Аманда Хокинг - Torn

But the King is. I lived with him for three years, but when you were born, I left him, knowing what that would mean for our kingdom. But I had to leave him, that’s how bad of a man he is.”

“I won’t go back to the Vittra,” I said. “I’ll move to Canada or Europe or something.”

“He will find you,” Elora said. “And even if he doesn’t, if you left, it would be the end of our people. Tove is powerful, but he is not strong enough to run a kingdom or stand up to Oren. The Vittra would attack and destroy the Trylle. He would kill everyone, especially the ones you love.”

“You don’t know that.” I backed away, so she wasn’t touching me.

“Princess, yes, I do.” Her eyes locked onto mine, and she meant it.

“You saw it?” I asked and looked around the room for a painting. One that would show me the devastation that she’d seen.

“I saw that they need you,” Elora said. “They need you to survive.”

I’d never seen her look desperate before, and it scared the hell out of me. I liked Tove, but not romantically, and I didn’t want to marry someone I didn’t love.

Especially when I might love someone else.

But Elora was pleading with me to do this. She believed everything she was saying, and I hated to admit that she had a compelling argument.

“Elora…” My mouth felt dry, and it was hard to swallow. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Marry him, Princess,” Elora commanded. “He’ll protect you.”

“I can’t marry someone so he’ll be my bodyguard,” I told her quietly. “Tove deserves to be happy. And I would like a chance at it.”

“Princess, I’m not….” She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her fingers to her temple. “Princess.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to argue with you,” I said.

“No, Princess, I…” She reached out, grabbing onto the back of the couch just to catch herself.

“Elora?” I rushed over to her and put my hand on her back. “Elora, what’s wrong?”

Blood seeped from her nose, and it wasn’t like a simple nosebleed. It was like an artery had opened up. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her body went limp.

She collapsed, and I barely caught her in my arms.

“Help me!” I shouted. “Somebody! Help!”

Thomas rushed in first, but I’d already lowered Elora to the ground. She’d twitched, almost as if she was having a small seizure, but she hadn’t woken up.

I’d crouched down next to her, and Thomas pushed me out of the way to tend to her. I leaned against the couch, watching his attempts to revive her, and prayed my mother would be okay.

“Wendy,” Finn said, and I hadn’t even heard him come in. I looked up at him with tears blurring my vision, and he held out his hand to me. I took it, and let him pull me to my feet.

“Get Aurora Kroner,” Thomas told Finn. “Now.”

“Yes, sir,” Finn nodded.

He still had my hand, and he pulled me out of the room. He walked fast because time was of the essence. My legs felt numb and rubbery, but I pushed them to hurry with him.

“Go find Tove or Willa. Even Duncan,” Finn said when we reached the main hall.

“I’ll come and get you later.”

“What’s wrong with Elora?” I asked.

“I don’t have time, Wendy.” Finn shook his head, his eyes pained. “I will get you when I can tell you anything.”

“Go,” I nodded to hurry him along.

Finn raced out the front door, leaving me in the hall, alone and scared.

Duncan found me exactly as Finn had left me. He’d heard about Elora’s collapse from the other trackers, who’d gone into lock down mode. I heard them bustling about the palace, but it was secondary. My mother might be dying.

Duncan suggested we go up to my room, but I didn’t want to be that far away. I needed to be able to hear if anything happened. We sat in the living room, and he tried to comfort me, but it was futile.

Finn came back a few minutes later with Aurora, and they rushed down the hall.

Her dress billowed out behind her, and her hair came loose from its bun, blowing back as she ran.

Garrett and Willa came shortly after. Garrett went down to see the progress with Elora, but Willa sat with me. She put her arm around me and kept reminding me of how strong Elora was. Nothing could stop her.

“But… what if she dies?” I asked, staring emptily at the unlit fireplace in front of me.

The living room had a horrible chill from the icy wind beating against the windows.

Duncan had been trying to light a fire for the past few minutes. He knelt in front of the fireplace.

“She won’t die.” Willa squeezed me tighter.

“No, Willa, I’m being honest,” I said. “What happens if the Queen dies?”

“She’s not going to die.” Willa forced a smile. “We don’t need to worry about that right now.”

“I’ve about got this fire lit,” Duncan lied to change the subject.

“It’s gas, Duncan,” Willa told him. “You just turn a knob.”

“Oh.” Duncan did as she said, and a bright flame roared up through it.

Staring down at Elora’s blood that had gotten on my shirt, I was surprised to find how scared I felt. I didn’t want her to die.

She always seemed so strong, so composed, and it made me wonder how much pain she was in. We’d met in the drawing room today, and she’d wanted to meet me in the study. She wasn’t well enough to move. She shouldn’t have been standing or exerting herself at all, but I’d been arguing with her. I’d made it worse.

Her sense of duty came before everything else.

“Princess,” Finn said, pulling me from my thoughts. He stood in the entrance to the living room, his face drawn.

“Is she okay?” I jumped up at the sight of him, pulling away from Willa.

“She’s asked to see you.” Finn pointed towards her drawing room and wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“So she’s awake? She’s alive? Is she okay? Does she know what happened?

Did Aurora fix her?” I asked. My questions came out too rapidly for him to answer, but I couldn’t seem to slow myself.

“She’d rather tell you everything herself,” Finn said simply.

“That sounds like her,” I nodded. She was awake and wanted to see me. That had to be a good sign.

Willa and Duncan gave me reassuring smiles, but they couldn’t mask their anxiety. I told them I’d be back soon, and that I was sure everything was fine. I don’t know if that was true or not, but I had to ease their fears somehow.

I walked with Finn down the corridor to the parlor. Finn kept his pace slow and deliberate. I wanted to run to Elora, but I forced myself to stay with him. I wrapped my arms around myself and rubbed my hands along them.

“Is she angry with me?” I asked him.

“The Queen?” Finn seemed surprised. “No. Of course not. Why would she be?”

“I was arguing with her when she… If I hadn’t been antagonizing her, she might not have gotten so… sick.”

“No, you didn’t do this,” he shook his head. “In fact, it’s good that you were with her. You got her help right away.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You called for help using your thoughts.” He tapped his forehead. “We were too far away, and we wouldn’t have known if you didn’t do that. Elora might be in a lot worse shape if you hadn’t been there.”

“What is wrong with her?” I asked him directly. “Do you know?”

“She’ll need to tell you.”

I thought about pushing Finn for more information, but we were almost to her.

Besides, it didn’t feel right to argue with him now.

His whole demeanor had changed, seeming softer and somber. He’d let some of his guard down around me again, and while I wasn’t in the mood to take advantage of that, I did enjoy the familiar feel of being with him without a giant wall between us.