Torn (Trylle Trilogy, Book 2) (27 page)

“Yes, of course,” I said.

Thomas bowed before me, and I turned away. I ran all the way up to my room, lifting my dress so I wouldn’t trip on my hem. My hair had come loose so it fell around my face, and I was grateful for it. I didn’t need anyone to see the shame on my face or the tears that stained my cheeks.

“You look amazing,” Willa assured my reflection for the hundredth time.

I stood in front of the mirror, and Willa was behind me. I’m sure I appeared as if I was admiring my white gown, but I barely even recognized myself.

The day before my engagement party, I’d cheated on my fiancé, who was a perfectly wonderful guy. He was my friend, and he was Finn’s friend. Tove had been nothing but good to either of us. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve having to deal with me.

After Finn and I kissed, I’d wanted to cry and feel sorry for myself because we couldn’t be together. But I couldn’t do that. Not anymore. I was a Princess, with a duty to her kingdom and her fiancé. Tove and Förening deserved more, so I had to be more. I had to become what they needed.

“Come on, Wendy.” Willa grabbed my arm, pulling me away. “The party is about to start. We don’t have time for you to keep staring at yourself.”

I nodded and followed her, thinking I’d have time to compose myself, but as soon as I stepped out of my room, I found Tove waiting by the door.

“Sorry,” he said when he saw my expression. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No, it’s okay.” My mouth felt numb, and it was hard to speak.

“I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.” Willa winked at me as she walked away.

“I hope it’s not bad luck to see you before the engagement party.” He dug in his pocket. “I’m not sure what the protocol is, but I had to give you something. I thought it’d be better to do it before the party.”

“You didn’t need to get me anything.”

“Yeah, I did.” Tove pulled a ring box out of his pocket. “It’s
kinda
my job. I should’ve given it to you when I proposed, but that was kind of a lame proposal.”

“I liked it.” I smiled at him. “It was sweet.”

“Well, I hope you like the ring.” He held it out to me, the velvet lid still closed. “My mom hates it.”

“I’m sure I’ll love it then,” I said, and he laughed.

I took the box from him, and with trembling hands, I opened the lid. It was a thick platinum band, designed to look like ivy wrapped around it. A giant emerald was inlaid in the center, with a few smaller diamonds dotting around the band.

“Oh, Tove, it’s beautiful.” As I slid it on my finger, I was actually getting choked up. It was a lovely ring, and such a lovely gesture.

“Yeah?”
Tove had a relieved lopsided grin and ran a hand through his hair. “Good. I was really worried. I had no idea what you would think.”

“No, it’s absolutely perfect.” I smiled up at him with tears in my eyes.

“Good.” He bit his lip. “You look really beautiful today.”

“Thank you. You look really good yourself.” I motioned to his nice suit pants and vest. “You clean up good, Markis.”

“Thank you, Princess.” He held out his arm so I could take it. “Shall we head down to our engagement party?”

“We shall,” I said and looped my arm through his. We walked towards the ballroom to become the leaders the Trylle needed.

Read an excerpt from the final book in the Trylle Trilogy -
Ascend

I had my back to the room as I stared out the window. It was a trick I’d learned from my mother to make me seem more in control. Elora had given me lots of tips the past few months, but the ones about commanding a meeting were the most useful.

“Princess, I think you’re being naïve,” the Chancellor said. “You can’t turn the entire society on its head.

“I’m not.” I turned back, giving him a cool gaze, and he lowered his eyes and balled up his handkerchief in his hand.

I surveyed the meeting room, doing my best to seem as cold and imposing as Elora always had. I didn’t plan to be a cruel ruler, but they wouldn’t listen to weakness. If I wanted to make a change here, I had to be firm.

Since Elora had become incapacitated as of late, I’d been running the day to day activities of the palace, including a lot of meetings.
 
I got to see a lot of the same board of advisors.

 
The Chancellor had been voted into his position by the Trylle people, but as soon as his term was up, I planned to campaign against him as hard as I could. He was a conniving coward, and we needed somebody much stronger in his position.

Garret Strom – my mother’s “confidant” – was here today, but he didn’t always come. Depending on how Elora was doing that day, he often chose to stay and care for her instead of attending these meetings.

My assistant Joss sat at the back of the room, furiously scribbling down notes as we talked. She was a small human girl that grew up in Förening as a mänsklig, and worked as Elora’s secretary. Since I’d been running the palace, I’d inherited Joss as my own assistant.

Duncan, my bodyguard, was stationed by the door, where he stood during all the meetings. He followed me everywhere, like a shadow, and though he was clumsy and small, he was smarter than people gave him credit for. I’d grown to respect and appreciate his presence the last few months, even if he couldn’t completely take the place of my last guard, Finn Holmes.

Aurora Kroner sat at the head of the table, next to her was Tove, my fiancé. He was usually the only one on my side, and I was grateful to have him here. I don’t know how I would manage ruling if I felt completely alone.

Also in attendance was Marksinna Laurent, a woman I didn’t particularly trust, but she was one of the most influential people in Förening; Markis Bain, who was in charge of changeling placement; Markis Court, the treasurer for the palace; and Thomas Holmes, the head guard in charge of all the security and trackers.

A few other high ranking officials sat around the table, all of their expressions solemn. The situation for the Trylle was growing
more dire
, and I was proposing change. They didn’t want me to change anything – they wanted me to support the system they’d had for centuries, but that system wasn’t working anymore. Our society was crumbling, and they refused to see what parts they played in it.

“With all due respect, Princess,” Aurora began, her voice so sweet, I could barely hear the venom underneath. “We have bigger issues at hand. The Vittra are only getting stronger, and with the embargo about to end-”

“The embargo,” Marksinna Laurent snorted. “Like that’s done us any good.”
 

“The embargo isn’t over yet,” I said, standing up straighter. “Our trackers are out taking care of the problems now, which is why I think it’s so important that we have something in place for them when they return.”

“We can worry about that
when
they return,” the Chancellor said. “Let’s deal with saving our asses right now.”

“I’m not asking to redistribute the wealth or call for abolishing the monarchy,” I said. “I am simply saying that the trackers are out their risking their lives to save us, to protect our changelings, and they deserve a real house to come back too. We should be setting aside money
now
so that when this is over, we can begin building them real homes.”

“As noble as that is, Princess, we should be saving the money for the Vittra,” Markis Bain said.

“We can’t pay the Vittra off,” Tove interjected. “This isn’t about money. This is about power. We all know what they want, and a few thousand – or even a few
million –
dollars won’t matter to them. The Vittra King will refuse it.”

“I will do everything in my power to keep Förening safe, but you are all right,” I said. “We have yet to find a reasonable solution for the Vittra. That means this might very well turn into a bloody fight, and if it does, we need to support our troops. They deserve the best care, including adequate housing, a retirement fund, and access to our healers if they’re injured in wartime.”

“Healers on a tracker?”
Marksinna Laurent laughed, and a few others chuckled along with her. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Why is that ridiculous?” I asked, working to keep the ice from my voice. “They are expected to die for us, but we aren’t willing to heal their wounds? We cannot ask more of them than we are willing to give ourselves.”

“They are lower than us,” Laurent said, as if I didn’t understand the concept. “We are in charge for a reason. Why on earth should we treat them as equals when they are not?”

“Because it’s basic decency,” I said. “We may not be human, but that doesn’t mean we have to be devoid of humanity. This is why our people are leaving our cities and preferring to live amongst the humans, letting their powers die. We must offer them some bit of happiness, otherwise why on earth should they stay?”

Laurent muttered something under her breath, keeping her steely eyes locked on the oak table. Her black hair was slicked back, pulled up in a bun so tight her face looked strained and pulled. This was probably done on purpose.

 
Laurent was a very powerful Trylle, able to control and produce fire, and something that strong was draining. Trylle powers weakened the people, taking some of their life with them, and making them age preternaturally.

But if the Trylle didn’t use them, the abilities did something to their minds, eating at their thoughts and making them crazy. This was especially true for Tove, who would appear scattered and rude if he didn’t use his psychokinesis.

 
“It is time for a change,” Tove said, speaking up when the room had fallen into an annoyed silence. “It can be gradual, but it’s going to happen.”

A knock at the door stopped anyone from giving him a rebuttal, but from the beat red color of the Chancellor’s face, it looked like he had a few words he wanted to get out.

Duncan opened the door, and Willa poked her head in, smiling uncertainly. Since she was a Marksinna, Garret’s daughter, and my best friend, she had every right to be here.
 
I’d extended an invitation for her to attend these meetings. But she always declined, saying she was afraid she would do more harm than good. She had a much harder time being polite when she disagreed with people.

“Sorry,” Willa said, and Duncan stepped aside so she could come in. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. It’s just that it’s after five, and I was supposed to get the Princess at three for her birthday celebration.”

I glanced up at the clock, realizing this had drug on much longer than I’d originally planned. Willa walked over to me and gave the room an apologetic smile, but I knew she’d drag me out kicking and screaming if I didn’t put an end to the meeting.

“Ah, yes,” the Chancellor smiled at me with a disturbing hunger in his eyes. “I’d forgotten that you’ll be eighteen tomorrow.” He licked his lips, and Tove stood up, purposely blocking the Chancellor’s view of me.

“Sorry, everyone,” Tove said. “But the Princess and I have plans this evening. We’ll pick this meeting up next week then?”

“You’re going back to work next week?” Laurent looked appalled.
“So soon after your wedding?
Aren’t you and the Princess taking a honeymoon?”

“With the state of things, I don’t think it’s wise,” I said. “I have too much get to done here.”

While that was true enough, that wasn’t the only reason I’d skipped out on a honeymoon. As much as I’d grown to like Tove, I couldn’t imagine what the two of us would do on one. I hadn’t even let myself think about how we would spend our wedding night.

“We need to go over the changeling contracts,” Markis Bain said, standing up in a hurry. “With the trackers bringing the changelings back early, and some families declining to do changelings anymore, the placements have all been moved around. I need you to sign off on them.”

“Enough talk of business.” Willa looped her arm through mine, preparing to lead me out from the room. “You’ll see the Princess in three days after her wedding, and she can sign anything you want on Monday.”

“Willa, it would only take a second to sign them,” I said, but she glared at me, so I gave Bain a polite smile. “I will look over them first thing Monday morning.”

Tove walked with us out into the hall, and even though we were out of the meeting, Willa still kept her arm through mine as we walked. Duncan stayed a step behind us when we were in the South Wing. All the business was conducted, so there were Trylle officials at work, and I’d gotten talked to many, many times about how I couldn’t treat Duncan as an equal when people might see us.

“Princess?”
Joss said, scampering behind me
with
 
papers
spilling out of her binder. “Princess, do you want me to arrange a meeting on Monday with Markis Bain for the contracts?”

“Yes, that would be fantastic,” I said, slowing so I could talk to her. “Thank you, Joss.”

“You have a meeting at ten a.m. with the Markis of Oslinna.” Joss flipped through the appointment section of the binder, and a paper flew out. Duncan snatched it before it fell to the ground and handed it to her. “Thank you. Sorry. So, Princess, do you want to meet Markis Bain before or after that meeting?”

“She’ll just be coming back from getting married,” Willa said. “Of course she won’t want to come in first thing in the morning. Make it for the afternoon.”

I glanced over at Tove walking next to me, but his expression was blank. Since proposing to me, he’d actually spoken very little of getting married. His mother and Willa had done most of the planning of it, so I hadn’t even talked to him about what he thought of colors or flower arrangements. Everything had been decided for us, so we had little to discuss.

“Does two in the afternoon work for you?” Joss asked.

“Yes, that would be perfect,” I said. “Thanks, Joss.”
    

“Alright.”
Joss stopped to hurriedly scribble down the time in the binder.

“Now she’s off until Monday,” Willa told Joss over her shoulder. “That means five whole days where nobody calls her, talks to her, or meets with her. Remember that, Joss. If anybody asks for the Princess, she cannot be reached.”

“Yes, of course, Marksinna Strom,” Joss smiled.
“Happy birthday, Princess, and good luck on your wedding!”

“I can’t believe how much of a workaholic you are,” Willa sighed as we walked away. “When you’re Queen, I’ll never see you at all.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I tried to get out of the meeting sooner, but things have been getting out of hand lately.”

“That Laurent is driving me batty,” Tove said, grimacing at the thought of her. “When you’re Queen, you should banish her.”

“When I’m Queen, you’ll be King,” I pointed out. “You can banish her yourself.”

“Well, wait until you see what we have planned for you tonight,” Duncan grinned. “You’ll be having too much fun to worry about Laurent or anybody else.”

Fortunately, since I was getting married in a few days, I’d gotten out of the usual ball that would happen for a Princess’s birthday. Elora had made an agreement with Aurora that the wedding take place immediately after I turned eighteen, so my birthday was on a Wednesday, and I was getting married on Saturday.
Leaving no time for a massive Trylle birthday party.

Willa insisted on throwing me a small party anyway, even though I didn’t really want one. With everything that was happening in Förening, it felt like sacrilege. The Vittra had set up a peace treaty with us, saying they wouldn’t attack us until I became Queen. What we hadn’t realized at the time was the specific language they had used – they wouldn’t attack us, meaning the Trylle living in Förening. Everyone else was fair game.

The Vittra had started coming after our changelings, the ones that were still left with their host families in human society. They’d taken a few before we caught on, but as soon as we did, we sent all our best trackers in the field to bring home any changeling over the age of sixteen.

Any younger than that, our trackers were supposed to stand guard and watch them. They couldn’t take them without setting off an Amber Alert, so the Vittra avoided taking them too.

That left us at a horrible disadvantage. To protect the changelings, our trackers had to be in the field, so they couldn’t be here guarding the palace. We would be more exposed to an attack, if the Vittra went back on our deal, but I didn’t see what choice we had. We couldn’t let them kidnap and hurt children, and I sent every tracker I could out into the field.