Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 139662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 698(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
I look away from the tenderness in his eyes. It’s too confusing. “Why bother? This is temporary, right? Mab will tell you how to take it from me, how to reunite it with the crown?”
“I don’t know,” Finn says. “I’m counting on her for a solution, but it’s futile to predict what that might be.”
I fold my arms. Futile as it might be, Finn’s clearly bracing himself for Mab to put Sebastian on the throne. He’s said too much for me to believe otherwise. And if Sebastian’s going to be the ruler of this court, we need to let him in on its secrets. “I want to tell Sebastian,” I say. “About the sickness, about the dying court.”
Finn’s jaw goes hard. “That could be a mistake.”
“It’s not. He cares for these people. He is more like you than you know. Trust me on this.”
He closes his eyes. “Princess—”
“I don’t need to tell him that you plan to see Mab, but let me explain how dire the situation is. Then you’ll get your temporary bond. You’ll be able to keep your priestess’s location a secret. But the rest Sebastian deserves to know.”
He meets my eyes. “Do what you think is best.”
Chapter Fourteen
The dining room is empty when I arrive, and rather than sit and wait at the table, I melt into the shadows and enjoy the moment of quiet. My head spins with the games Sebastian and Finn are playing.
I understand Finn’s reasons for wanting to take over Sebastian’s bond with me for our trip into the mountains, but I can’t pretend I’m looking forward to being bonded with another male, even temporarily.
Sebastian enters the dining room right on time and closes the double doors behind him. “I know you’re here, Abriella.”
So much for my shield. I wonder if I would’ve had any chance of remaining undetected in the throne room if he hadn’t been distracted by Finn.
I let my shadows fall away, and he gobbles me up with those sea-green eyes, looking me over again and again, as if he’s afraid I’m not real. Tension stretches between us. It reminds me of when I was young, going fishing at the creek with my father, the way the line drew taut as we reeled in the catch. Tighter and tighter the connection grows through this bond. But I’m not sure which one of us is on the hook.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he whispers. He takes a step closer, then stops himself.
I swallow. “I’ll be leaving with Finn in the morning.”
“We need to talk before you go,” he says. “I’ve done as you asked. We dismantled the camps, and I’m glad for it, whether you care or not.”
“I know. I’m grateful.”
“You never came back,” he says.
“There’s more work to be done. The Court of the Moon is in danger.”
“You think I don’t know that? I don’t have to be sitting on that throne to understand what’s happening outside those gates. We can’t afford a civil war now any more than Oberon could when he returned from the mortal realm.”
“Then you understand how important this mission is. How important it is that you and Finn present a united front.”
He slowly crosses to me. “If I let him do this, if I let them spell me so he can carry the bond, you’ll be able to feel him like this when he touches you.” He slides one hand onto my hip and the other into my hair. “Is that what you want?” His beautiful eyes search mine, and I feel my shield fall away, as if dissolved by the weight of his heartache.
The bond glows to life between us, bright and uninhibited, but the devastation that awaits me on his side of this connection is dark and tormented. It makes me want to curl onto the floor and cry, to apologize a million times for making him hurt, to forgive and forgive and forgive. “Bash,” I whisper.
“Tell me what you want. Anything.” He closes his eyes and swallows. “Anything but him.”
I flex my fists in frustration. “This isn’t about Finn. It’s about the Unseelie Court and the future of the entire realm.”
He loosens his grip on my hair and touches his forehead to mine, cupping my face and stroking my jaw with his thumb. I should pull away, but the contact feels so nice. I just want one moment to pretend that life doesn’t have to be as lonely as it has been, that my future isn’t one endless stretch of purposeless days before me. Just for this moment.
“How am I supposed to trust him? How am I supposed to let you go for even a minute? Don’t you realize he’ll take this as an opportunity to steal what I have—what he wants?”
I stiffen. “How could he steal my power?”
“Not your power. You.”
He can’t steal something you don’t have. I bite back the words and shake my head. “This isn’t some scheme to win my affection. I am unimportant in this situation.”