These Hollow Vows (These Hollow Vows 1)

“Can I take a carriage or . . . a horse?”

The handmaidens exchange surprised glances. “It’s a week’s journey on our fastest steed, milady.”

At first I nearly snorted every time they call me lady. That’s one thing I’ve never been accused of being, but after hours of having them fuss over me, I’m more annoyed by the title than anything else.

King Mordeus’s goblin grumbles under his breath, then offers his hand again. I get it. Not only can goblins move freely between and within realms, they can do so instantaneously. They choose to go somewhere, and they simply appear there. Next to the knowledge they hoard, it’s their greatest power. My gaze lands on the bracelet at my wrist. As the faeries washed me, I confirmed Bakken’s promise that the bracelet was visible only to me. Now I’m tempted to use it. I would so much rather have Bakken transport me than this unknown goblin, but I don’t want to waste a thread—or, truthfully, unnecessarily lose any more of my hair. I’m supposed to seduce a prince, and my wild red curls are the best physical attribute I have on my side. I take a deep breath and a step forward. “Okay.”

The goblin takes my hand. His skin is leathery against mine, but before I can think on it too long, the world falls away. This isn’t like the sensation of appearing before the king from my cell. This is like moving down and up and out all at once—then I’m jerked to a halt, my head whipping back. I’m surrounded by rows of neatly tended flower beds, and the golden queen’s castle gleams in the evening light.

“I leave you here,” the goblin says, releasing my hand.

I turn to ask how I’m to summon him after I retrieve the mirror, but he’s already gone.

The castle is as bustling as it was when I first arrived in Faerie, with humans and faeries of all kinds milling about beyond and within the gates. I graze my fingers across the amulet that hangs between my breasts and start toward the footbridge. The handmaidens who dressed me had asked about the amulet and suggested that I trade it out for pearls, but I refused. I don’t know if Sebastian’s magic works in this realm, but even if it doesn’t, the feel of the cool crystal between my breasts brings me comfort.

Sebastian. My chest pinches, and I allow myself a moment of self-pity. I close my eyes and remember his kiss, his sea-green eyes. It’s hard to believe that only a few days ago my debt to Madame V and my secret crush on the mage’s apprentice were the most complicated problems in my life.

I don’t know if I’ll ever see Sebastian again, but if I do, I hope he can forgive me for whatever actions I’ll have to take to make Prince Ronan trust me.

“Brie? Is that you?”

I turn toward the familiar voice and see Sebastian striding toward me, as if my thoughts alone summoned him. I nearly fall to my knees in relief at the sight of his beautiful face. He’s dressed in dark brown leather pants and a vest, a long sword strapped to his back, as if it’s just another day in Fairscape and he’s ready to train in Mage Trifen’s courtyard. But then I take in his pointed ears, glowing skin, and the sharper angles of his features. He looks every bit like the noble fae I saw dancing inside the queen’s castle last night.

He must have gotten a potion from Mage Trifen—I considered it myself before realizing I could never afford such a thing, and I didn’t have the time to steal the funds.

“Bash,” I whisper.

He pulls me into his arms. His heat is a comfort I thought I’d never experience again. “It is you.”

When I pull back to study him, a combination of awe and frustration taint his perfectly handsome face. “I would never have believed you could pass for a faerie,” I say, skimming my fingertips across his beautiful cheekbones. “Your glamour is flawless. If I didn’t know you, I wouldn’t doubt that you belong here.”

He flinches at this, and his throat bobs as he swallows. “When I heard Gorst’s men were looking for you, I went to Nik. She told me you were gone. She wouldn’t tell me where you went, but she didn’t have to. I knew you’d come for Jas.” He pulls me into his chest again and exhales heavily. “I’ve been searching the Seelie Court all day, and I couldn’t find you. Damnit, Brie, where have you been?”

I fish the amulet out of my dress and show it to him. “I’m safe. See?”

He runs his big hands up and down my arms and looks over every inch of me. After pulling my hair back in a series of braids gathered into a bun atop my head, the Unseelie handmaidens had dressed me in a sleeveless gown of layer after layer of yellow satin. The fabric hugs my figure from the sweetheart neckline down through my hips and flares out to where it sweeps the ground around my yellow-slippered feet. When they showed me my reflection, I thought I looked like a giant tulip. The maids insisted that the prince would find me irresistible like this, and I had no reason not to trust them.