“Yes!” I answered immediately and looked over at him.

“What I say to you cannot leave this room. Do you understand?” Finn asked gravely, and I nodded, gulping painfully.

I had been growing more and more preoccupied with Finn and Elora’s relationship. She was an attractive older woman, and he was definitely a foxy guy, and I could see her digging cougar claws into him. That was what I was afraid of, anyway. Then it would make whatever feelings I had for Finn seem even more disturbing.

“About ten or fifteen years ago, after your father was gone, my father came under the employ of your mother. He had retired from tracking, and Elora didn’t like living alone, so she hired him to guard her and the estate,”

Finn explained. His eyes darkened and his lips tightened, and my heart raced.

“Elora was in love with my father. They had to keep things quiet, because it would be quite the scandal if anyone found out. No one knew, except for my mother, who to this day still is married to my father. Eventually, my mother convinced my father to leave. However, Elora remained quite fond of him, and in turn, rather fond of me. She has personally requested my services over the years, and because she pays well, I have accepted. Since I am so good at my job, nobody has ever thought anything of it. Until you, of course.”

I stared at him, feeling nauseous and nervous. Since his father became involved with my mother after I was born, I could safely assume that we weren’t siblings, so at least that was something. Everything else made it feel rather disturbing, and I wondered if Finn secretly hated me. He had to secretly 194

hate Elora, and he was only here because of how much she paid him. Maybe he was some kind of glorified gigolo, and I had fight to keep from vomiting.

“I am not sleeping with her, and she has never made any advances of the sort,” Finn clarified, looking at me evenly. “She is fond of me because of her feelings for my father. I don’t blame her for what happened between them.

It was a long time ago, and my father was the one that had a family to think of, not her.”

“Huh.” I looked up at the ceiling because it was easier than looking at him.

“I have distressed you. I’m sorry,” Finn apologized sincerely. “This is why I was hesitant to say anything to you.”

“No, no, I’m fine. Let’s just go on,” I insisted unconvincingly. “I have a lot to go over and all that.”

Finn remained silent for a minute, letting me absorb what he had just told me, but I tried to push it from my mind as quickly as possible. Thinking about it made me feel dirty, and I still had too much on my mind as it was.

Eventually, Finn continued on with the texts, and I tried harder to pay attention. If I was thinking about what exactly a Queen’s job entailed, I wasn’t thinking about my mother bumping uglies with his father.

Frederique Von Ellsin, the dress designer, came over a few hours later.

He was excitedly flamboyant, and I couldn’t tell for sure whether or not he was Trylle. Finn sat in the corner, off-handedly flipping through a book while Frederique made all kinds of notes. I wore only a slip as he took my measurements and sketched something on a notepad. Finally, he declared that he had the perfect gown in mind, and he dashed out of my room to get working on it.

All day long, there was an irritating succession of people. They were all staff of some kind, like caterers and party planners, so at least I didn’t have spend an hour getting ready to impress them. In fact, most of them ignored me.

They just trailed after Elora as she listed an inconceivable amount of information about what she expected them to do, and they all scurried to write 195

it down or punch it in their Blackberries, or maybe just contemplated suicide. I know I wpild.

Meanwhile, I had the pleasure of camping out in my sweats all day again. Whenever Elora saw me, she glared at my apparel intensely, but she was always too busying prattling on demands to somebody else to complain about me. Everything that I managed to overhear only made my coming-out festivities sound even more terrifying. The most horrific thing I heard as she zipped by:

“We’ll need seating for at least 500.” Five hundred people were going to be at a party where I would be the center of attention? Splendid.

The only upshot of the day was that I got to spend the entire thing with Finn. That became less enjoyable by the minute as Finn refused to talk about anything that wasn’t related to my performance at the party. We spent two hours going over the names and pictures of the more prominent guests that would be attending. Two whole hours spent pouring over a yearbook-type thing trying to memorize the faces, names, and notable facts about like a hundred people. At least we learned something with that. An eidetic memory was not one of my abilities.

Then there was the hour and a half spent at the dinner table.

Apparently, I did not know how to eat properly. There were certain ways to hold the fork, tilt the bowl, lift the glass, and even place the napkin. Up until that time, I had never mastered any of those skills, and from what I gathered about the way Finn regarded me, I still hadn’t. Eventually, I gave up. Pushing my plate back, I laid my head down and pressed my cheek against the cold wood of the table.

“I can see you’ve had enough with this,” Finn sighed and pushed back his chair as he stood up. “Why don’t we do something fun for awhile?”

“Fun?” I looked up skeptically at him. “Do you mean fun fun? Or do you mean looking at pictures for two hours fun? Or Using a Fork 101 fun?”

“Something that at least resembles actual fun,” Finn answered. “Come on.”

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Cautiously, I got up and followed him. Even if whatever he planned on doing was the most boring thing in the world, I didn’t really have a choice.

What I was going through right now was the montage part of every duckling-to-swan story. In the movies, they always showed clips of all the hard work they put in until the got better, and in thirty seconds flat, there were be the finished, transformed princess. Unfortunately, I couldn’t montage my way through this. I actually had to endure.

As Finn led me down a hall to the west wing of the house, I realized that I’d never seen any of this before. When Garrett had teased Elora about this being a palace, he wasn’t kidding. There were so many places I had yet to see. It was astounding. Finn gestured to a few rooms, pointing out the library, meeting halls where they conducted business, the opulent dining hall where we would hold the dinner on Saturday, and then finally, the ball room.

Pushing open the doors, which seemed to be two stories high, Finn led me into the grandest room I had ever seen. Massive and exquisite, the ceilings seemed to stretch on forever, thanks in part to the fact they were entirely skylight. Gold beams ran across it, holding up glittering diamond chandeliers.

The floors were marble, the walls were off-white with gold detailing, and it looked every bit like the ballroom for Disney fairytales.

The decorators had started bringing things in, and one of the walls was lined with stacked chairs and tables. Table cloths and candlesticks and all sorts of decorations were littered in a pile around them. The only other thing in the room was a white grand piano setting in the opposite corner. Otherwise, the room was empty, except Finn and me.

I hated how taken I was with the splendor. I hated it even more that the room was this magnificent, and I looked like I did. My hair was in a messy bun, and I was wearing baggy sweats and a faded sweater with a boombox on it.

Finn wasn’t exactly dressed to the nines either, but his standard buttoned shirt and dark washed jeans looked much more fitting.

“So what’s the fun part?” I asked, and my voice echoed off the walls.

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“Dancing,” Finn’s lip twitched with a smile, and I groaned. “I’ve danced with you before, and I know that it needs some improvement.”

“The slow circles don’t cut it?” I grimaced.

“Unfortunately, no. A proper waltz should be enough, though. If you can master that, you’ll be set for the ball on Saturday,” Finn explained.

“Oh no.” My stomach dropped as I just realized something. “I’m going to have dance with these people, aren’t I? Like strangers and old men and weird handsy boys?” Finn laughed at that, but I wanted to curl in a ball and die.

“I could lie to you, but to be honest, those are probably the only people that will ask you to dance,” Finn admitted with a wry smirk.

“You are enjoying this more than I’ve ever seen you enjoy anything!” I pointed out, and that only deepened his smile. “Well, I’m glad you find this funny. Me getting felt up by compete strangers and tripping all over them. What a great time.”

“It won’t be so bad,” Finn insisted, then he motioned for me to come over. “Come on. If you learn the basic steps, at least you won’t be tripping over them.”

I sighed loudly and walked over to him. Most of my trepidation about dancing with strangers melted away the instant Finn took my hand in his. It suddenly occurred to me that before I had to dance with them, I got to dance with him. His hand went to the small of my back, and I cursed myself for wearing such a thick hoodie. Then I had a brilliant idea. I paused our training, claiming the bulk of my hoodie was too hard to dance with, and pulled it off. I was wearing a tank top underneath, so it wasn’t like I was being completely inappropriate.

After a few directions from him and a rough start by me, we were dancing. His arm was around me, strong and reassuring. He instructed me to keep my eyes locked on his so I wouldn’t get in the habit of watching my feet while I danced, but I wouldn’t have looked anywhere else anyway. His dark eyes always mesmerized me. We were supposed to keep a certain distance between our bodies, but I found it impossible. Soon, his stomach was nearly pressed 198

against mine, and I was certain we weren’t going as fast as we were supposed to, but I didn’t care. I was back in that moment with him, that wonderful one that seemed too impossibly perfect to be real.

“Right, okay.” Finn suddenly stopped and took a step away from.

Disappointed, I let my hands fall to the side. “You’ve got that down pretty well, but there’s going to be music. So you should see how you do with that.”

“Okay?” I said unsurely.

“Why don’t I play the piano, and you count out the steps yourself?”

Finn had already started backing away to the piano, and I was wondering what I had done wrong that made him stop so suddenly. “That might be a better way for you to learn.”

“Um, okay,” I shrugged uncertainly. “I thought I was doing fine before.”

“We weren’t going fast enough. The music will help you keep time,”

Finn explained.

I frowned at him, wishing he would just come back and dance with me.

Before he had told me I was a terrible dance partner, and maybe that was the problem. Maybe I was just too bad of a dancer. He sat down at the piano and started playing a beautiful, elaborate waltz, but of course he could. He could do anything. I was just standing there, staring at him, until he directed me to start dancing.

I whirled around on the dance floor, but it definitely wasn’t as fun as it had been with him. In fact, it wasn’t really that fun at all. It might have been if I weren’t trying to figure out what I did wrong that always made Finn back away from me at the worst possible moments. It was hard to concentrate on that, though, when Finn kept barking out corrections at me. Funny, he hadn’t noticed any when we had been dancing together.

“Nope, that’s it,” I panted after what felt like an eternity. My feet and legs were getting sore, and a sheen of sweat covered my body. I had had my fill of dancing for the day, and I sat down heavily on the floor, then leaned back, sprawling out on the cool marble.

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“Wendy, it hasn’t even been that long,” Finn insisted.

“Don’t care. I’m out!” I breathed deeply and wiped the sweat from forehead.

“Haven’t you ever worked hard at anything?” Finn complained. He got up from the piano bench and walked over to me, so he could lecture me up closer, apparently. “This is important.”

“I’m aware. You tell me every second of every day,” I grumbled.

“I do not.” Finn crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at me.

“This

is the hardest I’ve ever worked at anything,” I said, staring back up at him. “Everything else I’ve quit before this, or I never even tried. So don’t tell me I’m not putting effort into this.”

“You’ve never tried harder than this? On anything?” Finn asked incredulously, and I shook my head. “That brother you had never made you do anything?”

“Not really,” I admitted thoughtfully. “He made me go to school I guess, and he really wanted me to graduate. But that’s about it.” Matt and Maggie encouraged me to do a lot of things, but there was very little they actually made me do. Even with me getting in trouble as often as I did, I was very rarely grounded.

“They spoiled you more than I thought,” Finn looked a surprised at that.

“They didn’t spoil me,” I sighed, then quickly amended, “They didn’t spoil me rotten. Not the way Willa was spoiled, and I’m sure a lot of the other changelings were. They just wanted me to be happy.”

“Happiness is something you work for,” Finn pointed out.

“Oh, stop with that fortunate cookie crap,” I scoffed. “We worked for it just like anybody else. They were just really careful with me, probably because my mom tried to kill me. It set them up to treat me more gently than they would’ve otherwise.”

“How did your mother try to kill you?” Finn asked directly.

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It startled me a little. I had only very vaguely told him what happened, and we hadn’t talked about it since. It surprised me that he was even talking about it now, since he very rarely seemed to want to talk about my past.

“It was my birthday, and I was being my usual bratty self. I was angry because she’d gotten me a chocolate cake, and I hated it,” I explained. “We were in the kitchen, and she snapped. She started chasing after me with this giant knife. She called me a monster, and then she tried to stab me but she just managed to cut my stomach pretty badly. Then my brother Matt rushed in and tackled her, saving my life.”

“She cut open your stomach?” Finn furrowed his brow with concern.

“Yeah.” Randomly, I pulled up my shirt, revealing the scar that stretched across it. Immediately after I’d done it, I regretted it. Lying on the floor and flashing Finn the fattest part of my body did not sound like a good idea.

Finn crouched on the ground next to me, and tentatively, his fingertips traced along the mark etched on my belly. My skin quivered underneath his touch, and this nervous warmth spread through me. He just stared intently at it, then laid his hand flat on my belly, covering the scar. His skin felt hot and smooth, and inside, my stomach trembled with butterflies.

He blinked, and seeming to realize what he was doing, he pulled his hand back and got to his feet. Quickly, I pulled my shirt back down, and I didn’t even feel that comfortable laying down anymore. I sat up and fixed my bun. It had gotten pushed all over when I laid back on it, so I had to take it out and redo it.

“Matt saved your life?” Finn asked, filling that semi-awkward silence that had shrouded us. He still had a very contemplative look on his face, and I wished I knew what he was thinking.

“Yeah,” I nodded, and I got to my feet. “Matt always protected me, ever since I could remember.”

“Hmm.” Finn looked thoughtfully at me. “You bonded so much more with your host family than the changelings normally do.”

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“‘Host family?’” I grimaced. “You make me sound like a parasite.”

Then I realized that I probably was. They had dropped me off with them so I would use their resources, their money, their opportunities, and come back here with them. That’s exactly what a parasite did.

“You’re not a parasite,” Finn said. “They loved you, and you genuinely loved them in return. It is unusual, but that it is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a very good thing. Maybe it’s given you a compassion that the Trylle leaders have been lacking for a very long time.”

“I don’t think I’m very compassionate,” I shook my head.

“You came to my aid last night,” Finn reminded me. “You shouldn’t have done that. I can handle myself, and Willa really means no harm. Defending me will only weaken you. But what you did, you did for the right reasons. You stood up for what you thought was right. It’s a wonderful quality.”

“If that’s not a mixed message, then I don’t know what is,” I shied away from his compliment. “I shouldn’t do that, but I should?”

“You shouldn’t defend me,” Finn clarified. “But you should defend those who can’t do it for themselves. I saw how badly it was bothering you when Willa was harassing Rhiannon, and I see how it gets to you the way Elora talks to people. Elora thinks the only way to command respect is to command fear, but I have a feeling that you will have an entirely different way of ruling.”

“And how will I rule?” I arched my eyebrow at him.

“That is for you to decide,” Finn said simply.

He finished up our lesson after that, saying I needed to rest up for tomorrow. The day had exhausted me, and I was eager to curl up in my blankets and sleep until Sunday, straight through the ball and all the angst that accompanied it. Sleep didn’t come easy, though. I found myself tossing and turning, thinking about the way it felt dancing with Finn and his hand resting warmly on my stomach. But I would always end up thinking of Matt and Maggie, and how much I still missed them.

I woke up startling early that morning. Actually, I’d been waking up all night long, and at six, I finally just gave into it. I got up with the intention of 202

sneaking downstairs to grab a bite to eat, but when I hit the top of the stairs, Rhys came barreling up them to meet me, chomping on a bagel.

“Hey, what are you doing up?” Rhys grinned, swallowing down his bite.

“Couldn’t sleep,” I shrugged. “You?”

“Same. I have to get up for school soon anyway.” He pushed his sandy hair out of his eyes and leaned back against the stair railing. “Are you worrying about this Saturday?”

“Kind of,” I admitted.

“It is pretty intense,” Rhys said, his eyes wide. I nodded noncommittally. “Is something else bothering you? You look pretty… upset, I guess.”

“No.” I shook my head and sighed, then sat down on the top step. I didn’t feel much standing anymore, and to be honest, I wanted to cry. “I was just thinking about my brother.”

“Your brother?” Something flashed across Rhys’s face, and slowly, he sat down next to me. He seemed almost breathless, and at first I didn’t understand, then it dawned on me.

I thought about how weird this must be for Rhys. His whole life he had known that this wasn’t his real family, and it wasn’t even the same as being adopted. It wasn’t like his family had given him up. He had been stolen, and not by a family that had wanted him. They had just wanted me to have his life.

“Yeah. I mean… your brother actually,” I corrected myself, and that felt painful saying it. Matt would always be my brother, no matter what our genetics claimed.

“What’s his name?” Rhys asked quietly.

“Matt. He’s pretty much the nicest guy in the whole world,” I said with tears burning my eyes.

“Matt?” Rhys repeated, in an awed tone.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “He’s the bravest guy ever. He would do anything to protect the people he cares about, and he’s completely selfless. He always puts 203

everybody first. And he’s really, really strong. He’s…” I swallowed and decided that I couldn’t talk about him anymore. I shook my head and looked away.

“What about my mom and dad?” Rhys pressed, and I didn’t know how to answer that.

“Dad died when I was five,” I said carefully. “Mom took it pretty hard, and um… she’s been in the hospital ever since. For psychiatric problems. Matt and my dad’s sister, Maggie, they raised me.”

“Oh.” His face contorted with concern, and I suddenly hated Mom even more. I knew that she had done everything because she loved him, but this is what I was left with telling him. And she’d never be able to have a life with him because she’d always be locked up. All she had done was hurt him and me and Matt and everyone.

“I’m sorry.” I placed my hand gently on his, to comfort him. “It’s hard to explain how I know it, but your mom really loved you. She really wanted you.

And I think she always hated me because she knew I wasn’t you.”

“Really?” There was something hopeful and sad in his eyes when he looked at me.

“Yeah. It kind of sucked for me, actually,” I smiled wanly at him, and he laughed.

“Sorry about that,” Rhys smiled back at me. “I guess I’m too hard to forget.”

“Yeah, I guess you are,” I agreed. Rhys moved his hand so it was actually holding mine, and even though his mood seemed to brighten, I didn’t take it from him.

“So what about this Maggie? What’s she like?” Rhys asked.

“She’s pretty cool. A little overly attentive sometimes, but cool,” I said.

“She’s incredibly loving and patient, and she put up with a lot of crap from me.

They both did, really.” I thought about how strange this all was, that they weren’t my family anymore. “This’s so weird. They’re your brother and your aunt.”

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“No, I understand. They’re your family, too,” Rhys insisted. “They loved you and raised you. That’s what family is, right?” That was the exact thing I had needed someone to say to me for so long, and I squeezed his hand gratefully. I still loved them and always would, and I just wanted that to be okay.

“Wendy!” Finn apparently had just woken up and was on his way to check on me when he spotted me sitting on the steps. Instinctively, I pulled my hand back, and Rhys stood up. “What are you doing?”

“I just woke up. We were just talking.” I looked up at Rhys, who nodded in agreement, but Finn glared at us both. I felt like we’d been caught robbing a bank or having sex by the way Finn looked at us.

“I suggest you get ready for school,” Finn commanded icily.

“Yeah, that what I was doing anyway,” Rhys said somewhat defensively, then smiled down at me. “I’ll see you later, Wendy.”

“Yeah, okay,” I smiled back at him.

“What are you doing?” Finn hissed, glowering down at me.

“I already told you!” I insisted and stood up. He was still intimidating, but we were closer to the same height now, so I felt a bit better. “We were just talking!”

“About what?” Finn pressed.

“My family,” I shrugged. “What does it matter?”

“You cannot talk to him about your family,” Finn said firmly.

“Mänsklig cannot know where they come from. If they did, they would be tempted to track down their families, and that would completely ruin our entire society. Do you understand that?”

“I didn’t really tell him anything!” I said defensively, but I felt stupid that that hadn’t occurred to me. “I missed them, and I just said stuff about how neat Matt was. I didn’t tell him their last name or where they lived or anything like that.”

“You have to be more careful, Wendy,” Finn persisted.

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“Sorry! I didn’t know!” I didn’t like the way he was glaring at me, so I turned and started walking down the hall toward my room.

“Wait.” Finn grabbed my arm gently so I would stop and look at him.

He took a step closer to me so he was right in front of me, but I was trying to be mad at him, so I refused to look at him. I could still feel his eyes on me and the heat from his body, and it did little to help me maintain my anger.

“What?” I asked curtly.

“I saw you holding his hand,” Finn lowered his voice.

“So?” I said. “Is that a crime?”

“No, but… you can’t do that,” Finn explained emphatically. “You cannot get involved with a mänsklig.”

“Whatever.” I pulled my arm from his grip, irritated that the only thing he ever thought about was the job. “You’re just jealous.”

“I am not jealous,” Finn said defensively and took a step back from me. “I am watching out for your well-being. You don’t understand how dangerous it would be to get involved with him.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered and started walking back to my room. “I don’t understand anything.”

“That’s not what I said,” Finn followed after me.

“But it’s true, isn’t it?” I countered. “I don’t know anything.”

“Wendy!” Finn snapped, and grudgingly, I turned back to look at him.

“If you don’t understand things, it’s because I didn’t explain them well enough.” He swallowed hard and looked down at the ground, his dark eyelashes falling on his cheeks. There was something more that he wanted to say to me, so I crossed my arms, waiting. “But you were right.” He struggled with what he was saying, and I watched him carefully. “I was jealous.”

“What?” My jaw literally fell open and my eyes widened with surprise.

“That does not affect the job I have to do, nor does it change the fact that you absolutely cannot become involved with a mänsklig,” Finn said firmly, still looking at the ground instead of at me. “Now go get ready. We have another long day ahead of us.” He turned around and started to walk away.

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“Wait, Finn!” I called after him, and he paused, half looking back at me.

“The matter is not open for discussion,” Finn replied coolly. “I promised I would never lie to you, so I didn’t.”

I stood in front of my bedroom door, reeling from his confession. For the first time, he had really admitted that at least some of his feelings for me had nothing to do with the job at hand. Yet somehow, I was supposed to forget all that and go about like everything was normal.

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18

With the party only twenty-four hours away, Elora felt the need to check on my progress, not that I blamed her. Her plan was a dress rehearsal through dinner, testing my ability to converse and eat, apparently. She didn’t want a massive audience to witness my possible failure, so she just invited Garrett, Willa, and Rhiannon over to join her, Finn, Rhys, and me. It was the biggest group she could assemble without risk of embarrassment. Since I had already met with these people, I didn’t feel all that nervous, even though Elora informed me before hand that I needed to treat this the same way I would tomorrow night.

Everyone had clearly been instructed the same thing because they all appeared far more regal than normal. Even Rhys had dressed in a blazer, and he looked rather handsome. As usual, Finn was unnecessarily attractive, and thanks to his random confession of jealousy, I wasn’t entirely sure how to act around him. He had come into my room before dinner to make sure that I was getting ready, but I couldn’t help but feel that he was purposefully avoiding looking at me.

“Who will I be sitting by tomorrow?” I asked between careful sips of wine Elora instructed us where to sit, with at one end of the table, and I at the other. Rhys and Finn flanked either side of me, and Rhiannon and Will filled in the empty places..

“Between Tove Kroner and I,” Elora answered, narrowing her eyes at the way I was drinking my wine. “Hold the glass by the stem.”

“Sorry.” I thought I had been, but I moved my fingers, hoping I was holding it more correctly.

“A Princess never apologizes,” Elora corrected me.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, then realized what I did and shook my head.

“That was an accident. It won’t happen again.”

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“Don’t shake your head; it’s not ladylike,” Elora chastised me. “A Princess doesn’t make promises, either. She might not be able to keep them, and she doesn’t want them held against her.”

“I wasn’t really making a promise,” I pointed out, and Elora narrowed her eyes more severely.

“A Princess is never contrary,” Elora said coolly.

“I’ve only been a Princess for like two weeks. Can’t you give me a little break?” I was growing frustrated by all the Princess talk. Nearly every sentence she’d said to me in the past two days had started with “a Princess” and it was followed by things that a Princess never or always did.

“You’ve been a Princess your entire life. It’s in your blood,” Elora said firmly, sitting up even straighter in her chair, trying to loom over me. “You should know how to behave.”

“I am working on it,” I grumbled.

“Speak up. Use a clear strong voice no matter what it is you’re saying,”

Elora snapped. “And you don’t have time to work on it. Your party is tomorrow. You must be ready now.”

I wanted to snap something back at her, but both Rhys and Finn were giving me warning stares to keep my mouth shut. Rhiannon stared nervously at her plate, and Garrett just went about munching his food politely, while Willa took a long drink of her wine.

“I understand,” I exhaled deeply and took another drink of my wine.

I’m not sure if I held the glass right this time, but Elora didn’t say anything.

“So, I got your picture of the dress,” Willa smiled at me. “It was really stunning. I’m a little jealous, actually. You only get to be the belle of the ball once, and you definitely will be tomorrow. You’re going to look amazing.” She was coming to my aid, changing the subject from things I was doing wrong to compliments about me. Even if she was a bitch to Finn and Rhiannon, I just couldn’t bring myself to hate her.

“Thank you,” I smiled gratefully back at her.

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I had my final fitting earlier in the day, and since Willa had requested it the other night at dinner, I sent her a picture. It had actually been Finn’s idea, and he had used his camera phone. I felt very awkward and not at all pretty posing for it, and he never reassured me that I looked good in the dress. It felt too fancy for me, and I would’ve liked a little boost just then. But Finn had just snapped the picture, and that had been the end of that.

“Have you seen the dress?” Willa turned to Elora, who nibbled primly at a piece of broccoli.

“No. I trust Frederique’s designs, and Finn has final approval,” Elora answered absently.

“I’m going to insist on being involved in the process when my daughter gets her gown,” Willa offered thoughtfully. Elora bristled imperceptibly at that, but Willa didn’t notice. “But I’ve always loved dresses and fashion. I could spend my whole life at a ball.” She looked wistful for a moment, than smiled at me again. “That’s why it’s so great that you’re here.

You’re going to have such a monumental ball.”

“Thank you,” I repeated, unsure of how else to respond.

“You had a lovely party yourself,” Garrett interjected, feeling slightly defensive about the party he had thrown for his daughter. “Your dress was fantastic.”

“I know,” Willa smiled immodestly. “It was pretty great.” Finn made a soft noise in his throat, and both Elora and Willa glared at him, but neither of them said anything.

“My apologies. Something caught in my throat,” Finn explained, taking a sip of his wine.

“Hmm,” Elora murmured disapprovingly, then cast her stare back at me. “Oh, that reminds me. I have been too busy this week to ask you. What were your plans for your name?”

“My name?” I asked, raising any eyebrow.

“Yes. At the christening ceremony.” She looked at me for a moment, then looked sternly at Finn. “Didn’t Finn tell you about it?”

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“Yes, but isn’t that name already decided?” I was definitely confused.

“I mean, Dahl is family name, isn’t it?”

“Not the surname,” Elora clarified, annoyed. “Dahl is your name. I meant your first name.”

“I don’t understand.” I furrowed my brow and tried to read her stony expression. “My name is Wendy.”

“That isn’t a name for a Princess,” Elora scoffed. “Everyone changes their names. Willa used to be called something different. What was it, dear?”

“Nikki,” Willa said. “I took the name Willa, after my mother.” Garrett smiled at that, and Elora tensed up slightly, but quickly tried to erase it. Her plan seemed to push all her tension in my direction.

“So what is it? What name would you like?” Elora pressed.

“I… I don’t know,” I stumbled.

Irrationally, my heart had started pounding my chest. I didn’t want to change my name, not at all. When Finn had told me that about the christening ceremony, I had assumed it would only be my last name, and while I wasn’t that thrilled about that, I didn’t care that much. Eventually, I would probably get married and change my name anyway, so I wasn’t terribly hung up on that. But Wendy, that was my name. I turned to Finn for help, but Elora noticed and snapped my attention back to her.

“If you need ideas, I have some.” Elora had a clipped tone to her voice, and she was cutting her food with an irritated fervor. “Ella, after my mother. I had a sister, Sybilla. Those name are both lovely. One of our longest running queens was Lovisa, and I’ve always thought highly of that name. If you don’t like any of those, you can go through the history books and see if you find anything.”

“It’s not that I don’t like any of those,” I explained carefully. Although, really, I thought Sybilla was quite terrible. “I like my name. I don’t know why I have to change it.”

“Wendy is a ridiculous name,” Elora waved off the idea. “It’s entirely improper for a Princess.”

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“Why?” I persisted, and Elora glared up at me.

I flat out refused to change my name, no matter what Elora said. It’s not that I thought Wendy was a particularly fabulous name, but Matt had given it to me. He was the only one that had ever wanted me, and I wasn’t going to get rid of the only thing that I had left of him.

“It is the name of a mänsklig,” Elora said through gritted teeth. “And I have had enough of this. You will find a name to suit a Princess, or I will choose one for you. Is that clear?”

“If I am a Princess, then why can’t I decide what is proper?” I forced my voice to stay even and clear, trying not to let it shake with anger and frustration. “Isn’t that part of the glory of being a Princess, of ruling a kingdom? Is that I have some say in the rules? And if I want my name to be Wendy, why is that so wrong?”

“No Princess has ever kept her human name, and no one ever will.”

Her dark eyes glared severely at me, but I matched it firmly. “My daughter, the Princess, will not carry the name of a mänks.”

There was a bitter edge

dripping from the word “mänks,” and I saw Rhys’ jaw tense. I knew what it was like to grow up with a mother that hated me, but I had never been required to sit quietly why she openly made derogatory remarks about me. My heart went out to him, and I had to struggle even harder to keep from shouting at Elora.

“I will not change my name,” I insisted. Everyone had taken to looking down at their plates while Elora and I stared down each other. This dinner had to be considered an epic failure.

“This is not the proper place to have this discussion,” Elora said icily.

She rubbed her temple, then sighed. “It’s no matter. There isn’t a discussion to be had. Your name will be changed, and clearly, I will be picking for you..”

“That’s not fair!” Tears welled up in my eyes, and I had started to whine. “I am the Princess and it’s what I want! You said I didn’t have to answer to anybody!”

“Anybody but me,” Elora clarified calmly.

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“With all due respect,” Finn interrupted our argument, startling everyone into looking at him. Elora pursed her lips tightly, but her eyes widened speculatively. His voice was emotionless and smooth, but the fact that he spoke up at all meant that he had to be upset. “If it is as the Princess wishes, then perhaps it’s as it should be. Her wishes are going to be the highest order of the land, and this is such a simple one that I can’t imagine anyone would find offense with it.”

“Perhaps,” Elora forced a thin smile at him, giving him a hard look, but he stared back at her, his eyes meeting hers unabashedly. “But my wishes are still the highest order, and until that has changed, my word will remain final.”

Her smile deepened, growing even more menacing. “With all due respect, tracker, perhaps you care too much for her wishes, and too little for her duties.”

His expression faltered momentarily, but he quickly met her eyes again. “Was it not your duty to inform her of the specifics of the christening and have her completely ready for tomorrow?”

“It was,” Finn replied without any trace of shame.

“It seems you may have failed at your duties, as well,” Elora surmised.

“I’m beginning to question how exactly you’ve been filling your time with the Princess. Has any of it been spent on training?”

Suddenly, Rhys knocked over a glass of wine. The glass shattered and liquid splattered everywhere. Everyone had been too busy staring at Elora and Finn, but I had seen him out of the corner of my eye. Rhys had done it on purpose, and as soon as the glass went over, the attention was refocused. He started apologizing and rushing about to clean it up, but Elora had stopped glaring at Finn, and he no longer had to defend himself. Rhys had come to his rescue, and I couldn’t be more relieved.

After the mess was cleaned up, Willa, who had never been that fond of Rhys, suddenly began chatting incessantly with him, and he eagerly reciprocated. It was clear they were talking just so that Elora and Finn couldn’t.

Elora still managed to squeeze in a few biting comments towards me, such as

“really, Princess, you must know how to use a fork.” But as soon as she had 213

finished her sentence, Willa would pipe up with a funny story about this girl she knew or this movie she saw or this place she went. It was endless, and in general, we were all grateful.

When dinner had finished, Elora claimed she had a migraine brewing and a million things to do for tomorrow. She apologized that dessert would not be served tonight, but she didn’t leave her seat at the head of the table when everybody started to excuse themselves. Garrett suggested that they should be heading out, and she nodded noncommittally.

“I will see you tomorrow evening,” Elora replied hollowly. She was staring off into space instead of looking at him, and he tried not to look troubled by this.

“Take care of yourself,” Garrett offered.

Finn, Rhys, and I rose to see Garrett, Willa, and Rhiannon to the door, but Elora’s voice stopped me cold. I think it stopped everyone else, too, but they did a better job of playing it off.

“Finn?” Elora said flatly, still staring off at nothing. “Would you escort me to my drawing room? I’d like to have a word with you.”

“Yes, of course,” Finn replied, giving her a small bow.

I froze and looked to him, but he refused to look at me. He just stood stoically, hands crossed behind his back, and waited for Elora to ask for further assistance. I might’ve stood there until Elora commanded me to go, but Willa looped her arm through mine and started to drag me away. I wanted to hate her for it, but I knew she was just saving me from another of Elora’s tirades.

“So, I’ll come over about ten tomorrow morning,” Willa said, purposely keeping her tone light and cheery. Rhys and Rhiannon were just ahead of us, whispering quietly amongst themselves. Garrett stole one last glance at Elora and walked on to the front door.

“What for?” I asked, feeling somewhat dazed.

“To help you get ready. There is so much to do!” Willa emphasized, then shot a look in the direction of the dining room. “And your mother doesn’t seem to be the helpful type.”

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“Willa, don’t talk bad about the Queen,” Garrett remarked without conviction.

“Well, anyway, I’ll be over to help you with everything. You’ll be fabulous.” She gave me a reassuring smile and squeezed my arm.

“Thanks.” I wanted to smile at her, but I couldn’t make it work.

I was genuinely relieved to have her helping me, but there was a sick feeling growing inside of me. Whatever Elora was saying to Finn, it couldn’t be good. Garrett flashed me an unconvincing smile himself, then they disappeared out the door, leaving Rhys and I standing in the entryway.

“You okay?” Rhys asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied.

I felt oddly shaky and ill, and I was pretty sure that I didn’t want to be a Princess anymore. There weren’t many more dinners like this I could handle. I took a step away, preparing to tell Elora just that, but I felt Rhys’s hand warm on my arm, stopping me.

“If you go in there, you’ll just make it worse,” Rhys insisted gently.

“Come on.”

He put his hand on the small of my back and started ushering me up the stairs. I couldn’t help but peer over the railing, hoping to catch a glimpse of something. I’m not sure what that would help, but I thought if I could just see what was happening, I could somehow make it okay.

“That was a rough dinner,” Rhys said with a joyless laugh.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Don’t be sorry. It wasn’t your fault,” Rhys assured me with his lopsided grin. “You just made this house a whole lot more interesting.”

We reached the top of the stairs, and I expected him to try and push me down to my room, but he didn’t. He knew that I had to wait for Finn and find out what happened. Rhys leaned his shoulder against the wall, facing me.

Taking a deep breath, I leaned back against the wall next to him.

Elora had purposely made that spectacle public. Otherwise she would’ve said it privately, inside Finn’s head. For some reason, she had wanted 215

me to witness that. I didn’t understand why or what she had in store for Finn. I wasn’t even sure what exactly he had done wrong, except disagree with her. But he had been respectful and hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true.

“What do you think she’s saying?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Rhys said thoughtfully. “She’s never really yelled at me.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I stared at him skeptically. Rhys behaved like a kid that had gotten in trouble a lot in his life, and Elora was about as strict as they came.

“No, seriously,” Rhys laughed at my shock. “She’s snapped at me to knock stuff off when she’s around me, but do you know how often she’s even around? I was raised by nannies. Elora made it perfectly clear from day one that she wasn’t mother, and she never wanted to be.”

“Did she ever want to be a mother at all?” What little I knew of her seemed to be lacking even the slightest bit of maternal instinct.

“Honestly?” Rhys debated whether or not to tell me, before sadly replying, “No. I don’t think she did. But she had a lineage to carry on. A duty.”

“I’m just part of her job,” I muttered bitterly. “For once, I just wish that somebody actually wanted me around.”

“Oh, come on, Wendy,” Rhys admonished me softly and leaned in closer to me. “Lots of people want you around.” His head rested on the wall right next to mine, and I could feel his blue eyes searching for something. I swallowed hard and looked down at the floor. “You can’t take it personally that Elora’s a bitch.”

“It’s a little hard not to.” I fidgeted with my dress, and Rhys away. He was staring at the wall across from us instead of me, and I felt an odd combination of relief and disappointment. “She’s my mother.”

“Elora is a strong, complicated woman that you and I can’t even begin to understand,” Rhys explained tiredly. “She is a Queen above all else, and that makes her cold and distant and cruel.”

“What was it like growing up with that?” I glanced over at him.

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“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Probably like growing up in a boarding school with a strict headmistress. She was always lurking in the background, and I knew that she had the final say on everything. But her interaction with me was an absolute minimum.” He looked at me again, this time uncertainly.

“What?”

“She’s not quite as secretive as she thinks, though. This is a big house, but I was a sneaky little kid,” Rhys said, looking away from me. He bit his lip and fiddled with a button on his blazer. “You know she used to sleep with Finn’s dad?”

“I did,” I said quietly.

“I thought he would tell you.” Rhys fell silent for a minute, chewing his lip. “Elora was in love with him. She’s strange when she’s in love. Her face is different, softer and more radiant.” Rhys shook his head, lost in a memory. “It’s almost worse seeing her like that, knowing that she’s capable of kindness and generosity. It makes you feel gypped that all you ever get is icy glares from across the room.”

“I’m sorry.” I put my hand gently on his arm. I couldn’t imagine how horrible it had been for him to grow up like that. He forced a smile at me, then shook his head, clearing it of the memory.

“Anyway. He left Elora, for his wife, which is just as well.” Rhys looked thoughtful for a moment. “Although, I bet she would’ve thrown it all away to be with him, if he had really loved her. But that’s not the point.”

“What is the point?” I asked shakily.

“Rumor has it she keeps Finn around because of the torch she was still carrying for his old man. I don’t know if that’s true or not. She never confided anything in me, and nothing’s ever happened between them.” Rhys let out a heavy sigh. “At least… Finn never looked at her the way he looks at you.” He let it hang in the air for a second as I tried to figure out what he meant by that.

“So you’ve got that strike against you too. She never wanted to be a mother, and you’re getting the one thing she never had.”

“What are you talking about?” I demanded nervously.

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“Wendy.” Rhys looked at me with a sad smile. “I know that I wear my heart on my sleeve, but you’re just as bad.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stuttered and looked away from him.

“Alright,” Rhys laughed hollowly. “Whatever you say.”

My knees seemed to have weakened, and I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the floor. Rhys followed suit, making some joke that I didn’t really catch. My mind was racing and my heart was pounding. Rhys must be imagining things. And even if he wasn’t, surely Elora wouldn’t punish him for that. Would she?

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19

Finn reached the landing of the top of the steps, and I scrambled to my feet. He had probably only been with Elora for fifteen minutes or so, but in my mind, it felt like hours that stretched on forever. Rhys was sitting next to me, but he got up much slower than I had. Finn looked over us with some disdain, then turned and started walking to his room without a word towards me.

“Finn!” I jogged after him, but Rhys rather smartly decided not to follow. “Wait! Finn! What happened?”

“A conversation,” Finn replied glibly. I scurried to keep up with him, but he made no effort to slow down. He glanced back over his shoulder, looking for Rhys, but refused to look at me. “I thought I told you to stay away from the mänsklig.”

“Rhys was just sitting with me while I waited for you,” I said. “Get over it.”

“It’s very dangerous for you to be around him.” Finn had reached his bedroom, and he paused at the door, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

“It’s dangerous for you to be around me.”

“What’s that supposed to be mean?” I demanded.

Finn went to his room without answering, but I pushed in right behind him. He tried to shut the door, but I knew he wouldn’t risk injuring me, so he put up very little fight when I barged into his room. Once I was in there, he took a step back from me and rubbed his forehead.

“You shouldn’t be here. These are my private quarters,” Finn said flatly.

“Just tell me what’s going on, and I will.” I crossed my arms firmly on my chest, staring up at him. I didn’t appreciate the way he wouldn’t look at me anymore. He was always looking everywhere but at me, and I missed his dark eyes.

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“I have been relieved of my duties,” Finn answered carefully. “Elora no longer perceives a threat, and I have been insubordinate. I am to pack my things, and leave the premises as soon as possible.”

The air had completely gone out of the room. It had been my worst fear. Finn was going to leave, and it was all my fault. He had been defending me when I should’ve been defending myself. Or I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.

“What?” I gaped at him when I could finally speak. “That’s not right.

You can’t… You’ve been here for so long, and Elora trusts you. She can’t…

It’s my fault! I’m the one that refused to listen!”

“No, it’s not you fault,” Finn insisted firmly. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Well, you can’t just leave! I have the ball tomorrow, and I don’t know anything!” I continued desperately. “I’m not a Princess at all! You have so much left to help me with!”

“I wouldn’t be helping you after the ball anyway,” Finn shook his head.

“A tutor will be coming in to help you learn everything you need to know from here on out. You’re ready for the ball, no matter what Elora says. You’ll do wonderfully tomorrow.”

“But you won’t be here?” I looked at him, unbelieving, and he turned away from me.

“You don’t need me,” Finn said quietly and started gathering up his things.

“This is my fault!” I repeated. “I’m gonna talk to Elora. I’ll clear this all up. You can’t leave, and she has to see that.”

“Wendy, no, you can’t-” Finn tried to stop me, but I had already started out the door.

There was this unbearable panic settling over me. Finn had forced me to leave the only people who had ever made me feel okay about myself, and I had done it because I trusted him. But now he was going to leave me, alone with Elora and a monarchy I didn’t want. Rhys would still be here, but I knew 220

that it was only a matter of time before she sent him off as well. I was going to be more alone and isolated than I ever had been before, and I couldn’t handle it.

Even as I was running down the stairs to Elora’s room, I knew it was more than that. I knew that I just couldn’t stand to lose Finn, and it didn’t matter how Elora or anyone else treated me. A life without him just didn’t seem possible anymore. I hadn’t even fully realized how important he had become to me until Elora was threatening to take him away.

“Elora!” I threw open the drawing room door without knocking, and I knew it would piss her off, but I didn’t care. Maybe if I was insubordinate enough, she would send me away too.

Elora stood in front of the windows, staring out at the black night, and she wasn’t startled at all by the banging of the door as I threw it open. Without turning to look at me, she calmly said, “That’s completely unnecessary, and it goes without saying that that is not at all how a Princess behaves.”

“You’re always going on about how a Princess should behave, but what about how a Queen should act?” I countered icily. “Are such an insecure ruler that you can’t handle the slightest bit of dissention? If we don’t bow instantly to you opinion, you ship us off?”

“I assume this is about Finn,” Elora sighed.

“You had no right to fire him!” I shouted. “He did nothing wrong!”

“It doesn’t matter if he did anything wrong, I can ‘fire’ anyone for any reason. I am the Queen.” Slowly, she turned to me, her face stunningly emotionless. “It is not the act of disagreeing that I had a problem with; it was why.”

“This is about my stupid name?” I spouted incredulously.

“There is much you still have to learn. Please, sit.” Elora gestured to one of the couches, and she laid back on the chaise lounge. “There’s no need to get huffy with me, Princess. We need to talk.”

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“I don’t want to change my name,” I said, but I sat down on the couch across from her. “I don’t know why it’s such a big deal to you, but I think I should just be able to keep Wendy. Names can’t be that important.”

“It’s not about the name,” Elora waved it away. Her hair flowed out like silk around her, and she ran her fingers through it absently. “I know that you think I’m cruel and heartless, but I’m not. You won’t believe me when I tell you this, but I cared very deeply for Finn, more than a Queen should care for a servant, and I am sorry that I have been so negligent in the examples that I have set for you. It pains me to see Finn go, but I can assure you that I did it for you.”

“You did not!” I yelled. “You did it because you were jealous!”

“My emotions played no part in this decision. Not even the way I feel about you factored into this.” Her lips were tight, and she stared emptily at me.

“I did what I had to do because it was best for the kingdom.”

“How is getting rid of him best for anybody?” I asked.

“You refuse to understand that you are a Princess!” Elora sounded mildly irritated but quickly pushed it away. “It doesn’t matter if you understand the gravity of the situation. Everyone else does, including Finn, which is why he is leaving. He knows this is best for you, too.”

“I don’t understand.” I furrowed my brow with confusion and frustration. It would be so much easier if she would just spit things out.

“Trylle, true Trylle, have certain abilities. I know you think this is all about money, but it’s about something more powerful than that. Our bloodline is rich with tremendous abilities, far exceeding the general Trylle population,”

Elora explained. “Unfortunately, Trylle have become less interested in our way of life, and the abilities have begun to weaken. It is essential to our people that the bloodline is kept pure, that the abilities are allowed to flourish.

“I know you think that the titles and positions are arbitrary,” Elora continued. “But we are in power because we have the most power. For centuries, our abilities outshined every other family, but the Kroners are rapidly 222

overreaching us. You are the last chance for hanging onto the throne, and for restoring power to our people.”

“What does this have to do with Finn?” I demanded, growing tired of political talk.

“Everything,” Elora answered with a thin smile. “In order to keep the bloodlines as clean and powerful as possible, certain rules were put in effect.

Not just for royalty, but for everyone. When a Trylle becomes involved with a mänsklig, they are asked to leave the community. It’s not meant just as a repercussion for behaving outside of societal norms, but also so their half-breed spawn won’t weaken our abilities.” Something about the way she said “spawn”

sent a chill down my spine.

“There’s nothing going on between Rhys and I,” I interjected, but Elora nodded skeptically.

“While trackers are Trylle, they don’t possess abilities in the conventional sense,” Elora went on, and I was starting to realize what she was getting at. “Trackers are meant to be with trackers. If Trylle is involved with them, they are looked down upon, but it is allowed. Unless you are royalty. A tracker can never, ever have the crown. Any Marksinna or Princess caught with a tracker will immediately be stripped of her title. If the offense is bad enough, such as a Princess destroying an essential bloodline, then they would both be banished.”

I swallowed hard. If anything happened between Finn and I, I wouldn’t be able to be a Princess, and I wouldn’t even be able to live in Förening anymore. That was shocking at first, until I realized that I didn’t even want to be a Princess or live here. What did I care?

“So?” I said, and Elora looked momentarily surprised.

“I know that right now all of this means nothing to you.” Elora gestured widely to the room around us. “I know you hate this, actually, and I understand. But this is your destiny, and even if you don’t see it, Finn does. He knows how important you are, and he would never let you ruin your future.

That is why he offered up his resignation.”

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“He

quit?” I didn’t believe her.

Finn wouldn’t quit. He wouldn’t leave me here, not when he knew how much I needed him. And he had to know. That’s why he stood up for me with Elora. He knew that I would be lost without him, and he couldn’t do that to me. It would go against everything he believed in. It was his duty to take care of me.

“I blame myself because the signs were so obvious,” Elora sighed.

“And I blame Finn, because he knows better than to get involved, better than anyone. But I commend him for realizing what the right thing was for you. He is leaving to protect you.”

“I don’t need him to protect me!” I got to my feet. “And there is nothing that I need protecting from! He has no reason to leave! Nothing’s going on! I’m not involved with anyone.”

“I would find that much more believable if you hadn’t raced down here with tears in your eyes to plead for his job,” Elora replied coolly. “Or if he had even offered up the smallest protest when I questioned him about his feelings for you. If he had promised me he could keep things purely business from here on out, I would’ve kept him.” She looked down at the chaise, playing with a loose thread in the fabric. “But he couldn’t even do that. He didn’t even try.”

I wanted to argue with her, but I was starting to realize exactly what she was saying. Finn cared about me, and he admitted it to Elora, knowing how she would react. He cared about me so much, he had been unable to continue his job. He couldn’t keep things separate anymore, and he was upstairs packing to leave right now.

I would’ve liked to yell at Elora more, blame her for everything horrible in my life and tell her that I was giving up the crown, but I didn’t have time to waste. I had to catch him before he left, because I had no idea where he would go. And he was far more important to me than anything here, especially now that I knew that he actually cared.

By the time I made it to his room, my breath was coming out raggedly.

My hands were trembling, and that familiar butterfly feeling Finn gave me 224

spread out warmly through me. I was in love with him, and I wasn’t going to give him up. Not for anything in this world or the next. He consumed every inch of my being without even trying, and I couldn’t imagine existing without him.

When I opened his bedroom door, he was standing over his bed, folding clothes and putting them in a suitcase. He looked back at me, surprised by my appearance, and he let his dark eyes rest on me again. His cheeks were covered in dark stubble, and there was something so ruggedly handsome about him, he was almost unbearable to look at. The top few buttons of his dress shirt were undone, revealing a hint of chest that I found strangely provocative.

“Are you alright?” Finn stopped what he was doing and took a step to me.

“Yeah,” I nodded, swallowing hard. “I’m going with you.”

“Wendy…” His expression softened and he shook his head. “You can’t go with me. You need to be here.”

“No, I don’t care about here!” I insisted. “I hate Elora! I hate this palace! I don’t want to be a stupid Princess! And I don’t care who is! There’s somebody else that can take my place! They don’t need me!”

“They do need you. You have no idea how badly they need you.” Finn turned away from me. “Without you, it will completely fall apart.”

“That doesn’t make any sense! I’m just one stupid girl who can’t even figure out which fork to eat with! I have no abilities! I’m awkward and silly and inappropriate! That Kroner kid is much better suited for this!” I continued. “I don’t need to be here, and I’m not going to stay if you’re not here!”

“There is much you have yet to learn,” Finn said tiredly, almost to himself. He had started folding his clothes again, so I walked over to him and grabbed his arm.

“I want to be with you, and… I think you want to be with me.” I felt sick to my stomach saying it aloud. I expected him to laugh at me or tell me that I was insane, but instead, he slowly looked over at me.

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In a rare moment of vulnerability, his dark eyes betrayed everything they had been trying to hide from me. They were fil ed with affection and warmth, and something even deeper than that. His arm felt warm and strong under my hand, and my heart pounded in my chest. Gently, he placed his hand on my check, letting his fingers press warmly on my skin, and I stared hopefully at him

“I am not worth it, Wendy,” Finn whispered hoarsely. “You are going to be so much more than this, and I cannot hold you back. I refuse to.”

“But Finn, I-” I wanted to tell him that I loved him, but he pulled his hand away.

“You have to go.” He turned his back to me completely, busying himself with anything so he wouldn’t have to look at me.

“Why?” I demanded, tears stinging at my eyes.

“Because.” Finn picked up some of his books off a shelf, and I followed right behind him, unwilling to relent in my pursuit of him.

“That’s not even a reason,” I said.

“I’ve already explained it to you,” Finn hissed.

“No, you haven’t! You’ve just made vague comments about the future!” I insisted.

“I don’t want you!” Finn snapped.

I felt like I had been slapped. For a moment, I stood in a stunned silence, just listening to the sound of my heartbeat echo in my ears, but then I charged on. Maybe he didn’t want me, but part of me still believed he did, and I wouldn’t stop until I was sure it was true.

“You’re lying!” I shouted, feeling a tear slip down my cheek. “You promised you would never lie to me!”

“Wendy! I need you to leave!” Finn growled.

He was breathing heavily, and his back was still to me, but he had stopped moving around. He leaned against his bookshelf, his shoulders hunched forward. This was my last chance to convince him, and I knew it. I touched his back, and he tried to pull away from me, but I wouldn’t move my 226

hand. He whirled on me, grabbing my wrist. He pushed me until my back was against the wall, pinning me there. His body was pressed tightly against mine, the strong counters of his muscles against the soft curves of mine, and I could feel his heart hammering against my chest. His hand was still around my wrist, restraining one of my hands against the wall. I’m not sure what he intended to do, but he looked down at me, his dark eyes smoldering. Then suddenly, I felt his lips pressed roughly against mine.

He kissed me desperately, like a drowning man and I was his oxygen. I felt his stubble scraping against my cheeks, my lips, my neck, everywhere he dared press his mouth against me. He let go of my wrist, allowing me to wrap my arms around him and pull him even closer to me. Seconds ago, I had been crying, and I could taste the salt from my tears on his lips. Tangling my fingers in his hair, I pushed his mouth more eagerly against mine, kissing him until I couldn’t breathe. My heart beat so fast, it hurt, and an intense heat spread through me. I had never wanted anything more than I wanted him.

“No…” Finn said hoarsely, and somehow he managed to pull his mouth from mine. His hands gripped my shoulders, holding me to the wall and he took a step back. Breathing hard, he looked at the ground instead of at me, and his dark lashed laid on his cheeks. “This is why I have to go, Wendy. I can’t do this to you.”

“To me? You’re not doing anything to me!” I persisted and tried to reach out for him, but he held me back. “Just let me go with you.”

“Wendy…” He put his hand back on my cheek, using his thumb to brush away a fresh tear, and looked at me intently. “You trust me, don’t you?” I nodded hesitantly. “Then you have to trust me on this. You need to stay here, and I need to go. Okay?”

“Finn!”

I

protested.

“I’m sorry.” Finn let go of me and grabbed his half-packed suitcase off his bed. “I stayed too long.” He started walking to the door, and I ran after him.

“Wendy! Enough!”

“But you can’t just leave…” I pleaded.

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He hesitated at the doorway but shook his head. Finn opened the door and left.

I could’ve followed him, but I didn’t have anymore arguments. His kiss had left me feeling dazed and disarmed, and I wondered dimly if that had been his plan all along. He knew his kiss would leave me too weak to chase after him and too confused to argue with him. After he had gone, I just sat down on the bed that still smelled like him, and I started to sob.

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20

I’m not sure I had slept at all when Willa burst in my room the next morning to wake me for the party. My eyes were red and swollen, but she made very little comment about it. She just started in on getting me ready and talking excitedly about how much fun it was all going to be. I didn’t really believe her, but she didn’t notice. Almost everything I did required verbal and physical prompts.

She even had to remind me rinse the shampoo from my hair, and I was just lucky that modesty had never been her strong suit.

It was impossible to combine fresh heartbreak with the fervor of a ball.

Willa kept trying to get me excited or at least nervous about anything, but it was completely futile. The only way I managed to function was by being completely numb. I didn’t even understand how this had happened. When I had first met Finn, he had seemed creepy, and then he was just irritating. Repeatedly, I had rejected him and told him that I didn’t need him or want to be around him. I had even run away from Förening before thinking I would never see him again.

How had it turned into this? I had lived my whole stupid life without him, and now I could barely make it through the hour.

“Wendy,” Willa sighed. I was sitting on a stool, wrapped in my robe, while she did something to my hair. She had offered to do it in front of a mirror so I could see her progress, but I didn’t care. Holding a bottle of spray in her hand, she stopped what she was doing and just looked at me. “I know Finn’s gone, and you’re obviously taking it pretty hard. But he’s just a stork, and you are a Princess.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I mumbled.

I had thought about defending him, but in all honesty, I was kind of pissed that he had left without me. There was no way that I could’ve left him after that kiss. As it was, it had been torture to stay behind. I just lowered my eyes and tried to close the subject.

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“Fine. I don’t.” Willa rolled her eyes and went back to spraying my hair. “But you’re still a Princess, and this is your night.” I didn’t say anything as she yanked and teased my hair. “You’re still young. You don’t understand how many fish there really are in the sea, especially your sea. The most eligible, attractive men are gonna be all over you, and you’re not even gonna remember that stupid stork that brought you here.”

“I don’t like fishing,” I muttered dryly, but she ignored me.

“You know who is a catch? Tove Kroner.” Willa made a pleased sound, and I groaned inwardly. “I wish my dad would set me up with him.” She sighed wistfully and pulled painfully on a strand of my hair. “He’s really foxy, really rich, and he’s like the highest Markis in the world, which is so weird. The Marksinna are usually the ones with all the abilities. Of course guys have some things, but they almost always pale in comparison to what women have, but Tove has more than anybody else. He tries not to show off, but I’ve seen some of the stuff he can do, and it’s amazing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he could read minds.”

“I thought nobody could do that,” I commented, amazed that I was even following her.

“No. Only very, very few can. So few it’s almost the stuff of legends anymore.” She gently fluffed at my hair. “But Tove is the stuff of legends, so that makes sense. And if you play your cards right, you’ll be pretty damn legendary yourself.” She whipped me around so she was facing me again and smiled at her handiwork. “Now we just need to get you in your gown.”

Somehow, while getting me ready, Willa had managed to ready herself.

She had on a floor length light blue gown that swept around her, and she looked so beautiful, I had no hope of topping that. After she had finally gotten me into my own dress, she forced me in front of the mirror, insisting that I looked too amazing to ignore.

“Oh wow.” Saying that to my reflection, I felt egotistical, but I couldn’t help it. I had never looked better in my life, and I doubted that I would ever look this good again.

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The dress was a shimmery silver and white that flowed out around me.

It was strapless in an elegant way, and the diamond necklace Willa had chosen set it off. My dark curls fell perfectly behind me, and Willa had added subtle touches of diamond clips in my hair. For the first time in my entire life, I actually looked like a Princess.

“You’re gonna rock it tonight, Princess,” Willa promised with a sly smile.

That was the last calm moment of the night. As soon as we stepped out of my bedroom, we were swept off by aides and staff that I didn’t even know Elora had. They were giving me a rundown of the times that everything was set to happen and where I had to be and who I had to meet and what I had to do.

It was already more than I could comprehend, and at least momentarily, I was pushed out of the dull heartache that I got from thinking of Finn. I looked helplessly for Willa, and later on, I knew I would have to try and make this up to her. Without her, it would’ve been completely impossible for me to make it through.

First, there was some kind of meet and greet in the ball room. Elora stood on one side, and thankfully, Willa was allowed to stay on my other side, explaining herself as some kind of personal assistant to me. The three of us stood at one end of the ballroom, flanked by security that had the same stoic posture as Finn, and a long line of people waited to meet me. Most of them were famous and Willa filled in the names and titles as they approached, but Elora explained that anybody could come meet me today, so the line was absolutely endless. My face hurt from smiling, and there were only so many different ways I could say “pleased to meet you” and “thank you.”

After that, we went to the dining hall, and that was a more exclusive function. The table only seated a hundred (that’s right – only a hundred), but Willa was five places down from me, making me feel strangely lost. Whenever I felt insecure, I felt my eyes instinctively searching for Finn, only to remember that he wasn’t there. I tried to concentrate on eating my food properly, which 231

wasn’t that easy considering how nauseous I felt and how badly my jaw hurt from the forced smiles.

My mother was sitting to my right at the head of the table, and Tove was sitting next to me on my left. Throughout the dinner, he’d said hardly a thing to me, and Elora had gone about making polite conversation with the current Chancellor, an obese balding man named Antonsson. Personally, the way he looked at me creeped me out, and I found it impossible to smile at him out of fear I might vomit.

“Drink more wine,” Tove suggested quietly. Holding a wine glass in his hand, he leaned in a bit towards me to be heard over the echo of everyone talking. His mossy eyes rested on my briefly before averting and staring at an empty space across from us. “It relaxes the muscles.”

“I beg your pardon?” I crinkled my forehead, not understanding what he was saying.

“From smiling.” He gestured to his own mouth and forced a smile before quickly dropping it. “It’s starting to hurt, right?”

“Yeah.” I smiled lightly at him, feeling a growing soreness in the corners of my mouth.

“The wine helps. Trust me.” Tove took a long drink from his wine, much larger than was polite, and I saw Elora eying him up as she chatted with Antonsson.

“Thanks.” I took his suggestion, but I drank much more slowly than he did, afraid of inciting the wrath of Elora. I didn’t think she’d do anything publicly, but then again, I didn’t really think she’d let me get away with anything either.

As the dinner wore on, Tove apparently started getting restless. He leaned back in his seat, leaving his hand lying on the table. His wine glass would suddenly slowly slide over to his hand, then it would slowly slide away, without him ever having to touch it. It was a similar trick that I had seen him pull before, but I couldn’t help but stare.

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“You have persuasion, right?” Tove asked, glancing at me. I’m not sure if he caught me watching his trick or not, but I looked down at my plate either way.

“Mmm, yes,” I nodded.

“Is it pretty powerful? I heard it was.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, and I could imagine that Elora was livid.

“I don’t think so. Not now anyway,” I stabbed absently at some kind of vegetable I had no intention of eating. “Since I’ve lived here, I haven’t used it at all.”

“Yeah, they do that on purpose,” Tove muttered disdainfully. He leaned in closer to me, lowering his voice, and he looked intently at me. “I can’t explain it but… I know what you can do.” He chewed his lip. “And your persuasion is going to be immensely powerful.”

“Maybe,” I allowed. His gaze was unnerving, and I didn’t want to disagree with him.

“Here’s a tip: use it tonight,” Tove was barely audible over the chatter.

“You’re trying to please so many people and it’s exhausting. You can’t be everything to everyone, so I try not to be anything to anyone. My mother hates me for it but…” He shrugged. “Just use it a little bit, and you’ll charm everyone.

Without really trying.”

“I have to try to use persuasion,” I whispered. I could feel Elora listening to us, and I didn’t think she’d approve of what we were saying. “It would be just as exhausting.”

“Hmm,” Tove mused, then leaned back in his seat.

“Tove, the Chancellor was just telling me that you had discussed working for him this spring,” Elora interjected brightly. I barely glanced up at her, but in that second, she managed to glare icily at me before instantly returning to her overly cheery expression.

“My mother was discussing it,” Tove corrected her. “I’ve never said a word to the Chancellor, and I have no interest in the position.” I was 233

increasingly becoming a fan of Tove, even if he weirded me out and I didn’t understand what he meant most of the time.

“I see.” Elora raised an eyebrow, and the Chancellor started saying something about the wine they were drinking.

Tove managed to look bored and irritated the rest of the dinner, chewing his nails and looking at everything except for me. His dark hair had soft, natural highlights coursing through it, and it was longer and more unruly than most of the men’s. His skin was darker, too, tanned with a mossy undertone, the green complexion that Finn had told me about. Nobody here had skin like that at all, except maybe his mother, but hers was even fainter than Tove’s already subtle coloring. He was definitely handsome, but I couldn’t see why Willa would describe him as such a catch. There was something very strange and unstable about him. He belonged in this world even less than I did, but I imagined that there really wasn’t any place that he fit in.

Moving on to the ballroom after dinner was by far the worst experience of the evening. Meeting people had been rough, but this was forced one-on-one interaction that went for several minutes. That doesn’t sound that bad, but when I was trapped in a waltz with a sixty-year-old man who talked only of some great war two centuries ago while staring at me with glazed eyes, yeah, that got old very fast.

The ballroom looked positively magical when it was all done up, and I couldn’t help but think of the brief dance I shared with Finn a few days before.

That, of course, reminded me of the passionate kiss we had shared last night, making me feel weak and sick. I couldn’t even force a smile when I thought of Finn. The fact that I didn’t sob uncontrollably on the dance floor was a miracle.

Garrett managed to steal a dance with me, and that was a relief. He complimented me, but not in a creepy perv way everyone else seemed to be going for. I had been dancing nonstop for an hour because everyone kept cutting in. Every now and then, I would catch Elora spinning around on the floor, or Willa would sneak me a smile as she twirled around with some foxy 234

young guy. It was unfair that she got pick who she danced with, but I was stuck with every stranger that asked.

“You’re probably the most ravishing Princess we’ve ever had,”

Chancellor Antonsson told me after he cut in a dance. His pudgy cheeks were red from exertion, and I wanted to suggest that he sit down and take a break, but I thought Elora would disapprove. He was holding me far closer than was necessary, but his hand was like a massive ham on my back, pressing me to him.

I couldn’t pull away without making a scene, so I just tried to force a smile.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” I demurred. He was sweating so badly, it had to be bleeding onto my dress. The beautiful white fabric would be covered in yellow stains after tonight.

“No, you really are.” His eyes were wide with some kind of weird pleasure, and I wished someone would hurry up and cut in. We had just started dancing, but I couldn’t take much more of this. “In fact, I’ve never seen anyone more ravishing than you.”

“Now that, I’m certain, cannot be true.” I glanced around, hoping to spot Willa somewhere so I could try and pawn him off on her.

“I know that you’ll be expected to start courting soon, and I’d just like you to know that I have a lot of things going for me,” the Chancellor went on.

“I’m very wealthy, very secure, and my bloodline is immaculate. Your mother would approve of this arrangement.”

“I haven’t made any arrangements yet…” I trailed off.

I craned my neck around, knowing that if Elora saw me, she would accuse me of being rude. But I didn’t know how else to react. This blubbery sweaty man was grabbing my ass during what appeared to be some kind of marriage proposal. I had to get out of there.

“I’ve been told I’m an excellent lover, as well,” the Chancellor lowered his voice. “I’m sure that you don’t have any experience but I could definitely teach you.” He actually had a hungry look, and his eyes had dropped lower than my face. It was taking all my restraint not to push him off of me, and in my head I was screaming to get away from him.

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“May I cut in?” Tove suddenly appeared at my side, out of nowhere.

The Chancellor looked disappointed at the sight of him, but before he could say anything, Tove had put his hand on his shoulder and taken my hand, pulling me away from him

“Thank you,” I breathed gratefully as we waltzed away from a very confused looking Chancellor.

“I heard you calling for help,” Tove smiled at me. “You seem to be using your persuasion more than you think.” In my mind, I had been begging for a way out of that, but I hadn’t uttered an actual word.

“You heard me?” I gasped, feeling pale. “How many other people heard me?”

“Probably just me. Don’t worry. Hardly anybody can sense anything anymore,” Tove explained. “The Chancellor probably would’ve noticed if he hadn’t been too busy staring at your chest, or if you were more skilled at it.

You’ll get the hang of it.”

“I don’t really care if I get the hang of it. I just wanted to get rid of him,” I muttered. “I’m sorry if I’m wet. I’m probably covered in his sweat.”

“No, you’re fine,” Tove assured me.

We were dancing the appropriate width apart, so he probably couldn’t feel my dress to tell if it was soaked or not, but there was something relaxing about dancing with him. My feet killed from being on them for over an hour straight, but for once, I didn’t have to say anything or worry about getting felt up or stared at. He barely looked at me and said nothing else at all.

Elora finally interrupted the festivities. The christening ceremony would be happening in twenty minutes, and she noted that I needed a break from all the dancing. The dance floor emptied and everyone took seats at the tables on the sides, or milled around the refreshments table. I knew that I should sit down while I had the chance, but I was desperate to have a moment to breathe, so I went to a corner hidden behind extra chairs and tables and leaned against the wall.

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“Who are you hiding from?” Rhys teased, finding me in the corner.

Dressed in a flashy tux, he looked amazing as he sauntered over to me, grinning.

“Everyone,” I smiled at him. “You look really good.”

“Funny, I was just gonna tell you same thing.” Rhys stood next me, putting his hands in his pockets, and smiling even wider at me. “Although,

‘good’ doesn’t even begin to you justice. You look… otherworldly. Like nothing else here can even compare to you.”

“It’s the dress.” I looked down, hoping to keep my cheeks from blushing. “That Frederique is amazing.”

“The dress is nice, but trust me, you make the dress,” Rhys insisted. I felt his blue eyes searching over me again, and gently, he reached over and fixed a strand of my hair back that fallen out of place. He let his hand linger there a minute, looking me in the eyes, then he just grinned and dropped his hand. “So, having fun yet?”

“A blast,” I smirked. “What about you?”

“I can’t dance with the Princess, so I’m a little bitter,” he said with a sad smile.

“Why can’t you dance with me?” I asked. I would’ve loved to dance with him. In all honesty, a dance with Rhys would’ve been the highlight of my night.

“Mänks,” he pointed his thumbs at himself. “I’m lucky I’m even allowed in.”

“Oh.” I looked down at the floor, thinking about what he’d just said.

“Not to sound rude or anything, because I’m glad you’re here but… why are you here? Why aren’t you banned or something equally ridiculous?”

“Didn’t you know?” Rhys asked with a cocky grin. “I am the highest mänks in the land.”

“And why is that?” I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me or not, so I tilted my head, watching him as his expression got more serious.

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“Because I’m yours,” he replied softly. He was invited because he was my mänsklig, my opposite, but when he answered, that’s not what he meant at all. Something in his eyes made me blush for real this time, and I smiled sadly at him.

One of Elora’s aides burst into the corner, ruining what was left of the moment, and demanding that I take my seat at the head table with the Queen.

The christening ceremony was about to start, and a knot formed in my stomach. I hadn’t heard what my name was to be, and I was depressed about the idea of changing it. Besides, the break had been far too short.

“Duty calls,” I smiled apologetically at Rhys and started to walk past him.

“Hey.” Rhys grabbed my hand to stop me, and I turned to look at him.

“You’re gonna be great. Everyone’s raving about you.”

“Thanks.” I squeezed his hand gratefully.

A cracking echoed through the room, followed by a tinkling that I didn’t understand. The sound was coming from everywhere so it was hard to place right away. But then it looked like the ceiling was raining glitter, and the skylights were crashing to the ground. Rhys realized what was happening before I did, and still holding my hand, he yanked me behind him to protect me. We were in the corner, so we were out of the way of the most of the glass, but from the painful screams, I gathered that everyone else wasn’t so lucky.

Belatedly, I saw the reason for broken skylights. People were falling through the glass, landing on the floor with surprising grace. Before I recognized them, I remembered the uniform. Long black trench coats and black apparel. The word seemed to well through the room without anybody saying anything: Vittra. There were about fifteen of them, and the guards were circling them. Blood and broken glass layered the floor. In the very center, I saw Jen, the tracker that had been so fond of hitting me before, and his eyes were scanning the crowd, so I hid behind Rhys as much as I could.

“You are not invited. Please leave.” Elora’s voice boomed above everything else.

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“You know what we want, and we’re not leaving until we get it,” the tracker, Kyra, replied, stepping out from the crowd and walking towards Elora.

She was walking on glass in bare feet but didn’t seem to notice. “She’s got to be here. Where are you hiding her?”

Staring over Rhys’s shoulder, Jen suddenly turned towards me, and his black eyes met mine. He grinned wickedly. Rhys instantly realized we were in trouble and tried to push me towards the door, but we never stood a chance.

Jen bolted towards us, and everyone burst into life. The Vittra scrambled, going after the guards and other Trylle to throw them off. I saw Tove bound over the table he was sitting at, using his powers to send Vittra flying without even touching them. Elora was glaring at Kyra, who suddenly collapsed on the ground, writhing with pain.

That was all I saw because then Jen was in front of us, blocking out the chaos that was going on around him. I heard people screaming and felt a strong wind running through the room, attributing it to Willa’s attempts at helping.

Rhys stood his ground, trying to defend me, but Jen sent him flying across the floor with one hefty punch.

“Oh, silly Princess,” Jen smiled menacingly at me. “You should’ve known you couldn’t get away from me.”

“Leave her alone!” Rhys had already jumped back to his feet, blood streaming down his face from a cut above his eye. He made it a step towards us when Jen punched him again, but much harder this time

“Rhys!” I wailed, reaching out for him, but Jen grabbed me around my waist, stopping me.

“That’s what you have protecting you now?” Jen laughed. Rhys appeared to be unconscious, and I prayed he wasn’t dead. “Did we scare Finn off?”

“Let go of me!” I screamed. I kicked at him and tried to pry his arm off of me.

Suddenly, he went flying into the wall, taking me with him. When he slammed into it, his arm loosened enough where I could scramble away from 239

him. Tove was standing on the other side of the table across from us, holding his hand palm out at Jen, so I assumed that he had been the reason that we had just went into a wall.

Somehow, the fifteen or so Vittra had the upper hand in the room.

Other than Tove, Willa, and Elora, none of the Trylle really seemed to have abilities, or at least they weren’t using them. The room was total pandemonium, and then I realized that there were even more Vittra streaming in through the ceiling. There was no way we could beat them. I don’t even know why I said

“we.” I had done nothing but scream in the corner. When I had become so useless?

“This is why you need to work on your persuasion,” Tove pointed out.

“Watch out!” I yelled as another Vittra came towards his back.

Tove turned, throwing his hand back and tossing the would-be-attacker across the room. Kyra was trying to get to my mother, and someone on the other side of the room had started using fire. I looked around to grab a weapon that I could use when I felt Jen’s arms around my waist again. I yelped and flailed mercilessly in his arms. Tove turned his attention back to me, but there were two other Vittra chasing after him, so he only had a moment to send Jen flying back into the wall again. It was even harder this time, and it jostled me painfully, but Jen let go.

“You’ve got to be more careful, Tove!” Someone was shouting. My head throbbed dully from hitting the wall, and I blinked to clear it. A hand was taking mine, helping me to my feet, and I wasn’t even sure if I should be accepting it, but I did anyway.

“I was just trying to get her free!” Tove snapped, and another Vittra yelled as he sent them flying into a table across the room. “And I’m busy here!”

I turned back to see who had helped me and all the air went out of my lungs. Wearing a black hoodie under a black jacket, Finn was surveying the mess around me. He had never looked more attractive to me than he did then.

He was actually standing right next to me, holding my hand, and I couldn’t think or move. It seemed totally unreal. I must’ve hit my head too hard.

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“Finn!” I gasped, and he finally looked at me, his dark eyes a mixture of relief and panic.

“This is fucking Bedlam!” Tove growled angrily. A turned over table was between him and us, and he easily sent it sailing into a couple Vittra attacking the Chancellor, and then he walked over. All the Vittra were otherwise engaged so he had a moment to catch his breath.

“It’s worse than I thought,” Finn pursed his lips.

“We’ve gotta protect the Princess,” Tove insisted emphatically, looking at Finn intensely. I squeezed Finn’s hand and watched the two of them, trying to understand what they were talking about. Jen started to get up, so Tove slammed him back into the wall.

“I’ll get her out of here,” Finn nodded. “Can you handle it down here?”

“I don’t have a choice.” Tove barely had time to answer when Willa started screaming bloody murder across the room. I couldn’t see her, and that scared me all the more.

“Willa!” I yelled and tried to run to see what was happening. Finn wrapped his arms around me, pulling me back, and Tove took a step in the direction of Willa screaming.

“Get her out of here!” Tove commanded, and then dove into the fray.

Finn started dragging me out of the ballroom while I strained to see what was going on. Tove had disappeared, and I couldn’t see Elora or Willa. As he was pulling me, my feet hit Rhys’ leg, and I suddenly remembered that he was laying unconscious, bleeding on the ground. I struggled against Finn’s arms, trying to reach Rhys.

“He’s fine! They won’t touch him!” Finn tried to reassure me. He still had one arm around my waist, and he was much stronger than me, so I didn’t really stand a chance fighting against him. “You’ve got to get out of here!”

“But Rhys!” I pleaded.

“He’d want you to be safe!” Finn insisted and finally managed to drag me to the ballroom doors.

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I paused, looking up from Rhys to see the chaos of the room. All the chandeliers suddenly crashed to the ground, and the only light was coming from someone who controlled a fire ability and the things they had lit on fire. People were screaming and yelling, and it was echoing off of everything.

“Wendy!” Finn shouted, trying to move me into action.

He let go of my waist and took my hand, yanking me out of the room.

Using my free hand, I tried to pull up my dress to keep from tripping on it as we raced down the hallway. I could still hear the carnage from the ballroom, and I had no idea where he planned on taking me. I didn’t have time to question him, though, or even really to feel thankful that I was with him again.

My only consolation was that if they got me tonight, I had at least spent the last few minutes of my life with Finn.

We rounded the corner towards the entryway, but Finn stopped sharply. Three Vittra were coming in the front doors of the palace, but they didn’t seem to have seen us yet. Finn changed direction, darting across the hall into one of the sitting rooms, pulling me by the hand with him. The room was completely dark, and he ran to a corner between a bookcase and the glass wall.

He pulled me tightly to him, shielding me with his body. The door to the room was shut, but we could hear the Vittra outside. I held my breath, pressing my face into Finn’s chest and praying they didn’t come in the room.

When they finally walked past, Finn still didn’t loosen his grip on me, but I could hear his heartbeat slow ever so slightly. Somewhere beneath all my panic and fear, I became aware of the fact that Finn was holding me tightly in his arms. I looked up at him, barely able to make out his features in the moonlight that streamed in through the windows next to us.

“Why are we hiding?” I whispered.

“I don’t think I can protect you from all of them.” Finn swallowed hard, and very gently, pushed back stray curls from my face. His hand lingered on my cheek as he looked down at me. “They can’t get to you, and this is the best way I have for protecting you.”

“Why’d you come back?” I asked softly.

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“Wendy…” The corner of his mouth turned up subtly. “I never really left. I was just down the hill, and I never stopped tracking you. I knew what was happening as soon as you did, and I raced back here.”

“Are we gonna be okay?” I asked plaintively.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Finn promised.

I looked up at him, searching his eyes in the dim light, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss him. As ridiculous as it sounds after everything that had happened, I just wanted to stay in his arms forever. He licked his lips, and I was certain that he felt the exact same way.

The door creaked open, and Finn tensed up instantly. He pushed me back harder against the wall, wrapping his arms around me to hide me. I held my breath and tried to stop my heartbeat. We heard nothing for a second, and then the light flicked on.

“Well, well, if the prodigal stork hasn’t returned,” Jen said acidly.

“You won’t get her,” Finn insisted firmly.

He pulled away from me just enough so he could face Jen. I peered around him, watching Jen walk in a slow semi-circle towards us. He walked in an oddly familiar way that, like something I had seen on Animal Planet. Jen was stalking his prey.

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t,” Jen allowed. “But getting you out of my way would probably make it easier, if not for me than for somebody else.

Because they won’t stop coming for her.”

“We won’t stop protecting her,” Finn countered.

“You’re willing to die to protect her?” Jen asked skeptically.

“You’re willing to die to get her?” Finn challenged evenly.

I had my fingers clenched onto the back of Finn’s jacket, and I watched the two of them stare each other down. I didn’t understand what was so damn important about me that so many Vittra were willing to kill, and according to Finn, so many Trylle were willing to die. In the ballroom, Tove had kept insisting that they had to protect me, and I hadn’t thought that Tove had cared 243

for me all that much. Was it just that I was a Princess? Had Elora endured similar things when she first came home?

“Neither one of you have to die!” I interjected. I tried to slip around Finn’s arm, but he pushed me back firmly. “I’ll go, okay? I don’t want anybody else to get hurt over this!”

“Why don’t you listen to the girl?” Jen suggested, wagging his eyebrows.

“Not this time,” Finn replied quietly.

“Suit yourself.” Jen had apparently tired of talking and dove at Finn.

Finn was wrenched from fingertips, and I screamed his name. They both went flying through the glass out onto the balcony, sending shards flying everywhere. I was barefoot, and I tried to follow carefully behind them. Jen managed to land a few good blows on Finn, but Finn was much quicker and seemed to be stronger. When Finn hit him, he staggered back several feet.

“You’ve been working out,” Jen smirked, wiping fresh blood from his chin.

“You could give up now, and I wouldn’t think any less of you,” Finn suggested.

“Nice try.” Jen lunged forward, kicking Finn in the stomach, but somehow, Finn held his own.

I knew that there was a very good chance that things wouldn’t end well, so I grabbed a giant shard of glass from off the balcony. I hoped I wouldn’t have to use it, but in this kind of scenario, I always thought it would be better to be safe than sorry.

Somehow, Jen managed to get Finn on the ground. He pounced on top of him and started hitting him in the face. This didn’t sit well with me, so I charged at him. Using all my might, I stabbed the glass into his back. I managed to slice open a finger, but I figured that it was worth if it I could save Finn and possibly kill Jen.

“Ow!” Jen shouted, but he sounded more irritated than wounded.

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I stood right behind him, panting. That was not the reaction I had expected and I didn’t know what to do. Jen did, though. He turned quickly, smacking me so hard across the face that I went flying to edge of the balcony. I only had a moment to notice the dizzying drop below as my head hung over the edge, and then I was scrambling to my feet and gripping onto the railing.

Finn had already jumped up and knocked Jen back down. Kicking him as hard as he could, Finn growled through gritted teeth, “Don’t. Ever. Touch.

Her. Again.”

When Finn went to kick him again, Jen grabbed his foot and yanked him back to the ground. I heard the sound of Finn’s head cracking against the heavy concrete of the balcony, and I yelled his name. It didn’t really hurt him, but it stunned him long enough where Jen could bend over and wrapped his hand around Finn’s throat. He lifted him up off the ground by his neck, and I raced to his aid. I jumped on Jen’s back, which wasn’t as smart as it sounded because Jen had a giant shard of glass sticking out of his back. Fortunately, I just cut through my dress and my side without actually impaling myself on it. It was enough to bleed and hurt, but not enough to kill.

“Get down!” Jen growled, then jerked his arm back, elbowing me hard in the stomach and knocking me off his back. I hurried to my feet but Jen already had Finn pressed back over the railing. The top half of his body was dangling over the edge, and if Jen let go, Finn would plummet to his death hundreds of feet below.

“Stop! Stop!” I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. “I’ll go with you! Please! Just let go of him! Please!”

“I hate to break it to you, Princess, but you’re going with me anyway!”

Jen laughed.

“Not if I can help…” Finn barely managed to speak through Jen’s hand clamped on his throat.

Finn kicked his leg up, planting it squarely between Jen’s legs, and Jen groaned, but didn’t loosen his grip on his Finn. Keeping his leg there, Finn started tilting backwards. Jen realized what he was doing, but Finn had reached 245

forward and grabbed onto Jen’s jacket. He had changed the weight ratio, and in a moment that felt oddly slow motion, Finn went backwards over the railing, pulling Jen with him.

“No!” I screamed and lunged towards them, grabbing at thin air.

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As soon as I reached the railing, Finn suddenly floated up to the top, coughing hoarsely. I gaped at him, too shocked to even believe he was real. He came over the top of the railing, then dropped heavily onto the ground. Lying on his back, he coughed again, and I rushed to his side, kneeling next to him. I touched his face, checking to make sure he was real, and his skin felt soft and warm under my hands.

“That was quite the gamble,” Tove remarked from behind me, and I turned to look at him.

Somewhere along the line, Tove had discarded his blazer, and his white shirt looked slightly burned and bloody. Other than that, he didn’t look that bad as he took a step towards us. It finally dawned on me what had happened.

When Finn had gone over the balcony, Tove had used his power to catch him and lift him back up, setting him down safely.

“Nah, you always come through,” Finn said.

I went back to staring down at him, unable to completely believe that he was alive and here with me again. My hand was on his chest, above his heart, so I could feel it pounding. He placed his hand over mine, holding it gently, but he looked past me at Tove.

“What’s going on in there?” Finn asked Tove and nodded to the house.

“They’re retreating,” Tove explained, standing over us. “We finally managed to get the upper hand. A lot of people were hurt, but Aurora is working on them. For the most part, I think everyone will be okay.”

“Good.” Finn sighed in relief and looked back over at me. “What happened? Are you alright?” His hand went to my side, where I was bleeding all over my dress. I winced under his touch but shook my head.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine,” I insisted.

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“Have my mother look at it. She’ll patch you both up,” Tove said.

When I gave him a confused look, reluctantly taking my eyes off Finn, he went on, “Aurora’s a healer. She can touch you and fix you. That’s her ability.”

“Come on,” Finn forced a smile at me and slowly sat up.

He tried to seem like he was perfectly fine, but he had taken quite a beating and there was a hesitation in his movements. Tove helped him to his feet, then took my hand and pulled me up. I refused to leave Finn’s side. I wrapped my arm around his waist, and Finn put his arm around my shoulders, reluctantly putting some of his weight on me. We walked carefully through the broken glass back into the house, and Tove gave more details about the attack.

He had been essential to their defeat. Other than the trackers that had been guarding, most of the Trylle had played defenseless, myself included.

The ballroom looked even worse than we left it. Someone had lit lanterns around the edge of the room so we could at least see better than before. Willa was still scraped and bruised, but she ran eagerly over to me when she saw me and threw her arms around me. She then launched into an excited tale about how she had blown a Vittra out of the ceiling, and I told her I was proud, but I was still too stunned by the destruction.

When Elora saw us, she pulled Aurora from where she was helping a bleeding man. I noted with some grim happiness that the Chancellor had a nasty cut on his forehead, and I hoped that Aurora couldn’t make time to fix him. Elora didn’t look any worse for the wear at all. In fact, if I hadn’t known, I would’ve never thought she’d been here when the fight was going on. Aurora, on the other hand, looked beautiful and regal, but she showed signs of the battle. Her dress was torn, her hair was a mess, and there was blood all over her hands and arms, but I doubted most of it was hers.

“Princess,” Elora looked genuinely relieved when was walked over to us, delicately stepping over broken tables and a Vittra corpse. “I’m glad to see you’re alright. I was very worried about you.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I mumbled. She reached out and touched my cheek, but there was nothing affectionate about it. It was the way I would touch a 248

strange animal in the zoo that they assured me was safe, but I didn’t really believe it.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to you.”

She smiled wanly at me, then dropped her hand and looked at Finn. “I’m sure a thank you is in order for saving my daughter.”

“No need,” Finn replied rather curtly, and Elora gazed him intently for a moment, saying something in his mind. Then she turned and walked away, going to deal with something far more pressing than her daughter.

Aurora squeezed Tove’s arms and looked at him affectionately, making me feel a horrible pang at my own mother’s reaction. Aurora had seemed like an ice queen, too, but she could at least show signs of genuine happiness that her son hadn’t died. The moment passed quickly, and then she was moving on to me. She tore open the hole in my dress wider so she could put her hand on my wound, and I gritted my teeth at the pain. Finn’s tightened his arm reassuringly around my shoulders, and I instantly forgot the pain. He had this way of eclipsing everything else that I would be forever grateful for. A warm tingling sensation passed over my side, and moments later, the pain stopped.

“Good as new,” Aurora smiled tiredly at me. She seemed to have aged since before she’d touched me, and I wondered how much all that healing took out of her. She started taking a step away, going back to helping other people, while Finn was leaning on me, clearly in pain.

“What about Finn?” I asked, and she looked back at me, startled. I was the Princess, but apparently, I had asked something wrong, and she didn’t know how to react.

“No, no, I’m fine,” Finn waved her off.

“Nonsense,” Tove clapped him on the back. He nodded at his mother.

“Finn saved the day. He deserves a little help. Aurora, wanna take care of him?”

She looked uncertainly at her son, then nodded and walked over to Finn.

“Of course,” Aurora murmured.

She started looking over him for his wounds, trying to find out specifically what he needed fixing. I glanced away from them, and I happened 249

to see Rhys sitting on the edge of a table. He was holding a bloody cloth to his forehead and staring down at the ground. The last time I had seen him, I thought he might have been killed trying to save my life.

“Rhys!” I shouted, and when he looked up and saw me, he smiled.

“Go see him,” Finn suggested quietly. Aurora poked at something painful in his side and he winced. “She’s taking care of me.”

“I got him.” Tove took Finn’s arm, so he would be leaning on Tove instead of me.

I didn’t really want to leave Finn, but I felt like I should at least say hi to somebody that tried to save my life. Especially since Rhys had been the only person that had told me I looked beautiful all night without sounding really creepy about it. I looked back at Finn, but he nodded me for me to go and tried not to let on how much pain Aurora was causing him.

“You’re alive!” Rhys grinned. He tried to stand up, but I gestured for him to sit back down. “I wasn’t really sure what happened to you.” He looked past me at Finn, and his expression faltered. “I didn’t know Finn was back. If I had, I wouldn’t have worried.”

“I was worried about you.” I reached out and carefully touched his forehead. “You took quite the punch there.”

“Yeah, but I couldn’t get one in,” Rhys grumbled, looking down at the floor. “And I couldn’t stop him from taking you.”

“Yes, you did!” I insisted. “If you hadn’t there, they would’ve hauled me off before anybody had a chance to do anything about it. You kind of saved the day.”

“Yeah?” His blue eyes were hopeful when he looked at me.

“Definitely,” I smiled back at him.

“You know, back in the day, when a guy saved a Princess’s life, she would reward him with a kiss,” Rhys commented. His smile was light, but his eyes were serious. If Finn hadn’t been standing a few feet behind me, watching, I probably would’ve kissed him. But I didn’t want to do anything to spoil 250

having Finn back, so I just shook my head and smiled. “Maybe when I slay the dragon. Then I’ll get a kiss?”

“I promise,” I agreed. “Would you settle for a hug?”

“A hug from you is never settling for anything,” Rhys assured me. I leaned over and hugged him tightly. A woman sitting next to us on the table looked aghast, and I realized the new Princess was openly hugging a mänsklig.

Things were really going to have change when I was Queen.

After Aurora healed up Finn, she suggested we both get rest. The room was still a disaster, but Tove insisted that he and his mother were taking care of everything. I wanted to protest and help more, but honestly, I was exhausted.

Tove said that we were safe, and all but demanded that I go to my room.

Naturally, Finn went with me, just in case it wasn’t completely safe. Before we even reached the stairs, Finn had taken my hand in his as we walked slowly to my room. Most of the way, I was silent, but when we got close to my door, I felt like I had to say something.

“So… are you and Tove like pals or something?” I was teasing, but I was curious. I had never really seen them even speak before, but there seemed to be a kind of familiarity with them.

“I’m a tracker,” Finn answered. “I tracked Tove. He’s a good kid.” He looked over at me, smiling a little. “I told him to keep an eye on you.”

“If you were so worried about me, why did you leave?” I asked more sharply than I meant to.

“Let’s not talk about that now,” Finn shook his head. We had stopped in front of my bedroom door, and there was something playful in his dark eyes.

“What should we talk about then?” I looked up at him.

“How beautiful you look in that dress.” Finn was facing me, looking me over appreciatively, and he put his hands on my sides.

I laughed, and then he was pushing me against the door. His body was so tight against me, I could barely breathe, and his mouth was searching mine.

He kissed me in the same frantic way he had before, and I loved it. I wrapped my arms around him, pressing him to me, and pushed myself against him 251

eagerly. He reached around me, opening the door, and we tumbled into my room. He caught me before I actually fell, then lifted me easily into his arms and carried me. Gently, he tossed me onto the bed, and then lowered himself on top of me. His stubble tickled my neck and shoulders as he covered me in kisses.

Sitting back, he peeled off his jacket and hoodie, and I expected him to take off his tee shirt and pants, but he stopped, looking down at me. His black hair was slightly disheveled, but his expression was completely foreign to me.

He just stared at me.

“What?” I asked, feeling strangely embarrassed.

“You’re just so perfect,” Finn said, almost sadly.

“Oh, I am not,” I blushed and laughed. “You know I’m not.”

“You can’t see what I see.” He leaned over me again, his face right above mine, but not kissing me. He made like he was going to, but kissed my forehead and my cheeks, and then very tenderly, kiss my lips. “I just don’t want to disturb you.”

“How are you going to disturb me?” I asked.

“Mmm.” A smile played on his lips and then he sat up, climbing off of me. “You should go change into pajamas. That dress can’t be comfortable.”

“What do I need pajamas for?” I sat up, and I tried to sound flirty, but I knew there was a panicked edge to it. As soon as we’d come in here, I thought things were going to go much farther than pajamas would allow.

“I’ll stay with you tonight,” Finn tried to reassure me. “But nothing more can happen except for sleep.”

“Why?” I pressed.

“I’m here,” Finn looked at me intently. “Isn’t that enough?”

I nodded and carefully climbed out of the bed. I stood in front of him so he could unzip my dress, and I felt his hands linger on my skin. Truthfully, I didn’t understand what was going on, but I would be happy for anything I had with him. After I changed into my pajamas, I climbed back into bed with him.

He stayed sitting on the edge for a minute, then almost reluctantly, he came 252

over to me. I curled up in his arms, burying my head in his chest, and he held me tightly to him. Gently, he kissed the top of my head. Nothing had ever felt better than being with him like that, and I tried to stay up so I could relish every minute, but eventually, my body gave out and passed out.

In the morning, I woke up to Elora coming in my room for the first time ever. She was wearing pants, something else I had never seen her in. They were very fashionable, but they were pants. I was still curled up in Finn’s arms, and she didn’t seem surprised or that offended by it. I thought I was finally making progress when I moved a little bit away from him to look at her.

“I trust you slept well.” Elora looked around the room, but not in a nervous way. She had just never been here before. “And I trust that Finn was a gentleman.”

“He always is,” I yawned.

He had started pulling away from me and getting out of the bed. I furrowed my brow but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t that shocking that she’d be upset that we were together, so I didn’t think that much of it when Finn started to gather up his jacket and sweater.

“Thank you for protecting my daughter,” Elora said without looking at him. He had paused at the doorway, and he looked back at me, his dark eyes looking more conflicted than I had ever seen them before. He nodded, then turned and walked out of my room, shutting the door behind him.

“Well, you took that much better than I thought you would,” I admitted, sitting up.

“He’s not coming back,” Elora finally turned to look at me.

“What?” I stared at the door in dismay.

“He saved your life, so I gave him last night to say goodbye to you,”

Elora explained. “I will be transferring him out of here as soon as possible.”

“You mean he knew?” I gaped at her. He had known, and hadn’t let me in on it, and hadn’t tried to steal me away.

“Yes. I made the agreement with him last night,” Elora said.

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“But… he saved my life!” I insisted, feeling that terrifying lump grow in my chest. The one that said I couldn’t possibly survive without Finn. “He should be here to protect me!”

“He is emotionally compromised and unsuitable for the job,” Elora explained flatly. “Not only that, if he stayed around, you would be banished from Förening. He doesn’t want that, and neither do I.” She sighed. “I shouldn’t even have given him last night, but… I don’t want to know what you did with him. Don’t tell me. Don’t tell anyone. Is that clear?”

“Nothing happened,” I shook my head. “But I want him back. He’s going to protect me better than anyone! If you want me alive, he’s the best bet!”

“Let me put it to you this way: he will do anything to keep you alive, Princess,” Elora looked at me evenly. “That means he would die to save you, without hesitation. Do you really want that? Do you really want him to die because of you?”

“No…” I trailed off, looking dazedly at my blankets. I knew she was right. Last night he had almost died to save me. If Tove hadn’t come out, he would be dead.

“Very well. It’s in his best interest that he’s not around you, either,”

Elora said. “Now, you need to get up and get ready. We have much to go over.”

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The next few days were an endless stream of defense meetings. There hadn’t been an attack this severe on Förening ever. Elora and Aurora led all the meetings, while Tove and I sat quietly in the back. He was the most powerful and should’ve had more of a say, but he didn’t seem that interested. The twenty or so other people that always seemed to be attendance offered advice that was completely pointless. Tove just told me that my best defense was getting my abilities under control.

I felt like a shell of myself. In truth, I didn’t care whether I lived or died. If they attacked again, I would deal with whatever happened. Willa was busy working on self-defense classes and trying to get a better control of her wind ability. Elora barely spoke to me, and never uttered a kind word. I wandered around in a daze, and I couldn’t imagine that things would ever get better.

“You’re gonna have to snap out of this one day,” Rhys said. I was laying in my bed, staring at the ceiling, and he leaned against the doorway, looking at me. He still had a nasty cut above his eyebrow, since Aurora wouldn’t resort to healing a mänks. It was healing okay, but it always pained me to see it. It was just a reminder that he had gotten hurt for me.

“Maybe.” I didn’t feel like I ever would, and I hoped I didn’t.

“Oh come on,” Rhys sighed and came over to sit on the bed next to me. “I know that everything’s that’s happened has really taken its toll on you, but it’s not the end of the world.”

“I never said it was,” I muttered. “I just hate this house. I hate this town. I hate my mother. I hate being a Princess. I hate everything about being here!”

“Even me?” Rhys asked honestly.

“No, of course not you,” I shook my head. “You’re about the only thing I like anymore.”

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“I feel privileged,” he smiled at me, but when I didn’t smile back, his quickly faded. “Look, I hate it here too. It’s a hard place to live, especially this house, with Elora. But… what else are we gonna do? Where else can we go?”

That’s when it occurred to me. I absolutely did not want this life, and this life truly didn’t want Rhys. Not only that, I didn’t particularly care whether I lived or died. I didn’t need protection, should anyone decide to come after me again, but I wasn’t so sure they would anymore. Tove had explained that the Vittra numbers had been damaged, and another attack any time soon would be highly unlikely.

But somewhere out there, I knew that my brother Matt was sitting, worried sick about me. He and Maggie would welcome me back with open arms, and they would be delighted to have Rhys. I didn’t know how I would explain him to them, but I’d figure something out. I missed them both terribly, and I was sick of the cold, confusing isolation of the Trylle life. I was not a Princess, and I didn’t want to be one. They said they would never force it on me, and it would feel so good to be home again. That wouldn’t really fix the Finn thing, but they would know the best way to mend a broken heart.

Rhys wasn’t so easily convinced that leaving was the best thing for me.

After all, he had been unable to even fight against the Vittra. Reluctantly, I resorted to using my persuasion, but I didn’t really have another choice. He was okay with leaving himself; he was just worried about me. So all I was really convincing him is that he didn’t need to worry about me.

In the middle of the night, we crept out and got onto his new motorcycle. It wasn’t the same one I had stolen before, because that was still in the police impound. Apparently, Rhys literally got whatever he wanted. He sped off into the darkness, and I sat on the bike behind him, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist and burying my face in his leather jacket. I could feel his heartbeat speed up every time I squeezed onto him, but I pretended not to notice.

Going back home to my host family might not be the safest move in the world. I knew that. But I knew that Rhys deserved happiness, and his only 256

chance at that was with Matt and Maggie, who were just as desperate for him as he was for them. Not only that, I missed them terribly, and I needed a break from the ice queen.

There was one other thing. I had a feeling that Finn hadn’t stopped tracking me yet. And maybe the only way I could see him again is if I ran away or got into some trouble. If he didn’t come after me, that wasn’t the end of the world. But if he did… well, that’s just an added bonus, isn’t it?

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