“I probably care more than you do.” I crossed my arms firmly over my chest. “You were leaving to go onto another job. If I had waited one more day to leave, you wouldn’t have known I was gone.”
“Is this about getting my attention?” Finn snapped. His eyes burned, and I had never seen his anger directed at me this way before. “I don’t know how many times I have to explain this to you! You are a Princess! I mean nothing! You need to forget about me!”
“What’s going on?” That was Matt, shouting from the stairs.
He’d heard us arguing. If he came up here and caught Finn in my room that would be very, very bad.
“I’ll go… create a diversion.” Rhys glanced at me to make sure that was okay, and I nodded. He darted out the door, saying things to Matt about how awesome the house was, and their voices faded as they went downstairs.
I tucked my curls behind my ears and refused to look at Finn. It was hard to believe that the last time I had been with him, he had been kissing me so passionately, I could barely breathe. I remembered the way his scruff scraped against my cheeks and the way his lips pressed against mine.
I suddenly hated him for that memory, and I hated that all I could think about how was badly I wanted to kiss him again.
“Wendy, you are not safe here,” Finn insisted quietly.
“I’m not going with you.”
“You cannot stay here. I won’t allow it.”
“You won’t allow it?” I scoffed. “I am the Princess, remember? Who are you to allow me to do anything? You’re not even my tracker anymore. You’re some guy being a creepy stalker.”
That sounded much harsher than I meant it. Not that anything I said ever really seemed to hurt Finn. He just stared at me, his gaze level and unfazed.
“I knew I would find you faster than anyone. If you don’t come home with me, that’s fine,” Finn said. “Another tracker will be here shortly, and you can go with him. I’ll just wait with you until he arrives to ensure your safety.”
“It’s not about you, Finn!” I snapped at him. He played a larger part than I would ever admit to him, but it really wasn’t just him. I hated my mother, my title, my house, everything. I wasn’t meant to be a Princess. “I’m not going with anyone!”
Finn looked at me for a long moment, trying to understand where this was coming from. I had to fight the urge to squirm as he scrutinized me. His eyes flashed darkly for a second, and his expression hardened.
“Is this about the mänsklig?” Finn asked, referring to Rhys. “I thought I told you to stay away from him.”
Mänsklig were the human children taken in exchanged for Trylle babies. They were the lowest on the hierarchy of Trylle, and if a Princess was caught seeing one, they’d both be banished forever. Not that even I cared, but I didn’t have any feelings for Rhys that weren’t purely platonic.
“It has nothing to do with Rhys. I just thought he’d like to see his family.” I shrugged. “It has to be better than living in that stupid house with Elora.”
“Good. He can stay here then.” Finn nodded. “Matt and Rhys are taken care of. Now you can come home.”
“That is not my home. This is my home!” I gestured widely to my room. “I’m not going, Finn.”
“You are not safe.” He took a step closer to me, knowing the effect his presence had on me. He lowered his voice and stared into my eyes. “You saw what the Vittra did in Förening. They sent an army out to get you, Wendy.” He put his hands on my arms, strong and warm on my skin. “They will not stop until they have you.”
“Why? Why wouldn’t they stop?” I asked. “There’s got to be Trylle out there that are easier to get than me. And so what if I’m a Princess? If I don’t come back, Elora can replace me. I’m meaningless.”
“You are far more powerful than you know.”
“What does that even mean?” I demanded.
Before he could answer, there was a noise on the roof outside my window. Finn grabbed my arm and threw open my closet door, shoving me inside. As a rule, I don’t enjoy being tossed into closets and having the door shut on my face, but I knew he was protecting me.
I opened the door a crack, so I could watch what happened and intervene if necessary. Even as mad as I was at Finn, I would never let him get hurt over me. Not again.
Finn stood a few feet from the window. His eyes blazed and his shoulders tensed, but when the figure climbed in through the window, Finn only scoffed.
The kid coming in tripped on the windowsill. He wore skinny jeans and purple shoes with the laces untied. Finn towered over him, looking down at him wearily.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” He flipped his bangs out of his eyes and pulled down his jacket. It was zipped all the way up, and the bottom met the top of his jeans. When he bent over or moved, it rode up.
“Getting the Princess. They sent you after her?” Finn arched an eyebrow. “Elora really thought you’d be able to bring her back?”
“Hey, I’m a good tracker! I’ve brought in way more people than you have!”
“That’s because you’re seven years older than me,” Finn replied. That made the clumsy kid twenty-seven. He looked much younger than that.
“Whatever. Elora picked me. Deal with it.” The kid shook his head. “What? Are you jealous or something?”
“Don’t be absurd.”
“So where is the Princess anyway?” He looked around my room. “She ran away for this?”
“This is my room!” I walked out of the closet, and the new tracker jumped. “You don’t need to be condescending.”
“Um, sorry,” he stumbled, blushing. “My apologies, Princess.” He offered me an unsure smile and did a low bow. “I’m Duncan Janssen, and I’m at your service.”
“I’m not the Princess anymore, and I’m not going with you,” I said. “I just finished explaining that to Finn.”
“What?” Duncan looked uncertainly at Finn as he readjusted his jacket again. Finn sat down on the edge of my bed and said nothing. “Princess, you have to come. It’s not safe for you here.”
“I don’t care.” I shrugged. “I’d rather take my chances out here.”
“It can’t be that bad at the palace.” Duncan was the first person I had ever heard genuinely call Elora’s house a palace, even though it sort of was one. “You are the Princess. You have everything.”
“I’m not going. You can tell Elora that you tried your best, and I refused.”
Duncan once again looked to Finn for help. He shrugged at Duncan, and Finn’s shift to indifference startled me. I had put my foot down on the subject, but I hadn’t really expected him to listen. He seemed to truly believe that I was in danger, even though I didn’t.
“She can’t possibly stay here!” Duncan moved on to reasoning with Finn.
“You think I don’t agree with you?” Finn raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t think you’re helping,” Duncan qualified. He fidgeted with his jacket and continued to try to stare down Finn, a task I knew was impossible.