These Hollow Vows (These Hollow Vows, #1)(56)

Jalek drops his sword, and he and Pretha rush toward their prince, helping Tynan get him to a chair in the corner of the room.

“I found him collapsed at the top of the stairs,” Tynan says.

Finn is grasping his side, and his lids flutter like he’s struggling to hold on to consciousness.

“What happened?” Pretha asks, kneeling before him.

“I let my guard down,” Finn whispers.

“No shit,” Jalek barks. “What the hell were you doing out there? You have something that needs taking care of, you send one of us. You sure as fuck don’t go alone.”

“I was with Kane.” Finn’s pants are bloody, but it’s not until he leans back that I see the bright red blood coating his fingers.

“Kane?” Jalek barks. “Great. Our entire realm in the hands of two Unseelie idiots.”

“We got a lead,” Finn says through clenched teeth, “and none of you were available. I’m not going to sit on my ass until old age kills me.”

“What kind of creature did this to you?” Jalek asks. “Is there any chance the wound is poisoned?”

Finn shakes his head. “Sword—” he coughs out. “Kane and I were smuggling a group out of the queen’s northern camp. The sentinels posted around the perimeter were dressed like her royal guard, and we assumed they were Seelie. She’s never deigned to dress Wild Fae in her sacred colors before, but it appears the old hag has wised up.”

“One of ours did this?” Tynan asks, glancing toward Pretha.

Pretha sneers. “Dirty traitors.”

Tynan draws in a ragged breath. “Where is Kane?”

“Kane made it out with the group while I brought down the guards,” Finn says. “Dara and Luna are with him. They should be back in a few hours, after he gets the refugees through the portal.”

“So the bastard who did this is dead?” Jalek asks, those dark green eyes blazing.

“By my own sword,” Finn says.

Camps? Refugees? Traitor Wild Fae? “Why are Wild Fae more dangerous than Seelie guards?” I ask, understanding nothing.

They all ignore me. Pretha shoves Finn’s hands aside to study the wound. Her expression is a study in tenderness and gut-deep worry.

I step forward to get a closer look at the wound. It’s deep, but yesterday I watched Riaan slice his arm open when he was training with Sebastian. It healed so quickly I could practically see the flesh knitting itself back together, but there’s no sign of that with Finn’s wound. “Why aren’t you healing?”

Finn ignores my question and lifts his chin in Jalek’s direction. “I have a med kit in the safe. Grab it for me.” His voice is rough with pain.

“Finn?” I wait for him to acknowledge me—my question—but he just closes his eyes and leans back.

Pretha chokes back a sob as she hovers a hand over the wound.

“Don’t waste your energy, Pretha,” Finn says softly. He gently touches her face, and something uncomfortable twists in my chest. I scowl. I shouldn’t care about their relationship beyond how it affects my training and my bargain with the king. “This isn’t a deathblow,” he whispers. “I will heal.”

Pretha swallows and nods. I can practically see her pulling herself together. “You’re losing too much blood.”

Jalek pulls a small table next to Finn’s chair and puts the med kit on top of it. “We need to enlist a human healer to teach us how to use this mortal shit,” he mutters, his eyes fixed on the ointments and salves.

Finn lifts his head and meets my gaze. “Do you have any experience stitching up wounds, Princess?”

“Some.” I’ve stitched myself up a few times, but never anything this big. “But it will hurt, and my stitches are more likely to leave an ugly scar than a neat one.”

Finn grunts. “You hear that, Tynan.” His words are breathy, and he winces as if it hurts to talk. “Maybe mine will be uglier than Kane’s, and he’ll stop his gloating.”

“I will never understand you males,” Pretha mutters, pushing to her feet before turning to me. “What do you need, Abriella?”

I sort through the pile of ointments and find a disinfecting salve, a healing salve, and a numbing salve. Unfortunately, with a wound like this, none of them can be applied until after I stitch him up.

“Can you do something for his pain?” I ask her. “After the Barghest attacked, Sebastian numbed my leg until the healer could get to me. Could you do something like that?”

Pretha purses her lips and shakes her head. “I could try, but it wouldn’t help.”

“Finn’s tough,” Jalek says, showing his first hint of a smile since he spotted Finn on the stairs. “He doesn’t need anything.”

“I’ll get you a drink,” Tynan says, and a decanter of amber liquid and a tumbler appear on the small table. He fills it with shaking hands and passes it to Finn, who doesn’t hesitate before draining the whole glass in two gulps.

“Do it, Princess.”

I gather the thread and needle from the kit, but when I look down at my hands, I see they’re shaking as badly as Tynan’s. “Can you spare a bit of that for me?” I ask him. “Just to calm the nerves.”

“Happily.” Tynan summons another glass. He pours half the amount he poured for Finn and hands it to me.