These Hollow Vows

by Lexi Ryan

  Finn snaps his fingers, and the wolves sit, sniffing the air in my direction and whining quietly. They’ve healed since I saw them in the forest, but there is no doubt in my mind that these are the same animals that attacked the Barghest.

  Their silver-and-gray coats were mottled with blood when they ran away, but today they are clean and shining, and . . . much larger than I remembered. They looked so much smaller compared with the Barghest, but now I can see just how massive they are. Even sitting, they’re only a head shorter than I am.

  My eyes flick to Finn. “They’re yours?”

  “In a manner of speaking,” he says, absently scratching one behind the ear.

  Pretha says, “I told you we aren’t your enemy, Abriella.”

  The night it happened, I had wondered whether the wolves were just trying to get the Barghest out of the way so they could get to me. But looking at them now, panting happily at their master’s affection, I know without a doubt that they saved me. If Sebastian hadn’t shown up, they would have kept fighting—until the Barghest died or they did.

  “Are they okay?”

  “They are now,” Finn says. “Thanks to my healer.”

  “What do you call them?”

  “Dara and Luna,” Finn says. The wolves’ ears perk up at the sound of their names.

  “May I?” I’m aware of all the eyes in the room on me as I inch forward and extend a tentative hand toward each. Finn mumbles a low command, and the wolves rise and approach me slowly. “Thank you,” I say, kneeling in front of them and offering the back of my hands to smell. “You protected me.”

  The wolves lick my hands, then nuzzle my palms like big cats.

  When I look up, there’s something like confusion in Finn’s eyes, but he blinks and it’s gone, replaced by the steely cold I’m used to. “Why did they do it?” I ask.

  “Because I asked them to.”

  “That was a terrible risk. They could have been killed.”

  Finn doesn’t deny it. Instead he folds his arms and leans one shoulder against the wall. “They’re very loyal, and now that they’ve protected you once, they would do it again.”

  Pretha sighs dramatically. “But it would be much better for everyone involved if you didn’t go running off and need saving again.”

  Kane chuckles. “Maybe she likes being rescued by her prince. Sounds like he made quite an entrance when he returned to the palace—running inside with her in his arms and generally playing hero to her damsel in distress.”

  My cheeks heat at the picture he paints. I hate the idea that anyone sees me that way, but I don’t bother asking how they know about what happened at the castle. Clearly everyone spies on everyone here. I direct my attention to Finn when I ask, “What do you want from me?”

  “I told you before,” he says, his voice a little rough, as if he’s very, very tired. “We want to help you.”

  “Why would you want to help me when I’m working for the king who wants you dead?”

  “You mean the false king,” Kane says, his voice sharp.

  Finn snaps his fingers, and his wolves obediently return to his side. “The missing relics make my court weaker. My people are suffering, and I will do anything I can to help them.”

  “Even if it means strengthening the . . . your uncle?” I smell something, and it’s not honesty.

  “Mordeus,” Finn says with none of Kane’s annoyance, “cannot get any more powerful unless he wears the crown.”

  I frown. “Where’s the crown?”

  “My father’s crown has been missing from the Court of the Moon for too long now,” Finn says. He pauses a beat. “I take it you haven’t found the mirror yet?”

  “I know where it is, but I haven’t been able to get to it,” I admit.

  “And have you tried using your magic?” he asks. “You know, that thing that lets you walk through walls and magical wards as if they weren’t even there?”

  Jerk.

  “How could she do that when she can’t even control it?” Pretha asks, but Finn shoots her a look that shuts her up.

  “No,” I say, answering Finn’s question. “Pretha’s right. I don’t have enough control. But that’s not the problem. The queen keeps the mirror guarded and surrounded by light. Even if I had control over my powers, they would be useless there.”

  Kane snorts. “She has no idea, does she?”

  “Stop talking about me like I’m not in the room,” I snap. “And no idea about what?”

  “No idea just how strong you are,” Pretha says. She cocks her head to the side. “No idea what you’re capable of.”

  “What if I told you,” Finn says softly, “that your power is never useless. That you’re strong enough to manifest darkness so complete that it would gobble up every bit of her light?”

  “How do you know that?” I ask.

  “We’ve been watching,” Finn says with a shrug.

  “What do you say, Brie?” Pretha asks. “Will you let us help you?”

  I don’t know if I can trust Finn and his people, but I can’t afford to be discovered in my attempts to get the mirror. I can’t afford to fail. I look at the wolves and make my decision.

  “I’ll work with you today. Teach me whatever I need to know so I can swap the mirrors.”

  Finn arches a dark brow. “The first thing you need to know is not to use the mirror. It’s not a toy for human girls to play with, understood?”

  Right. Because I’m just a lowly human and unworthy of his precious mirror. Whatever. “I thought you were going to teach me to use my powers so I can get into the queen’s sunroom.”

  “Wait.” Finn holds up a hand. “You didn’t say the mirror was in her sunroom.”

  I shrug. “Well, it is. And the hall that leads to her chambers is flooded with light. I assume she keeps her sunroom that way too?”

  “The light is the least of your worries,” Finn says.

  Pretha’s brow creases with her frown. “If the queen is keeping the mirror in her sacred sunroom, no one but the prince or the queen herself can remove it from its spot.”

  “What happens if they try?” I ask.

  “Nothing,” Finn says. “You can’t take it. The items in the queen’s sunroom are immovable even for the strongest hands or the gentlest touch. You will find, Princess, that the real magic in our world is tied up in free will. Not even the strongest fae—or the greatest thief—can take that which can only be given freely.”

  “Is there a counterspell?” I ask.

  “Everything has a counterspell,” Kane says.

  Finn looks to Pretha, who shakes her head. “I don’t know it,” she says, “but I’ll do some digging and see what I can find out. In the meantime, we’ll have to think of another way.”

  I don’t have time to wait for Pretha to research a counterspell.

  No one but the prince or the queen herself can remove items from the sunroom. “It’s okay. I know what to do,” I say softly, and honestly, I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it before.

  “Kill the queen?” Kane asks, his hand going to the dagger on his hip. “Me first.”

  Finn shakes his head at his . . . his friend? His sentry? “She would carve you up and stake you to the front lawn as an example.”

  Kane scowls.

  I sigh. “If the only way to get the mirror is to have the queen or the prince give it to me, I will ask Prince Ronan to retrieve it for me.”

  “Are you serious?” Kane asks. “You think the prince is just going to hand over a precious artifact?”

  “Yes,” I say, and my guilt is already weighing me down. “He cares for me, and he wants to make amends for his deception.”

  Pretha smiles slowly, and she nods. “The simplest path is usually the best. In the meantime, we’ll train you as planned, and I’ll look into the counterspell just in case. If the prince won’t give it to you, we’ll find a way for you to steal it.”

  “But ask nicely, Princess,” Finn says. “Trust me when I say you don’
t want to have to do this the hard way.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  I FIND SEBASTIAN IN THE TRAINING RING on the roof of the highest turret, shirtless, his bare chest glistening with sweat in the glow of the setting sun.

  He’s sparring with another shirtless male. I try to take note of the stranger’s golden hair or the tattoo that runs down the side of his neck and over his shoulder—but I can hardly take my eyes off Sebastian long enough to catalogue anything about his partner. And worse? I can’t get my mouth to form the words I need to let him know I’m here.

  It’s not just his physique that makes me nearly mute. It’s the reminder of those days in Fairscape. The times I’d pretend to read while watching him train in the courtyard. The times he’d catch me watching and wink over his shoulder, and the way that simple gesture sent a flurry of butterflies through me. He and Jas were the bright spots in a dark and difficult existence; it’s a struggle not to let myself cling to him when I feel like I’ve lost them both.

  Sebastian spots me and gestures to his partner for a break. He grabs a towel and uses it to wipe the sweat off his brow. “Is everything okay?”

  Words, Brie. Use your words. “I’m fine. I just . . .” I swallow. “I wanted to talk to you. But I can go if this is a bad time.” I wince. Catching him up here seemed like a good idea, but now I feel presumptuous. Never mind that I don’t want to draw too much attention to what I’m about to request from him. “I didn’t mean to cut your workout short.”

  “Don’t leave,” Sebastian says. “We were just finishing up.” He pours a glass of water and offers it to me. When I shake my head, he tilts the glass to his lips and drains it. I’m captivated by the movement of his throat as he swallows.

  The other male catches me staring and his chest shakes in silent laughter. He winks at me knowingly before pulling a dark shirt over his head. “He can’t keep up with me anyway,” he says. “The prince went soft while he was in the human realm.”

  Sebastian grunts. “You lost three of five rounds. I wouldn’t be too cocky if I were you.”

  “Before you left, I would have lost all five.” He shrugs and smiles as he offers me his hand. “I’m Riaan. You must be the captivating and heart-stealing Abriella I’ve heard so much about.”

  My cheeks blaze—at that description and at the thought of Sebastian talking about me in those terms—but I manage a nod. “It’s nice to meet you, Riaan. Do you two train together often?”

  Riaan shakes his head. “Not nearly as often as we used to. This one’s too busy for me. Preparing to be king. Choosing a bride.” He shoots me a meaningful look, then adds, “Though if you ask me, he should just grovel until you agree to take the position.”

  I open my mouth, then snap it shut again, turning to Sebastian before I say anything incriminating.

  “Riaan’s my oldest friend,” Sebastian says softly.

  “Your secret’s safe with me,” Riaan says with a wink. He fills a glass of water and lifts it in mock salute before heading down the stairs and leaving Sebastian and me alone on the rooftop.

  “I shouldn’t have interrupted,” I say, still thinking about what Riaan said. Maybe it would be easier to hold a grudge against Sebastian if I didn’t know he returned the feelings I’ve harbored from the day we met, but every reminder tests my convictions.

  He waves away my concern. “We were finishing up anyway. My mother wants him to accompany her to the north this afternoon.”

  “What’s in the north?”

  “Another palace.”

  I laugh.

  “What?” he asks.

  “You say that the way Jas might refer to another dress for my spoiled cousins.” I look around, taking in the view of the expansive grounds around the Golden Palace. “I can’t imagine having one place like this, let alone another.”

  When I turn back to Sebastian, he’s frowning. “It’s absurd, isn’t it?” he asks softly. “So much excess here when so many suffer in Elora. I didn’t realize . . . not until I moved in with Mage Trifen.”

  “Why did you do that anyway? You have magic—better magic than any human could dream of having. Why did you take an apprenticeship with a human?”

  “Human magic is different, and I’m not arrogant enough to believe that I don’t need it.” He turns to the view beyond, and his gaze goes distant. “I know I’m going to need every advantage I can get if I want to be the best ruler for my people.”

  “When will that happen? When will you rule?”

  He shakes his head. “Only the old gods know the moment, but I want to be prepared.” He refills his glass and takes another drink, adding, “You didn’t come up here to talk about my apprenticeship.”

  “No. I came about something else. But . . . it seems silly now.”

  He grins, sensing my embarrassment. “What is it?”

  I grab a lock of my hair and twist it nervously. “I’ve been thinking about how we can find Jas, and I remembered legends of this magical mirror that would show you anyone you wished to see.”

  His eyes go wide. “The Mirror of Discovery?”

  “I never knew what it was called.” I smile to hide the lie. “But when you look into it, you can ask to see someone. Maybe we could use it to locate Jas.”

  “It’s hard to know what you’d see if you used it.” He frowns, thinking. “It can be unpredictable.”

  I swallow. Please get it for me. Please. “But wouldn’t it be worth trying?” I blow out a breath. “Such an ancient piece of magic. I’m . . . curious.”

  He laughs. “It’s the thief in you—don’t make that face, I mean it as a compliment. But I can’t have you breaking into my mother’s sacred sunroom to appease your curiosity. I’ll see what I can do.”

  * * *

  “Won’t the people at the palace think it’s strange that I’m gone so often?” I ask the next day as Pretha escorts me through the front door of Finn’s house in the form of Eurelody.

  “They’ll think you’re studying with your tutor at her home. Finn paid the old scholar’s family well for use of the place.” She closes the door behind me, then shimmies her shoulders. The wings disappear and her body snaps back into the one I know as Pretha.

  “Is this your . . . true form?” I ask, nodding at her.

  “This?” She smiles slowly, and her face lights up. She’s stunning. I wonder if she’s Finn’s wife or partner or—I squelch the errant thought. Why do I care who he’s with? “Yes, this is my true form.”

  “Can you fly when you have the wings?”

  She snorts and waves at me to follow her down the dimly lit hallway to the back of the house. “It depends on the form I take. I can’t fly when I shift into Eurelody, because Eurelody can’t fly. Other forms . . .” She shrugs. “Sure. Sometimes. Though it takes a lot of energy to shift so completely.”

  I follow her through a set of double doors into a massive library that has two-story ceilings and bookshelves lining every wall. In the middle of the room, a trio of fae males gather around a table, discussing something in low tones. I recognize Kane, and I think the other two were guarding the door to the office the night Kane carried me into the tavern. Finn isn’t anywhere to be seen, but his wolves are napping in the shadows at the back of the library.

  “Hell-ooo,” Pretha singsongs, and the males straighten.

  Kane grabs something off the table—a map maybe?—and rolls it up before sliding it into the back of his pants. “The princess returns,” he grumbles.

  I arch a brow. “If you don’t want me here, then why does your prince keep sending her to retrieve me?”

  “Ignore Kane,” Pretha says. “He’s perpetually cranky.”

  Kane scowls at her, and the other two chuckle.

  Pretha points to the male with dark skin, short black dreadlocks, and silver webbing on his forehead much like Pretha’s. “Abriella, this is Tynan,” she says. He smiles as he offers his hand, and I shake it. “And Jalek,” she says, pointing to the other, a pale-skinned male with buzzed
white hair and dark green eyes. This one doesn’t offer a hand. Instead he gives me a curt nod and takes a step back, as if he doesn’t want to get too close to me.

  I clear my throat. “It’s . . . nice to meet you all.”

  Jalek grunts. “She’s a terrible liar. You’re sure she can dupe the prince?”

  “Hush, you,” Pretha says. “Abriella is the best chance Finn’s court has.”

  I arch a brow. Finn’s court. “You’re not Unseelie?” I blurt.

  She grimaces and exchanges a look with Tynan. “Not by birth.” Sighing, she adds, “I was born one of the Wild Fae, but I pledged my allegiance to Finn long ago.”

  I look to the others. “And you three?”

  “Unseelie born and bred,” Kane says, pounding his fist against his chest.

  “But don’t worry,” Tynan says. “Not all Unseelie are as ugly as that one.”

  Kane gives Tynan a vulgar gesture, and Jalek bites back a smile.

  Pretha ignores them all. “Tynan is Wild Fae, like me. And Jalek is Seelie by birth. Many years ago he was a courtier for the golden queen’s father.”

  “Old ass,” Kane mutters.

  “I’d rather be old and wise than young and dumb,” Jalek says, but his eyes remain on me, studying my reaction to this information.

  I try not to gape. I was always under the impression that the fae were strictly loyal to the court they were born into, but Finn seems to have assembled a little band of misfits. “And you all work for Finn?”

  “We work for the greater good for all of Faerie,” Pretha says, pulling her long hair over one shoulder and beginning to braid it. “And since Finn is leading that charge, yes, we work for him. We work with him.”

  Jalek narrows those vivid green eyes at me. “Have you spent much time with Queen Arya at the palace?”

  I shake my head. I haven’t laid eyes on the queen since the day I went before her to pretend I wanted to marry her son. “No. She’s not around much.”

  Jalek and Tynan exchange a look, and Kane mumbles something I can’t hear.

  “I think you all have somewhere you’re supposed to be this morning,” Pretha says pointedly, and instead of bristling at a female ordering them around, the three males nod and head toward the library’s double doors. Females so rarely have any meaningful power in Elora, and I can’t help but respect Pretha a little more.