Duncan waited at the bottom of the tree, and Finn dropped gracefully to the ground. From the window, I watched Finn coax a hesitant Duncan away from the house.
When they reached the hedges separating my lawn from the neighbors’, Finn looked around, checking to make sure no one was there. Without even looking at me, he and Duncan turned and disappeared.
I closed the window, locking it securely the way he’d said to. I felt a terrible ache watching him go. Even though he had done this kind of thing before, I couldn’t wrap my mind around Finn really leaving and convincing Duncan to leave me too. If he was so concerned about the Vittra, why would he leave me so unprotected?
It finally dawned on me. Finn had never left me unprotected, no matter what I or anybody else wanted. As soon as he had realized I wasn’t going with him, he hadn’t wanted to waste any more time arguing. He would wait in the wings until I changed my mind or …
I shut the curtains tightly. I hated being spied on, but I also found it strangely comforting that Finn was watching over me. After having my window open for so long, my room felt chilly, so I went over to my closet and pulled on a heavy sweater.
The adrenaline rush from seeing Finn had left me wide awake, but I was looking forward to curling up in bed, even if I wouldn’t be able to sleep.
I settled into my bed, trying futilely to forget about Finn. Within minutes, I heard a loud banging downstairs. Matt let out a yell, but it was cut short, leaving the house in total silence.
I jumped and ran to my bedroom door. With shaking hands, I opened it, hoping that Finn had tried to sneak back in and had a misunderstanding with Matt.
Then I heard Rhys screaming.
THREE
insentient
Rhys suddenly went silent. I barely took a step out of my room when I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs, and before I could react, she was there.
Kyra, a Vittra tracker I had dealt with before, appeared at the top of the landing. Her dark hair was in a pixie cut, and she wore a long black leather jacket. She hung on to the railing, crouching down. As soon as she saw me, she sneered, showing more teeth than any human would.
I rushed toward her, hoping for the element of surprise, but I was out of luck.
She dodged before I got close and sent a swift kick into my abdomen. I stumbled backward, gripping my stomach dramatically, and when she came at me again, I punched her in the face.
Unfazed, Kyra lunged at me and returned the blow much harder. When I fell down, she stood over me, smiling, with blood dripping from her nose.
I scrambled to my feet, and she grabbed my hair, yanking me up. I kicked at her as she lifted me, and she rewarded my moxie by kicking me in the side so hard I cried out. Kyra laughed at that and kicked me again.
This time I saw white and everything faded out for a moment. My hearing got wonky, and I barely hung on to consciousness.
“Stop!” a strong voice shouted.
When I blinked open my swollen eyes, I saw a man running up the stairs toward Kyra. He was tall, and beneath his black sweater he was well muscled. Kyra dropped me to the floor when he reached the top of the stairs.
“It’s not like I can really hurt her, Loki,” Kyra said, her voice bordering on whining.
I tried to get to my feet again, even though I felt dizzy, and she kicked me down.
“Knock it off,” he snapped at her. She grimaced and took a step back.
He stood in front of me, towering above me, and then knelt down. I could scramble away from him, but I wouldn’t get far. He cocked his head, looking at me curiously.
“So you’re what all the fuss is about,” he mused.
He reached forward, taking my face in his hands. Not painfully, but he was forcing me to look at him. His caramel eyes fixed on mine. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.
This strange fog settled over me, and as terrified as I was, I felt my body relaxing, losing its ability to fight. My eyelids were too heavy to keep open, and, unable to stop it, I fell asleep.
I was dreaming of water. But anything more specific than that I couldn’t remember. My body felt cold, like it should be shivering but wasn’t. My cheeks were warm, though, resting against something soft.
“You’re telling me that she’s a Princess?” Matt asked, his voice a deep rumble above me. My head lay against his leg, and the more I woke up, the more I realized how terrible my body felt.
“It’s not that hard to believe, really,” Rhys said. His voice came from somewhere on the other side of the room. “Once you get all the Trylle stuff, the Princess part is pretty easy to take.”
“I’m not sure what to believe anymore,” Matt admitted.
I opened my eyes with a struggle. My lids felt unnaturally heavy, and my left eye was swollen from where Kyra had punched me. The room swayed, and I blinked it into focus.