up her skirt and unzipping her boots. “I swear, I’m melting. I take back everything I said about it being too cold this morning.”

Kane waves toward the trees. “Go cool off in the lake. I can hear the waterfall from here.”

Pretha shakes her head. “I can’t even be bothered to strip. Heat makes me lazy.”

A waterfall? Hopping to my feet, I turn toward the woods, practically salivating at the thought of cool water flowing over my skin. We certainly have enough time.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Kane asks, standing.

Turning to him, I set my jaw, annoyed that I have to explain myself. “You said there was a lake,” I say, waving in that direction. “Thanks to this heat, I probably smell like I haven’t bathed in days. I thought I’d use the time to freshen up.”

Kane grunts. “If you think we’re going to leave you alone after—”

“I’ll go with her,” Finn says.





Chapter Twenty

I spin on him. “Excuse me?” All I want is to sink my body in that water, to feel the waterfall on my hair and scrub the sweat off my skin.

“We don’t know where the queen has people—who’s following us, who’s watching. It would be foolish to swim alone.”

“I’m not swimming, I’m bathing.”

He folds his arms. “Your point?”

“Why not Pretha?” I ask.

Pretha’s eyes go wide, and she looks back and forth between me and her brother-in-law. “I mean, I guess I could—”

Finn turns on his smolder. “What’s wrong, Princess? Do I make you nervous?”

“Fine,” I grouse, turning on my heel toward the water. I hear his soft chuckle behind me, his footsteps crunching on the fallen leaves.

The lake looks beautiful in the afternoon sun. The light sparkles off the water, and the rush of the waterfall fills my ears.

“I think you had the right idea,” Finn says. “When we’re done, I’ll send Kane and Pretha for a turn. Beats smelling them for the rest of the journey.”

“We?” I ask, propping my hands on my hips. “When we’re done?”

“We,” Finn says. “You’re not getting in that water alone.”

“Because some creature lurks in its depths?” I step forward and peer into the crystal-clear pool.

“I don’t think so.”

“Who says I don’t need a bath too?” Finn’s gaze rakes over me and leaves happy little shivers in its path. I know I don’t look like much now, but judging by the heat in his eyes, I might as well be a siren calling from the deadly rocks along the sea. I’ve always been a conflicted mess when it comes to Finn, and apparently today is no exception.

My stomach knots. I planned to bathe under the waterfall, to let it shower me. Showers are a rare luxury in Elora, and I’ve been in one only a few times in my life—the last time being at the house where Finn was staying after I’d been drugged. My skin heats as I recall the way he held me under the spray, trying to get my body to cool from its reaction, as I recall the way I begged him.