Switched (28 page)

“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 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.”

I leaned over and hugged him tightly. A woman sitting next to us on the table looked aghast at the new Princess openly hugging a mänsklig. Things were really going to have to 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 I was exhausted. Tove said that we were safe and demanded that I go to my room.

Using his abilities during the fight had focused Tove. His entire personality shone through, and he took control of the situation with ease. I had a feeling that for the first time, I was seeing the real Tove, and not the kid trapped behind the noise of his powers.

In a way, we worked in opposite ways. I projected intensely, which was why my persuasion was strong, whereas Tove received everything. He could pick up on my emotions and thoughts whether he wanted to or not. But I imagined that he sensed other people too, and his mind had to be a fog of everyone’s emotions.

Finn went with me to my room, just in case it wasn’t completely safe. Before we even reached the stairs, Finn had taken my hand in his. 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 between 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 didn’t you stay in the palace?” 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 looked 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 searched mine. He kissed me in the same frantic way he had before, and I loved it.

I wrapped my arms around him and pushed myself against him 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, 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, making my skin redden with shame.

“What?”

“You’re just so perfect,” Finn said, but he sounded distressed about it.

“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. After a minute’s hesitation, he kissed my forehead and my cheeks, and then very tenderly, kissed my lips. “I just don’t want to disturb you.”

“How are you going to disturb me?”

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

“What do I need pajamas for?” I sat up. 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’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. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I would be happy for anything I could have 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 over to me. I curled up in his arms, burying my head in his chest, and he held me tightly to him.

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 in 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 I had never seen her in. 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 sweatshirt.

“Thank you for protecting my daughter,” Elora said without looking at him.

Finn paused at the doorway, and he looked back at me, his dark eyes looking conflicted. 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 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.

“Yes. I made the agreement with him last night,” Elora said. He had known and hadn’t let me in on it, and hadn’t tried to steal me away.

“But… he saved my life!” I insisted, feeling a 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’ll protect me better than anyone!”

“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.”

24. Goodbye

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 in attendance offered advice that was completely pointless. Tove just told me that my best defense was to get my abilities under control. Willa took his advice to heart and busied herself with self-defense classes and getting a better control of her wind ability. Elora barely spoke to me, and never uttered a kind word.

The one positive was that I’d been spared the christening ceremony, and Elora decided to allow me to keep my own name.

I wandered around in a daze. I didn’t care whether I lived or died. If they attacked again, I would deal with whatever happened.

“You’re gonna have to snap out of this one day,” Rhys said.

I lay 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 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 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 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. He had grown up in a cold indifference even worse than my own childhood, and he deserved so much more. Since I had been here, Rhys had been about the only one to show me genuine kindness, and he deserved that in return.

I didn’t particularly care whether I lived or died, so 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 was not a Princess, and I didn’t want to be one. It would feel so good to be home again.  That wouldn’t really fix the Finn thing, but Matt and Maggie would know the best way to mend a broken heart.

Rhys wasn’t convinced that leaving was the best thing for me, referring to the cut on his eye when he’d been unable to protect me or himself. Reluctantly, I resorted to using my persuasion, but I didn’t really have another choice. Besides, I was only convincing him that he didn’t need to worry about me.

In the middle of the night, I decided to act. We snuck out of the palace, which was more difficult than I’d expected. Guards and other Trylle walked the grounds in case of another Vittra attack. Even though they thought another one would be unlikely, they weren’t taking any more chances.

Rhys and I went through the kitchen and out the back door, to the secret garden that bloomed even in the middle of the night. Scaling the high brick walls that surrounded it would’ve been impossible if I didn’t have Rhys to give me a boost up. Once I pulled him up, we both jumped down on the other side.  

Without even brushing the dirt from our clothes, we ran along the wall. Rhys led the way because he knew the area better than I did. We’d nearly made it to the garage when we had to duck behind a bush to wait for a passing guard.

Once the guard moved on, we hurried to the garage. Rhys took his new motorcycle but didn’t start it. He pushed out of the garage, leaving the engine and lights off as not to attract attention.

At the end of town was the gate manned by a guard, and I doubted he’d let the Princess through. Rhys had a plan, though. He knew of a weak spot in the fence a ways down the embankment. He’d heard of other mänks getting through it when they ran away.

I had to help Rhys steady the motorcycle so it wouldn’t go tumbling down the hill as we made our way through the trees and the brush. The hole in the fence was even worse than it had been before. Apparently, that’s how some of the Vittra had broken in, and the Trylle hadn’t fixed it yet. They were more focused on securing the palace than making sure the town of Förening as safe.

We were able to get the motorcycle through without much trouble, and it was then as we pushed it up the hill that I started feeling the exhilaration and relief of escape. I ignored any pang of sadness or longing for some of the people I’d met here, and I just tried focus on the fact that I was getting away. I was free.

 Once we got to the road, Rhys started the motorcycle. We 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.

The sky had that eerie blue glow of very early morning when we pulled up in front of my house. Rhys hadn’t even turned off the motorcycle before Matt threw open the front door and came jogging down the porch.

Even in the dim light, I could see how stricken Matt looked. I jumped off the bike, and completely oblivious to Rhys, Matt threw his arms around me. He held me so tightly to him, it hurt. I didn’t care, though. I buried my face in his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent and relishing the protection of his arms. I was finally
home
.

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 was if I ran away or got into some trouble. If he didn’t come after me, that wasn’t the end of the world.