Аманда Хокинг - Torn

“We’re not giving them the Princess.” Garrett Strom stood up and held his hands out. “She is our Princess. Not only is she the most powerful heir we’ve ever had, but she’s one of us. We won’t give the Vittra one of our own people.”

“But this is all about her!” Marksinna Laurent got up, her voice getting shriller.

“This is all happening because of the bad treaty the Queen made twenty years ago, and we’re all paying the price!”

“Do you remember what it was like twenty years ago?” Garrett asked. “If she hadn’t made that treaty, the Vittra would’ve slaughtered us.”

“Enough!” Elora shouted, and her voice echoed through my head, through all our heads. “I called this meeting so we could discuss the options together, but if you are not capable of a proper discourse, then I will end it. I do not need your permission to conduct my business. I am your Queen, and my decisions are final.”

For the first time ever, I understood why Elora could be so hard. The people in this room were openly discussing sacrificing her only child, and thought nothing of it.

“For now, I will keep the Markis Staad at the palace until I decide what to do with him,” Elora said. “If I decide to execute him or barter with him, it will be my decision, and I will let you know.” She smoothed out non-existent creases in her skirt. “That is all.”

“We need to reinstate Finn,” Tove said before the crowd had a chance to disperse.

“What?” I whispered. “No, Tove, I don’t think-”

“All trackers need to be on hand right now.” Tove ignored me. “All the storks in the field should be called back to roost. Both Finn and Thomas need to be at the palace. I can stay here and help, but I don’t think that’s enough.”

“Tove can stay at the palace,” Aurora offered up too quickly. “If that would help.”

“We have additional trackers on staff,” Elora told him, but I saw her looking at Thomas from the corner of her eye. “A new alarm system is in place, and the Princess is never left unguarded.”

“They sent a Markis after her,” Tove reminded her. “Thomas and Finn are the best we have. They’ve both been your own personal guards for the better part of two decades.”

Elora seemed to consider this for a moment.

“Both of you, report for duty tomorrow morning,” she nodded.

“Yes, Your Grace,” Thomas said, bowing.

Finn said nothing, but he gave one wary glance towards Tove before departing.

The rest of the crowd began to dissipate after that, but I stayed sitting the corner with Tove, Willa, and Duncan.

Garrett, Noah, the Chancellor, and two other Marksinna lingered to talk to Elora and Aurora. I could feel Elora seething, and I should get out of the room before she had a chance to chew me out. But I needed a moment.

“Why did you do that?” I asked Tove.

“It’s the best way to keep you safe,” Tove shrugged.

“So?” I asked in a hushed whisper, since a few people still milling about could overhear. “Why is it so important to keep me safe? Maybe the Vittra should have me. Marksinna Laurent is right. If all these people are getting hurt over me, then maybe I should go-”

“Laurent is a stupid, uppity bitch,” Willa cut in before I could finish that thought.

“And nobody’s gonna sacrifice you because things are tough. That’s insane, Wendy.”

“The royals are crazy and paranoid. What’s new?” Tove leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’re gonna be good for the people. But you have to live long enough to do it.”

“That’s comforting.” I leaned back in the seat.

“I’m gonna head home and pack,” Tove said, standing up.

“You really think you need to stay here to watch out for me?” I asked.

“Probably not,” Tove admitted. “But it’s better than staying at home, and it’ll be easier for me to help you with your training.”

“Fair enough,” I said.

“So.” Willa turned to me after Tove walked away. “You need to have a girls’ night.

Especially since the house is going to be crawling with boys from now on.”

I would’ve agreed to anything if it got me out of the War Room before Elora had a chance to lecture me, but the girls’ night didn’t sound bad. Willa looped her arm through mine as we left the room.

We camped out in my room all night. I thought Willa would want to play dress up or something silly, but we both wore comfy pajamas and lounged around.

After the meeting, I’d asked about the history between Vittra and Trylle, and Willa had found a book in her father’s things. She let me read through it, and answered my questions as often as she could. In exchange, I had to do karaoke with her and let her give me a pedicure.

I didn’t make it through as much of the book as I would have liked, and I didn’t find out all that much. Vittra attacked, Trylle retaliated. Sometimes the body count was quite substantial, other times it was only minor property damage.

I ended up staying up way too late with Willa, and by the end of the night, the book had been forgotten. We resorted to singing along with Cyndi Lauper, and dancing.

Willa had spent the night, and she was a massive bed hog, so I slept terribly. I stumbled out of the bedroom in the morning, feeling like a train wreck. I wanted to go downstairs, eat something, drink some water, and then not move again for another three or four hours.

Duncan wasn’t loitering around my door when I left my room, and I thought it was good for him that he finally got a chance to sleep in.

I made it a few steps down the hall when I realized why he’d slept in.

Finn walked towards me, his hands clasped behind his back, and I groaned inwardly. He was dressed, with his pants pressed and his hair slicked back. My hair was insane, and I had to look awful.

“Good morning, Princess,” Finn said when he reached me.

“Yeah, it’s something like that,” I said.

Finn nodded once, and he walked past me. I looked around, expecting to see another person summoning him, but there wasn’t anyone else.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“My job, Princess.” He glanced back at over his shoulder. “I’m walking the halls to watch for intruders.”

“So you’re not even gonna talk to me?”

“That’s not part of my job,” Finn said and kept walking.

“Excellent,” I sighed.

Stupidly, some part of me had been excited about the prospect of Finn being reinstated. But I should’ve known better. Just because he’d be around all the time didn’t mean anything would change between us. It would only make it more awkward and painful.

“Why are you here?” I demanded, and Loki only raised an eyebrow in response.

His room was in the old servants’ quarters, and it wasn’t quite the cell I’d expected. Duncan had explained that the palace had once been overflowing with live-in help, but the last few decades had seen a drastic reduction in both the mänsklig and the Trylle that stayed around. Meaning there were less people to staff the palace.

Even though we didn’t have a dungeon, I’d thought Loki would be kept some place similar to where the Vittra had put me. But this was just a room, the same as the one Finn stayed in when he lived here, except this one had no windows. It was small, with an adjoining bathroom and a twin bed.

To top it off, Loki’s bedroom door was wide open. A tracker stood guard a little ways down the hall, but he wasn’t even at the door. I convinced Duncan to distract him because I wanted to talk to Loki alone for a minute, and it hadn’t been that hard for Duncan to steer the guard away.

Loki lay on top of his blankets on his bed, his hands folded behind his head and his legs crossed at the ankles. A plate of food sat on the end table, untouched.