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 spo
ken 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.
Finn had been gone almost continuously for months. He was the best tracker we had, and he’d been bringing back changelings all over the Trylle communities. I hadn’t seen him since before Christmas, and although I still missed him, it was probably better that way.
I was marrying someone else, and even though I loved Finn, I had to put that behind me and move past it.
“Where is this party happening anyway?” I asked Willa, pushing thoughts of Finn from my mind.
“Upstairs,” Willa said, leading me towards the grand staircase in the front hall. “Matt’s up there doing the finishing touches.”
“Finishing touches?” I raised an eyebrow.
Somebody pounded on the front door, making the door shake. They knocked so hard, the chandelier above us began to tremble. Normally people rang a doorbell, but someone was nearly beating down the door.
“Stay back, Princess,” Duncan said as he walked over to the door.
“Duncan, I can get it,” I said. If somebody hit the door hard enough to make the front hall quake, I was afraid of what it would do to him. I made a move towards the door, but Willa stopped me.
“Wendy, let him,” she said firmly. “You and Tove will be here if he needs you.”
“No.” I pulled myself from her grip and went after Duncan, to defend him if I needed to.
That sounded silly since he was supposed to be my bodyguard, but I was more powerful than him. He was really only meant to serve as a human shield if need be, but I would never let him do that.
When he opened the door, I was right behind him. Duncan meant to only partially open the door so he could see what waited for us outside, but a gust of wind came up, slamming it open, and sending snow swirling around the front hall.
A blast of cold air struck me, but it died down almost instantly. Willa could control the wind when she wanted to, so as soon as it blew inside the palace, she held up her hand to silence it.
A guy stood in the doorway, bracing himself with his hands on either side of the door. He was slumped forward, his head hanging down, and snow covered his black sweater. His clothes were ragged, worn and shredded in most places.
“Can we help you?” Duncan asked.
“I need the Princess,” he said, and as soon as I heard his voice, a shiver went through me.
“Loki?” I gasped.
“Princess?” Loki lifted his head. He smiled crookedly, but it didn’t have his usual bravado. His caramel eyes were tired and pained, and he had a fading bruise on his cheek.
“What happened to you?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”
“I apologize for the intrusion Princess,” he said, his smile already fading. “And as much as I’d like to say that I’m here for pleasure, I…” He swallowed something back, and his hands gripped tighter onto the doorframe.
“Are you alright?” I asked, pushing past Duncan.
“I…” Loki started to say, and his knees gave out. He pitched forward, and I rushed forward to catch him. He fell into my arms, and I lowered him to the ground.
“Loki?” I brushed the hair back from his eyes, and they fluttered open.
“Princess.” He smiled up at me, but it was weak. “If I’d known that this is what it would take to get you to hold me, I would’ve collapsed a long time ago.”
“What is going on, Loki?” I asked gently. If he hadn’t been so obviously distressed, I would’ve swatted him for that comment, but he grimaced in pain when I touched his face.
“Amnesty,” he said thickly, and his eyes closed.
About the Author
Amanda Hocking is a lifelong Minnesotan obsessed with John Hughes and Jim Henson. In between making collages and drinking too much Red Bull, she writes young adult urban fantasy and paranormal romance.
This is the second book in the Trylle Trilogy, and the third book - Ascend - will be out by the end of 2010. Hollowland – an urban fantasy with zombies – is her latest novel. The first four books in her vampire series – My Blood Approves, Fate, Flutter, and Wisdom – are out now.
Connect with Me Online:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/amanda_hocking
Blog: http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/amandahockingfans
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/amanda_hocking
Glossary of Trylle Terminology
Aura – a field of subtle, luminous radiation surrounding a person or object. Different colored auras denote different things. (See: http://amandahocking3a.blogspot.com/p/auras.html for definitions of specific colors.)
Changeling – a child secretly exchanged for another.
Förening – the capital and largest city of Trylle society. A compound in the bluffs along the Mississippi River in Minnesota where the palace is located.
Hobgoblin – an ugly, misshapen troll that stands no more than three feet tall.
Host family – the family that the changeling is left with. They are chosen based
on their ranking in human society, with their wealth being the primary consideration. The higher ranked the member of Trylle society, the nicer the host family their changeling is left with.
Mänsklig – often shortened to “mänks.” The literal translation for the word “mänsklig” is human, but it refers to the human child that is taken when the Trylle offspring is left behind.
Markis – a title of male royalty in Trylle and Vittra society. Similar to that of a Duke, it’s given to trolls with superior abilities. They have higher ranking than the average Trylle, but less than the King and Queen. The hierarchy of the Trylle society is as follows:
King/Queen
Prince/Princess
Markis/Marksinna
Trylle citizens
Trackers
Mänsklig
Host families
Humans (not raised in troll society)
Marksinna – a title of female royalty in Trylle and Vittra society.
Persuasion – a mild form of mindcontrol. The ability to cause another person to act a certain way based on thoughts.
Precognition – knowledge of something in advance of its occurrence, especially by extrasensory perception
Psychokinesis – blanket term for the production or control of motion, especially in inanimate and remote objects, purportedly by the exercise of psychic powers. This can include mind control, precognition, telekinesis, biological healing, teleportation, and transmutation.
Stork – slang term for tracker; derogatory. “Humans tell little kids that storks bring the babies, but trackers bring the babies here.”
Tracker – members of Trylle society that are specifically trained to track down the changelings and bring them home. Trackers have no paranormal abilities, other than the affinity to tune in to one particular troll. They are able to sense danger to their charge and can determine distance between themselves and their charge. The lowest form of Trylle society, other than mänsklig.
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