When she uses extraordinary amounts of power, she pulls from me. I get weak. When she first became fae and used her power to escape the Golden Palace and lock everyone she left behind in darkness, I thought I was dying.”
“This has happened again? Since?”
Finn nods. “Yes. She used a great deal of power when the capital was attacked. At the same time, I was in the palace suffering one of these spells. I’ve been searching for another explanation, but I keep coming back to the same thing.”
“I almost thought it was a myth. An excuse the old queens used to keep their lovers close.” She blows out a breath and shakes her head. “I think you’re out on a limb. If you’re tethered to anything, it’s the throne.” She meets his stare and holds it. “And you are not meant to serve that throne, Finn. It was made to serve you.”
“It was made to serve Mab’s line, not mine.”
“But her line is gone, and she trusted your father’s line to rule in their stead. Don’t doubt our Great Queen’s will.”
“I don’t.”
“So if Mab tells you to kill them both—the girl and Ronan—and claim the throne for yourself, you’d do it?”
Finn stares at her for a long time, and I throw my hand over my mouth and bite the inside of my cheek as I wait for his reply. I know I shouldn’t trust anyone—that I never can as long as I have this power—but I can’t accept that Finn would consider killing me and Sebastian to claim the throne for himself. The idea hurts too much. But could I accept it if it would save thousands?
“She won’t,” he finally says. “The magic of the crown would keep it from passing to me even if I were willing to consider it, so don’t make me answer an impossible question that will never be relevant. If I’m right, and I am tethered to Abriella, you understand what that might mean for the throne.”
Juliana sneers. “I’m insulted that you’re even asking me to consider it. You’ve lost your mind, Finn. Do you forget how our throne works?”
“I haven’t forgotten a thing, but since Oberon passed his crown to her, it seems we’ve been working under a new set of rules.”
“Maybe you have, but the old rules matter to the rest of us. Bloodlines and Mab’s will matter to us. You forget how terrible it was for us under Mordeus’s rule.”
“I never forget that,” he says, his voice solemn.
“You’re asking me to protect Prince Ronan’s bonded partner. To consider that she might be worthy of a power that was made for the greatest among us.”
“She is worthy . ”
Juliana’s eyes flare with anger, but she sets her jaw and stares into the distance. “I won’t argue with you about this. I have faith that Mab will have the answers we need.”
“As do I,” Finn whispers.
When she turns back to him, her face softens. “I’m sure I seem horrible to you, but I don’t mean to be. I want you on that throne where you belong, and despite any illness you might be suffering or any quirks in the magic from Oberon’s ill-fated choices, I believe that’s where you’ll end up.”
He reaches across the table and takes her hand. There’s such a tenderness between them that I slip back into the house, more confused than I was before and feeling guilty about spying on Finn.
Maybe I’ll tell him tomorrow. It would be better, wouldn’t it? To just be honest about the fact that I’m a terrible friend who eavesdrops on private conversations?
This one, like so many others, has left me with more questions than answers. Tethered. Where have I heard that term before? I’ll have to confess to Finn tomorrow; that way he can tell me what it all means.
When I crawl back into bed, my mind is spinning. There are so many more important things to ponder, yet alone in this room we’ll share tonight, my thoughts snag on the most insignificant parts of their conversation.
I underestimated your ability to resist the beautiful female in your chambers.
I won’t pretend it’s easy.
I think you’re fixated on her and trying to excuse your lustful thoughts.
Trust me, I have plenty of those.
The snippets play on repeat in my mind. They don’t matter. It’s not as if this attraction between me and Finn is a revelation. Or that it’s even meaningful. Yet part of me always assumed he was just teasing. Flirting to win my favor. Part of me really likes the idea of Finn struggling to resist me—the same part that likes to imagine him sleeping in this room with me tonight and struggling with those lustful thoughts he admitted to having.