These Hollow Vows (These Hollow Vows, #1)(69)

My entire body goes cold. The traitor.

Sebastian bristles, his own reaction likely the only thing keeping him from noticing mine. When he turns to me, I try to keep my face neutral. “I need to step out for a few minutes. If you’d like to stay here, I can return for you, but it might be a while.”

I look around the library and at my stack of books waiting on the table. All I want to do now is find out what Riaan means by the traitor. “I think I’ll go to bed.”

“Your rooms are on my way. Let me walk you.”

He offers his arm, and I slide mine through it, falling into step beside him and trying to keep my movements relaxed when every part of me is wound tight with tension. Riaan stays behind us but never too far away.

Sebastian stops at my door. “Good night.” He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Sleep well.”

“Good night, Seb—” I realize that Riaan is watching, his eyes mistrusting. Can he hear my pounding heart with his sensitive fae ears? Sebastian, at least, seems oblivious, and I give him a smile as I nod my good night. “Your Highness.”

“Sweet dreams.” Sebastian winks at me.

I back into my chambers without closing the door and watch as they walk away to deal with a traitor.

As soon as they’re far enough that I don’t think they’ll notice, I slip into the shadows and follow.





Chapter Twenty


“YOU’RE SURE IT’S HIM?” Sebastian asks Riaan as they turn into a back hallway that is blessedly dimly lit. If they head toward the queen’s quarters, I’ll have to abort my mission.

“Yes. And the queen has identified him as well.”

Sebastian rolls his shoulders, then turns down a hallway I’ve never seen before. The queen must keep it glamoured. “We’ll make an example of him.”

It’s less hall and more tunnel, with ceilings so low the males have to duck their heads as they walk. It quickly leads to a dark staircase, and Riaan summons a ball of light to guide their way. I stay a safe distance back and focus on blending with the shadows.

With each step down, the air grows cooler, and the hair on my arms stands on end. Sebastian stops at the bottom of the stairs and stands with his legs wide, his arms folded as he looks into a barred cell. I can’t see inside from here, but I’m close enough to hear them speak.

“Jalek,” Sebastian says, and my already unsettled stomach clenches tight. Could it be Finn’s Jalek? The male who’s been teaching me to wield a sword? “How nice of you to return home for the holiday.”

The male behind the bars spits at Sebastian. “Fuck off,” he growls, and I know it’s him. I know that voice.

“That’s no way to treat the man who holds your fate in his hands.”

Jalek huffs out a laugh. “Am I supposed to believe there’s any chance you might free me?”

Sebastian tucks his hands into his pockets and leans back against the wall opposite the cell. “I might, if you tell us about who you’re working with and where we can find them.”

“I work alone.”

Sebastian grunts. “I’m not a fool. I know you work with Prince Finnian. Did he send you? Tell me his plans, and I will protect you from punishment.”

“I don’t betray my own—unlike your queen.” He says queen like it’s an insult, and Sebastian lunges forward, grabs his shirt through the bars, and lifts him off the floor.

“You treasonous bastard.”

Jalek gasps for air, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. His face turns red, then purple, as if someone is choking him. I want to look away. I don’t want to see this side of Sebastian. I don’t want to believe he’s capable of cruelty against a male I’ve come to know as good and kind. But I force myself to watch every moment.

Sebastian still holds him off the floor, but Jalek suddenly wheezes and sputters as if the pressure on his windpipe’s been released.

“Give me a reason not to kill you right now,” Sebastian growls.

“Kill me, and she’ll never give you the crown.”

Why would the queen refuse Sebastian his birthright for killing a traitor?

Sebastian drops him and steps back, his nostrils flaring. “What do you know about it?”

Jalek laughs. “Enough to know that you don’t have her fooled.”

A blast of light slams into Jalek, knocking him to the floor.

“You sleep there tonight,” Sebastian growls. “If you have a change of heart by morning, perhaps we can make a deal. If not, I will make an example of you. I’ll show the whole kingdom the consequences of threatening my family.”

Sebastian storms up the stairs and right past me, Riaan following.

I wait until they turn down the hall at the top of the stairs and are no longer visible. Only then do I release my grip on the shadows and find my physical form again.

I approach the cell and rub my arms. It’s so cold down here. “Jalek?”

He straightens at the sight of me. “Brie. How long have you been here?”

“Long enough.”

His face pales. “How much did you hear?”

“Enough to understand that he’s likely to kill you if you don’t betray Finn.” And I can’t risk that for too many reasons to count. “I have to get you out of here.” I run my hands over the bars, looking for the lock.