Аманда Хокинг - Torn

His shoes still weren’t tied, and he seemed a little too amazed by Matt’s ability to make pancakes. He didn’t exude any of the confidence or formality that Finn had, but then again, I’d probably like it better that way.

“No,” Duncan admitted, and if my question shamed him, he didn’t show it. He just played with his bottle cap. “But I’m pretty close. My appearance is deceiving, but that’s part of why I’m good. People underestimate me.”

Something about the way he said that made me flash onto Scream. Maybe Duncan had a bit of that clumsy, unassuming boyish charm.

“Did anybody ever tell you that you remind them of Deputy Dewey from the Scream movies?” I asked.

“You mean David Arquette?” Duncan asked. “But I’m better looking, right?”

“Oh yeah, definitely,” I nodded. I could never see myself being attracted to him, but he was kinda foxy. In his own way.

Rhys swore as a flapjack landed on the floor with a splat. Matt patiently tried to explain what he’d done wrong and how to correct it, using the same tone of voice he’d used to teach me how to tie my shoes, ride a bike, and drive a car. It was so strange seeing him be the older brother to somebody else.

“Wendy!” Willa shouted from behind me, and I’d barely turned around when she came running over to me. She threw her arms around me, shocking me with a fierce hug. “I’m so glad you’re alright!”

“Um, thanks,” I said, detangling myself from her hug.

Willa Strom was a few years older than me, and the only Trylle other than Finn that actually called me “Wendy” instead of “Princess,” so I guess that made us friends. Her father, Garrett, was Elora’s only friend, and Willa had been insanely helpful and kind after Finn left the first time. Without her, the christening ceremony would’ve been a disaster even before the Vittra broke in.

“My dad was telling me that the Vittra had kidnapped you, and nobody knew for sure what was going on.” Willa could be snobby, but the concern on her face was sincere. “I rushed over here as soon as I heard you were back. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Yeah, me too,” I said, but I wasn’t sure if that was true or not.

“Duncan?” Willa looked at him, as if noticing he were here for the first time.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. There is no way Elora would let you be her tracker.”

“See? Underrated,” Duncan smiled. He seemed to take some pride in it, so I let him have it.

“Oh my god. I’m gonna talk to my dad.” Willa shook her head, tucking her perfectly tamed light-brown waves of hair behind her ears. “There’s no way he can do this.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine,” I shrugged. “I’m in the palace. What can happen here?”

Willa gave me a knowing look, but thankfully, before she could say something, Matt announced breakfast was done. When I had been regaling him with the tales of being Trylle, I had conveniently left out the part about the Vittra busting in here or Oren being my father. I thought it would freak him out too much.

“Are you gonna eat some too?” Matt asked Willa. He dished up the flapjacks, and polite as ever, he’d included her. “We’ve got plenty to go around.”

“Are those blueberry?” Willa wrinkled her nose, looking totally disgusted by the prospect of eating them. “Eww. No way.”

“They’re really good.” Matt slid a plate towards her.

For reasons I didn’t completely understand, we didn’t enjoy many foods. We mostly ate fresh fruits and vegetables. I didn’t like juice of any kind, although I did like some wine. Pancakes were made with processed flour and sugar, so they were never that appealing, although I had been eating them for years to appease Matt.

“You’re not gonna eat those, are you?” Willa was completely aghast as I picked up my fork and prepared to dig in.

Matt had given Duncan a plate too. I’m sure the pancakes sounded as appealing to him as they did Willa and me, but Duncan followed suit and picked up his fork.

“They’re pretty good,” I said.

I had been assured by people over the years that they were really good, although I’m not sure how anyone could taste them after they drowned them in the syrup the way Matt and Rhys were doing. Duncan and I declined syrup. There’d be no way we could even force them down with that.

“I’ve cooked for Wendy for years,” Matt said, unfazed by Willa’s reaction. “I know how to make food that she likes.”

In general, he had gotten pretty good at it, but there were a lot of times when I ate things just to make him happy. And also, I’d starve if I didn’t.

“Oh yeah, right,” Willa scoffed. “Like I’m gonna trust a mänks in sweats and a baby tee to make me pancakes.”

“Willa,” I said. “He’s my brother, okay? So lay off.”

“What?” She tilted her head, not fathoming what I meant. “Oh. You mean he’s your host brother?”

“Yeah.” I took a big forkful of the pancake and shoved it in my mouth.

“You know he’s not your real-”

“Willa!” I snapped with a mouthful of food, and I choked it down. “I understand the semantics. Now drop it.”

“I can understand how that dweeb Duncan can eat that.” Willa smoothed out her designer outfit, trying not to look offended that I’d snapped at her. “But you’re a Princess. He’s too stupid to-”

“Hey!” Matt had been sitting next to Duncan, eating, but he stopped and glared at her. “I get it. You’re fancy and pretty and rich. Good for you. But unless you wanna go over there and make us all breakfast, then I suggest you quit your bitching and sit down.”

“Whoa!” Rhys laughed. He loved seeing her put in her place.

Willa made a face at Rhys but didn’t say anything. When Matt went back to eating his pancakes, she sat down on the stool next to me.

From when I’d seen her, she walked around with a sense of entitlement. She was nice to me because she thought we were equals, but she definitely didn’t feel the same way about everyone else.

“I am thirsty,” Willa said after a minute, sounding pouty.

Automatically, Duncan started getting up to get water for her, but Matt shook his head, stopping him. Uncertainly, Duncan sat back down. As a tracker, he spent a lot of his life waiting on changelings. Trackers were considered staff and treated as such by most of the royalty.

“You know where the fridge’s at,” Matt said between bites.

Willa opened her mouth but didn’t say anything. She turned to me, hoping I would come to her aid, but I only shrugged. She did know where the fridge was at, after all.

After a minute of deliberating, she got up and went over to the fridge. Rhys snickered under his breath, but Matt shushed him.

I found the whole thing kind of amazing. Finn had been Willa’s tracker, and a strict one at that. But she never listened to him or treated him with as much respect as she did Matt, who by Trylle standards was much lower in rank than Finn.

In the five minutes he’d known her, Matt had managed to whip her into shape better than anyone else had.

Willa hung around me for the rest of the afternoon, and she seemed relieved when we split off from Matt and Rhys. Rhys wanted to play some war video game or something, and I didn’t feel like it.

Willa and I stayed in my room. Duncan stood outside my door for a bit, but eventually I felt sorry for him, so I had him come in and sit down.

Willa sorted my clothes because she liked doing that, and I lay on the floor, watching her and thinking about how weird it was that this was my life. She organized them in some way that I didn’t understand, even after she’d explained it to me.

All the while, she talked about how great her training had been going. Willa had the power over the wind, and she hadn’t thought anything of it before the attack.