Аманда Хокинг: Switched

“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.”

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.”

“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 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?