“Why hasn’t she fully healed?” Oren gave her an icy glare, and she lowered her gaze.
“I did everything I could for her,” Sara said quietly. “And it was not my fault she was injured in the first place.”
“If Loki could keep the damn trackers in line,” Oren growled. His temper, which I had sensed lying dormant just below the surface before, flared up.
“Loki did you a favor, Your Majesty,” Sara argued politely. “This is far beyond what his title dictates. If he hadn’t been there, I’m certain things would’ve gone much worse.”
“I’m done arguing with you about that idiot,” he said. “If the Princess needs to rest, then show her to room and leave me be.”
“Thank you, Sire.” Sara stood up, doing a curtsey to him, and turned her attention to me. “Come, Princess. I’ll show you to your room.”
I wanted to protest, but I knew this wasn’t the best time. Oren was ready to strike out against someone simply because he could, and I didn’t want to give him any reason for it to be me.
Once we left the King’s chambers and the doors were safely shut behind me, Sara began making apologies for him. All of this had been so trying on him. He’d spent nearly eighteen years trying to reach me, and Elora had made it as hard on him as she could. It had all come to a head tonight.
Sara wanted me to believe that he wasn’t always this way, but I had a feeling that couldn’t be further from the truth. Oren had given me the impression that this was him in a good mood.
When we reached a room nearer to hers, Sara let me in. It was a smaller, less furnished version of hers. She expressed regret for a lack of clothing, so their home wasn’t stocked the way Förening had been for me. Not that I minded. Clothing and accommodations weren’t my priority.
“You don’t really expect me to stay here, do you?” I asked. She went about my room, turning on the lights and showing me where things were. “Not when my friends are being held prisoner in the dungeon.”
“I expect that you don’t have a choice,” Sara said carefully. Her words didn’t carry the same threat as Oren’s. Rather, she was stating a fact.
“You have to help me.” I went over to her, appealing to her obvious maternal instinct. “They’re down there without food or water. I can’t let them stay that way.”
“I can assure you that they are safe and will be taken care of.” She met my eyes, impressing upon me that she told the truth. “As long as you are here, they will be fed and clothed.”
“That’s not good enough.” I shook my head. “They don’t have a bed or a bathroom.” I didn’t mention that Rhys couldn’t sit, and I had no clue how to break the spell I’d accidentally put him under.
“I am sorry,” Sara said sincerely. “I can promise you that I will check on them myself to ensure they are being properly cared for, but that’s the best I can do.”
“Can’t you put them in another room or something? Lock them in a spare bedroom.” I wasn’t thrilled about them being captive no matter what, but getting them out of the dungeon would be a step in the right direction.
“Oren would never allow it.” She shook her head. “It’d pose too great a risk. I’m sorry.” She looked helplessly at me, and I realized that was the best I could get from her. “I’ll go to get you some appropriate clothing to sleep in.”
I sighed and sat on the bed. Once she left, I let my body sag from exhaustion. I’d barely slept in over twenty-four hours, and I’d been on an emotional rollercoaster the entire time.
But as tired as I was, I knew I couldn’t sleep. Not until I knew that Matt and Rhys were somewhere safe.
7. Dungeons & Heroes
It’s not as if I had a plan or even knew where I was going. Sara had come back with clothes for me – yoga pants and a tank top, both in black. I changed because sneaking around in a dress didn’t sound like much fun, and then I crept out into the hall.
I tried to remember the way Loki had led me up here, but they had dimmed the lights, making it even harder for me to recognize my unfamiliar surroundings. As I recalled, we didn’t take that many turns. It should be fairly simple.
Assuming I did find the dungeon, I didn’t know what I’d do then. Maybe I could use persuasion on the guard. Or if it was another one of the hobgoblin Vittra, I could overpower him and get him to open the door.
I found the winding staircase. It only led down to the main floor, and I’d have to find the route to the dungeon yet, but I didn’t think it would be that hard.
When I reached the bottom of the steps, I heard voices. I froze, debating whether I should run or hide, before deciding that staying in the shadows would be the way to go. I hurried behind the staircase and crouched down, making myself as small as possible.
The voices got louder as they walked closer, and they appeared to be arguing about how to make the best squash. My heart pounded so loudly, I was certain they could hear it, and I held my breath. Moments later, I saw the feet of two hobgoblins walking past.
One of them appeared to be female, with long ratty hair in a braid down her back. They really were unattractive creatures, but based on the way they talked, they seemed harmless. They sounded more human and normal than some of the Trylle I’d encountered in Förening.
I waited a few minutes until I was sure that the hobgoblins had disappeared down the hall before I even breathed. I figured I could take them, but I didn’t want to beat up random strangers. Besides that, they could make noise and alert everyone else in the palace, including Oren.
I stepped out from underneath the staircase and almost ran into Loki. He leaned casually against the stairs, his elbow resting on the railing, and his legs crossed at the ankles. I nearly screamed, but I caught myself, knowing that drawing further attention to a bad situation would only make things worse.
“Hello, Princess.” Loki grinned at me. “Couldn’t sleep?”
He and Ludlow had been calling me “Princess” from the beginning, and I thought they were taunting me about my standing with the Trylle. But I realized I was their Princess, too, and he was actually giving me some form of reverence.
Unfortunately, I knew that my title pulled no weight with him. Right now, I was a prisoner too.
“Yeah, I just… I needed something to eat,” I fumbled up an excuse.
“A likely story,” he said, and his expression became skeptical. “If only I could believe you.”
“I haven’t had anything to eat all day.” While that was actually the truth, my nerves had my stomach too racked to even think about eating.
“What do you plan to do?” Loki asked, ignoring my insistence about hunger. “Even if you find the dungeon, how will you get them out?”
“I won’t, now. You’re gonna run and tell on me, aren’t you?” I studied his eyes, trying to get a read on him, but he looked as amused as he always did.
“Maybe.” He shrugged as if he hadn’t decided yet. “Let me hear your plan. It’s probably not even worth me telling anyone.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked.
“You seem like a self-saboteur,” he said. I opened my mouth to protest, and he laughed at my obvious indignation. “Don’t take it personally, Princess. It happens to the best of us.”
“I’m not going to stop until I get my friends out of here,” I told him firmly.
“Now that I believe.” He leaned in towards me. “This all goes so much easier when you’re honest.”
“Like I’m the one being devious,” I scoffed.
“I haven’t lied to you yet,” he said, sounding oddly serious.
“How do I break my friends out of the dungeon?” I asked him, testing his claim.
“Just because I don’t lie doesn’t mean I’ll answer you,” Loki smiled.
“Fine. I’ll find them myself.”
I felt confident he wouldn’t stop me, although I didn’t know why he wouldn’t. If Oren found out that he was even indulging my plans for escape, I’m sure it wouldn’t bode well for him.
When I brushed past him, walking down the corridor to where I thought the main hall was, he followed me. His pace matched mine easily, even though I tried to walk quickly.
“You think it’s this way, do you?” Loki asked, with a teasing lilt in his voice.
“Don’t try to confuse me. I know my directions. I don’t get lost,” I lied. I got lost a lot. “Isn’t that a Trylle affinity or something?”
“I don’t know. I’m not Trylle,” he replied. “And neither are you.”
“I’m half Trylle,” I said defensively.
Why was I defending it? I didn’t even want to be Trylle, or Vittra, or anything. Plain ordinary human had suited me just fine my whole life. Now that I found myself in this quagmire of ethnicity, I felt strangely protective of Trylle and Förening. Apparently, I cared more than I thought I did.
“You’re rather feisty for a Princess,” Loki remarked, watching me as I walked purposefully down the hallway.
“How many princesses have you met?” I countered.
“None.” He tilted his head thoughtfully. “But the King isn’t feisty at all.”
“I must get it from my mother then,” I said.
When we reached the main hall, I wanted to jump up and down, but it didn’t seem appropriate. Besides, I’d only found the doorway to the dungeon. I still had to actually rescue Matt and Rhys.
“Now what?” Loki asked, pausing in the center of the hall.
“I go down and get them.” I pointed the large doors leading down to the basement.
“No, I don’t very much care for that idea,” he shook his head.
“Of course you don’t. You don’t want me to get them out,” I said. My heart beat rapidly, and I wondered exactly how far Loki would let me take this.
“That’s not why. It just doesn’t seem very interesting.” He pushed up the sleeves of his sweater, revealing his tanned forearms. “In fact, I’m rather bored with the whole thing. Why don’t we do something else?”
“No, I’m getting them out,” I said.
“But you haven’t heard what I’d like to do instead.” His eyes gleamed, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to know what he’d rather do. I didn’t think he would hurt me, but there was definitely something devious in his eyes.
“I thought you said you preferred your princesses unsoiled,” I attempted to tease him.
“But you’ve cleaned yourself up now, haven’t you?” His expression changed, and he looked at me in a way that made me feel funny.
Not bad, and not the same as when he made me pass out. It wasn’t a magic Vittra power or anything. It was just a look that made me feel sort of… fluttery inside.
Before I had time to analyze what I felt or what he meant, a loud banging at the main doors interrupted anything that might have happened. The hall had the doorway leading to the lower level, but it also had the massive doors leading outside, doors that dwarfed the ones on the King’s and Queen’s chambers.
The banging came again, making me jump, and Loki moved in front of me. Was he protecting me? Or hiding me?
The doors flew open, and joy surged over me.
Tove had blown the doors open with his abilities, and he stood on the other side of them, looking astonishingly bad ass. Tove had been a rather foxy and very powerful Trylle I’d known in Förening. His quirky, anti-social personality had endeared him to me, but he was also about the last person I’d expect to see here. His abilities did allow him to move objects with his mind, though, so he was a very powerful ally to have.
Then I caught sight of who had with him. Duncan and Finn stood behind him, letting him throw open the doors while they waited to rush in. As soon as I saw Finn, my heart wanted to explode.
I’d been so afraid Finn had been hurt or I might never see him again, and there he was.
“Finn! You’re okay!” I rushed past Loki without a second thought and ran to Finn.
I threw my arms around him, and for a brief second, he hugged me. The strength of his arms embracing me let me know how worried he had been about me. But almost as soon I felt it, he cut it short, and pushed me away.
“Wendy, we have to get out of here,” Finn said, as if I’d suggested that we vacation here.
“Matt and Rhys are here. We have to get them first.”
I turned to start telling Finn about the dungeon, and I saw that Tove had Loki pinned up high on the wall. Tove stood several feet back, holding his hand out at him, and Loki hung suspended in the air, his face grimacing in pain.
“No, Tove! Don’t hurt him!” I yelled.
Tove glanced at me but didn’t question my reasoning. He lowered Loki to the ground and released him, leaving Loki to gasp for breath. Loki held his side, bending over.
Tove wasn’t a violent guy by nature, but after the horrible battle he’d done with the Vittra a few weeks ago, I didn’t blame him for being a little preemptive.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Duncan said, and grabbed my arm, as if he meant to drag me out of here. I glared at him, and he instantly dropped his hand. “Sorry, Princess. But we need to hurry.”
“I’m not leaving without Matt and Rhys,” I reiterated, and turned to Loki. “Loki, will you help me get them?”
His eyes met mine, and his cocky demeanor had completely disappeared. He looked conflicted and pained, and I knew it wasn’t just from Tove hurting him.
“We can come back for them,” Finn said.
Nobody had rushed to the hall yet to investigate the commotion, but it was only a matter of time before someone did. And I knew it would serve us well not to tangle with Oren.
“No. We can’t leave. If we do, he’ll kill them.” I kept my eyes on Loki, pleading with him. We needed to hurry, and we might even need him to do it.
He didn’t answer immediately, and that was too long for Finn. He left my side and went over to Loki, grabbing his arm roughly.
“Where are they?” Finn asked, and I’m not sure if he was asking Loki or me. Either way, I’m the one that answered.
I ran towards the dungeon, moving with an anxious fervor. I almost tumbled down the basement stairs in my hurry, but Finn caught my arm before I fell. Duncan actually did trip, thanks to his shoelaces, and I rolled my eyes.
“What the heck is that?” Duncan asked when he saw the hobgoblin guarding Matt and Rhys’s cell. It wasn’t Ludlow, but a hobgoblin just like him.
They all stopped short at the sight of him. The shocked reaction by Duncan, Finn, and Tove pleased me. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one unfamiliar with this particular type of Vittra. I’m not sure if that meant Oren was very good at keeping secrets, or if Elora was, but I had a feeling it was probably both.
“Never mind him.” I walked over to the door, pushing the troll out of my way easily.
He didn’t put up much of a fight. At the sight of the four of us, with Loki as a hostage, he knew he didn’t stand a chance. He started to take off, but Tove stopped him, pinning him against a wall and preventing him from alarming anyone.
“This is pretty weak security,” Duncan said. He watched the hobgoblin wiggle against the wall, while I went over to unlock the door.
“We didn’t really expect anyone to break in,” Loki said. He enunciated his words more than he needed to, as if he was in pain or talking to a small child.
“Well, that was pretty stupid,” Duncan laughed. “I mean, she’s the Princess. It’s not rocket science that we’d come after her.”
“No, I suppose not,” Loki said tightly.
“I don’t understand this!” I said after futilely twisting at things that did nothing. It had to be the most labyrinthine system of locks I’d ever encountered. I looked to Loki. “Can you do this?”
He sighed, and Finn jerked on his arm. Both Loki and I glared at him, but Finn only acknowledged mine.
“Just help her,” Finn said, reluctantly releasing him.
Wordlessly, Loki went over to the door and began unlocking it. I watched him, and I still didn’t completely understan
d what he did. The bolts clicked loudly, and I could hear Rhys shouting something from inside the cell. Finn kept his eyes on Loki, watching for a wrong move, and Duncan looked around, commenting on the dankness of the dungeon.
As soon as the door opened, Matt and Rhys shot out, nearly knocking over Loki in the process. Rhys hugged me in his enthusiasm, and while I couldn’t see the angry look I’m sure Finn gave him over that, I could see the way Matt glared at Finn.
This whole situation could become an awful mess, but we didn’t have time for it.
“You had something to do with this, didn’t you?” Matt asked, his eyes locked on Finn.
“Matt, knock it off,” I said, untangling myself from Rhys’s hug. “He’s here to rescue us, and we have to get out of here. So shut up, and let’s go.”
“Somebody has to come after us soon, right?” Duncan asked, bewildered by the lack of a counter attack.
“Let’s just get out of here,” Matt said, taking the cue.
Tove released the hobgoblin on the wall, and the guys all started rushing ahead, making their escape from the dungeon. I paused, looking at Loki. He stood in front of the cell door, looking weirdly forlorn. His earlier bravado had completely disappeared, and his golden eyes settled on me.
“Don’t tell Oren we’re gone, okay?” I asked. “At least not right away.”
“As you wish,” Loki said simply. Something in the way he looked at me stirred up that fluttery feeling I’d had upstairs.
“Wendy!” Finn snapped.
I ran to catch up to him, then he took my hand. That small touch felt strong and safe, and sent warm tingles running through me. As we raced up the stairs, holding his hand almost made me forget that he’d hurt me or that we were escaping from an enemy prison.
The cold night air hit me when we ran outside. Duncan led the way, stumbling through the dark with Rhys at his heels. Both Tove and Matt kept stopping to make sure that Finn and I were coming, with Matt’s gaze particularly wary.
The ground felt icy, and branches and rocks stung my bare feet. Whenever I slowed down, Finn squeezed my hand, and it spurred me on. The air smelled of winter, like ice and pines, and I heard an owl hooting in the distance.
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