These Hollow Vows (These Hollow Vows 1)

Did Sebastian carry me here or did he have a goblin move me? It shouldn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. But after the way he carried me into the castle in his arms last night, it’s all too easy to imagine him moving me here while I slept. Too easy to imagine that tenderness in his eyes and him dipping to press a kiss to my cheek. I catch myself clinging to the image before shaking it away. Not why I’m here.

As I sit up in bed, the servant adjusts a bouquet of orange day lilies before turning to me. A human. She wears a plain blue dress that hangs loosely on her plump frame, her blond hair tied into a simple but sleek braid. I pat my own hair, which is no doubt wild from a night of restless sleep in a strange bed.

“Good morning, Miss Abriella. I’m Emmaline and that’s Tess,” the woman says, gesturing to the servant in the bathroom. “Would milady like a bath or breakfast first?”

I press a hand to my growling stomach. It’s been far too long since I’ve had anything substantive to eat, and though I’m accustomed to going without food, I’m pushing even my limits. “Breakfast, please.”

She beams at me as if I’ve just offered her a gift. “Good choice.”

Tess emerges from the bathroom, wiping her hands on a beige smock. Twins, I realize when I see her blond braid and identical smile. “Would you like your meal in bed or at the table?”

“The table is fine.” I throw my legs over the side of the bed and stretch, yawning. I was so tired and weak when I fell asleep last night, but this morning I feel better than I have in days—maybe months. The healer must have repaired more than the damage from the Barghest. “Do you have coffee?”

“Of course. The prince told us that you prefer coffee,” Tess says. She bites back a smile, and she and Emmaline exchange a meaningful look. “And day lilies.”

“We asked around,” Emmaline says, leaning in conspiratorially. “He didn’t request flowers to be brought to any of the other girls.”

“Or assign any of them their own rooms yet,” Tess adds, winking at me.

I don’t have to fake my surprise and delight as I approach the table. I run a finger across a soft orange petal. A renegade butterfly flutters in my stomach as I remember Sebastian tucking the flower behind my ear. I don’t want to feel anything for him, but how can I not?

I take a seat at the small table by the windows, pausing a moment to appreciate the heat of the sun on my face. I’ve always been too much of a night owl to care for mornings, but I’m so rested after a full night’s sleep that I feel almost optimistic.

Channeling my inner Jasalyn. She’d be proud.

I take a sip from my mug. It’s different from the brown water folks at home call coffee. This is thicker and more decadent. Layered—as if I can taste the sunshine that warmed the beans and the berries on the bush beside it. It’s as if my love of coffee before was only about its potential and I’m finally tasting it as it should be. But even this can’t distract me from the feast waiting for me. A plate full of pastries, colorful berries, a cup of creamy yogurt, and a platter of cured meats and cheeses. I take a flaky pastry from the tray and nearly moan as it melts on my tongue. I lose myself in the food as my maids busy themselves around me.

I’ve stuffed myself to the point of discomfort when I realize the maids have gone still behind me.

“Your Highness,” they say in unison.

When I turn, they’ve both frozen in low curtsies in front of Sebastian, who gives them a curt nod and warm smile. In truth, I expected the human slaves in Faerie to be drugged or mindless and treated like disposable tools, but if the twins are representative of life for humans here, my assumptions were completely off base.

Maybe nothing is how I thought it was.

“Tess, Emmaline,” he says, nodding to them. “How are you this morning?”

“Good, Your Highness,” Tess says, standing.

“Happy to get to know Lady Abriella,” Emmaline says.

These women don’t look at Sebastian as if he’s their jailer. Their expressions are closer to that of doting aunts. And Sebastian treats them to the same charming smile that made half of Fairscape fall for him.

“Could you ladies give me a moment alone with Lady Abriella?”

“Of course,” they say in unison. They each dip into another brief curtsy and scurry away.

Sebastian waits until the door closes behind them before he turns to me. “How are you feeling this morning?” He runs appraising eyes over me, and I shift, suddenly self-conscious in my nightgown in a way I was too tired to be last night.