Ascend (Trylle Trilogy, #3) (8 page)

10. Aid

Elora wasn’t mad at me, but I hadn’t expected her to be. She’d already begun the process of entrusting me with the kingdom, which was overwhelming, but I’d never let that on. I asked for advice as infrequently as possible. I had to know how to do things on my own, and she accepted my decisions most of the time.

The news of the attack had upset her, and that’s what I had been afraid of. She wanted to get out of bed and go after Oren herself, but simply getting angry tired her out too much to sit up. She’d become so fragile, and it scared me to see her that way.

I left her in the care of Garrett, and I went to find Finn before he left. I wasn’t even sure how I felt about him leading the team. I had no right to stop him, and I knew that. I wouldn’t even ask it of him if I could.

But this might be dangerous. I didn’t know what the Vittra’s plans might be. I hadn’t expected them to start attacking us, so I’d clearly underestimated Oren’s determination to destroy us. Or, more specifically, me.

Even though Finn hadn’t been home for the better part of a month, his residence was still technically the palace. What few earthly possession he had were here in his room in the servants’ quarters. As I went to his room, I passed Loki’s, and I was pleased to see that the door was shut. He’d taken my advice to lay low.

Finn’s bedroom door was open, and he was packing a few clothes to take with him. I wasn’t sure how long he’d be gone, but it had to be at least a few days. It depended on how badly damaged Oslinna had been.

“Are you about packed?” I asked. I stood in the hall just outside his door, too afraid to go in further.

“Yeah.” Finn glanced back at me. He shoved a pair of boxers in the duffle bag and zipped it up. “I think so.”

“Good.” I twisted the wedding band around my finger. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I don’t have much of a choice.” Finn picked up his bag and turned to face me. He kept his expression blank, and I hated that he did that so well. I hated that I never knew what he was really thinking or feeling.

“Of course you have a choice,” I said. “I’m not forcing you to go.”

“I know that. But they need somebody experienced, someone who isn’t an idiot to go along. My father has to stay here, and I’m the next logical choice.”

“I could go,” I offered. “I should. I can be of more help.”

“No. What I said at the meeting is still true,” Finn said. “You’re needed here.”

“I’m not doing anything here except waiting until you get back.” I didn’t like the way that sounded, so I lowered my eyes.

“We won’t be gone that long,” Finn said. “We’ll probably bring the survivors back to Förening. They can have shelter here.”

“I should ready the palace for extra guests then,” I said, and I hated that. He would be out at battle, and I would be at home, making sure the beds were made. “I should be going with you. This is ridiculous.”

“Princess, this is the right place for you,” he said, almost tiredly. “But it’s time for me to go. I don’t want to make them wait for me.”

“Yes, sorry.” I stepped aside so he could walk past me. His arm brushed against me, but he didn’t even notice. As he walked by, I said, “Be careful.”

“You say that as if you care,” he muttered.

“I do care,” I said defensively. “I never said that I didn’t. That isn’t fair.” He stopped with his back to me.

“The other night, you made your intentions perfectly clear.”

“So did you,” I said, and he pivoted to face me. “And you made your choice.” He’d chosen duty time and time again, and if he had to sacrifice something, it had been me.

“I never had a choice, Wendy,” Finn said, sounding exasperated.

“You
always
did. Everybody does. And you chose.”

“Well, so did you,” he said finally.

“That I did,” I agreed.

He stared at me for a moment longer before turning and walking away. I hadn’t wanted that to be my last conversation with him before he left. Part of me still feared that something might happen, but Finn could handle himself.

There were going to be survivors coming, and I needed to get the palace ready. I had never considered myself domestic, but Willa and Matt would be good at that sort of thing.

I found them together in Matt’s room, and Willa was trying to explain to him what happened in Oslinna without freaking him out too much. That was our general approach with telling Matt stuff. We didn’t want to keep him completely out of the loop, but he would have had an aneurysm if he understood exactly what we were up against.

“The Vittra killed people?” Matt asked. He sat on his bed watching Willa straighten her hair. We may be in crisis mode, but that didn’t mean her hair had to look like it. “They actually killed people like you?”

“Yes, Matt.” Willa stood in front of the full-length mirror across from him, running the straightener through her long hair. “They’re the bad guys.”

“And they’re doing this because they’re after you?” Matt asked, turning to me.

“They’re doing it because they’re bad people,” Willa answered for me.

“But that Loki guy, he’s one of them?” Matt asked.

“Not exactly,” I said carefully. I stood off to the side of the room, and I leaned back against the wall.

“He was though,” Matt said. “He kidnapped you before. So why are you always hanging out with him?”

“I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are,” Matt insisted. “And the way you danced with him at your wedding? That’s not the way a married woman acts, Wendy.”

“I danced with a hundred guys that night.” I shifted my weight and stared down at the floor.

“Leave her alone, Matt,” Willa said. “She was having some fun at her wedding. You can’t blame her for that.”

“I’m not blaming her for anything. I’m trying to understand.” He scratched at the back of his head. “Where is your husband, by the way?”

“He’s down talking to the team before they leave,” I said. “Giving them instructions and words of encouragement.”

“You didn’t want to see them off yourself?” Willa asked, turning a bit to look at me.

“No.” I thought back to my conversation with Finn and shook my head. “No. Tove’s got it covered. He’s the Prince now. He can share some of the responsibility.”

“When do you think the refugees will get here?” Willa asked. She set the straightener down on the nearby dresser, and I could see burn marks on it from her doing the same thing many times before. She must pretty much live here now.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “Maybe in a day or two or six. But we should have the rooms ready, just to be safe.”

“Well, we can definitely help you with that.” Willa leaned forward, inspecting her hair to make sure it was perfect, and then she turned around. “Where are the extra blankets and cleaning supplies?”

Most of the second floor of the South Wing were servants’ quarters, along with the Queen’s chambers, which was now my room. I’m not sure exactly why the Queen resided with the servants, except that the South Wing was where the more formal business took place.

Since we had almost no live-in servants anymore, other than two maids, a chef, and a couple trackers, most of the bedrooms were empty. They hadn’t been used in ages, so they were musty and needed freshening, but they weren’t exactly dirty.

Each room had extra bedding in it, so we just needed to dust and vacuum. We raided the supply closet at the top of the stairs, and Duncan came up to meet us. He’d been with Tove sending the team off.

Tove stayed with Thomas to work on calling all the trackers in. It was a long and arduous task, and I thought about helping them, but I felt better doing physical work. It felt more like I was accomplishing something.

Duncan helped carry supplies down to the rooms, and I decided to enlist Loki to help us. I wanted to keep him out of sight, but nobody would be checking the servants’ quarters. And if he was staying here, he might as well be of some use.

While we cleaned the first room, I asked Loki again if he knew anything about the Vittra plans. He insisted that he didn’t know anything about it, other than that Oren wanted me all for himself. His only advice was to stay the hell out of Oren’s way when he was pissed off.

Matt and Willa took a room of their own to clean, while Duncan, Loki, and I cleaned a different one.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t have gone with them?” Duncan asked. He’d gathered up the dirty bedding to throw down the laundry chute, while Loki helped me smooth out the fresh blankets on the bed.

“Yes, Duncan, I need you here,” I told him for the hundredth time. He felt guilty about not going with the others to Oslinna, but I refused to let him go.

“Alright,” Duncan sighed, but he still didn’t sound convinced. “I’m going to go throw this down. I’ll meet you in the next room.”

“Okay, thank you,” I said, and he left.

“What do you need him for?” Loki asked quietly.

“Shh!” I fixed the corner of the sheet and glared at Loki.

“You just don’t want him to go,” Loki smirked. “You’re protecting him.”

“I’m not,” I lied.

“Don’t you trust him in battle?”

“No, not really,” I admitted and picked up a dust rag and glass cleaner. “Grab the vacuum.”

“But he’s your bodyguard.” Loki grabbed the vacuum and started to follow me out of the room. “He’s supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around.”

“I don’t care how it’s supposed to be. It is how it is.”

“How wise,” he quipped as he walked into the next room.

He set down the vacuum and plugged it in while I went over to the bed to start stripping it.

“You know, Princess, instead of making that bed, we could close the door and have a roll around in it.” Loki wagged his eyebrows. “What do you say?”

Rolling my eyes, I went over and turned on the vacuum cleaner to drown out the conversation.

“I’ll take that as a maybe later!” Loki shouted over it, and I went back to making the bed.

We worked all afternoon, and by the end we were all tired and cranky. Somehow, that felt good. It meant we’d done something today, and while it hadn’t helped anybody in Oslinna yet, it would.

When supper time came around, I wasn’t hungry, so I retired to my room. I was exhausted, and I should’ve slept, but I couldn’t. Tove came in shortly after I got in bed, and we didn’t say much. He just crawled in bed, and both of us lay awake for a long time.

I wasn’t even sure I’d even fallen asleep when Duncan burst through door. He didn’t knock, and I was about to yell at him when I saw how he looked. He wore pajamas and his hair was mussed from sleep, but he was positively panicked.

“What is it, Duncan?” I asked, already throwing my legs over the side of the bed so I could get up.

“It’s Finn,” Duncan panted. “They were ambushed on the way to Oslinna.”

11. Defeat

I don’t remember moving or running. It was all a blur of nothing until I was in the front hall with Finn. A small crowd had gathered around, including Thomas, but I pushed them out of the way to get to him.

Finn was sitting on the floor, and I fell to my knees next to him. He was alive, and I almost sobbed at the sight of him. Blood covered his temple, and his clothes were disheveled. His arm hung at a weird angle, and it took me a moment to realize it had to be broken.

“What happened?” I asked, and I touched his face with trembling hands, mostly to be sure he was real.

“We caught them off guard,” Finn said. He stared off at nothing, and his eyes were moist. “They were going home, I think, and we happened to run into them. We thought we could get the best of them. But they were too strong.” He swallowed hard. “They killed the Chancellor.”

“Oh shit,” Tove said, and I turned to see him standing in the gap I had left in the crowd.

“Tove, go get your mother,” I said. Tove nodded once and left, and I turned back to Finn. “Are you okay?”

“I’m alive,” he said simply.

Finn was in shock, so I didn’t push him for details. Markis Bain ended up filling in the details about what had happened. They were on their way to Oslinna when they saw the Vittra camped out. The way he described it, it sounded all very Rumpelstiltskin. The hobgoblins had a fire going, and they danced around it, singing songs and telling tales of how they defeated Oslinna.

The Chancellor thought they should get the drop on the hobgoblins. They could end the fight right there in the woods. Finn was initially against the idea, but if they had a chance to stop the Vittra before they hurt anybody else, they had to take it.

The only reason any of the team had survived was because they had surprised the Vittra, but the Chancellor wasn’t the only one who died. Another Markis had been killed, and another tracker was severely injured.

All of them were battered and bruised. When Aurora came over to heal them, Bain kept saying it was amazing that any of them were alive. Aurora healed Finn, but not completely. She wouldn’t waste her energy on a tracker, no matter what I said. 

Duncan and I helped Finn up to his room to rest, and Tove stayed behind. He wanted to make sure the others got home okay. We’d have to plan another way to help Oslinna, but we couldn’t do it now.

“I don’t need to lie down,” Finn insisted as Duncan and I helped him sit on his bed. “I’m fine.” He winced when I bumped his arm, and I sighed.

“Finn, you are not fine,” I said. “You need to rest.”

“No, I need to figure out how to stop those damned hobgoblins,” Finn said. “They’re going to come after us all eventually. We need to find a way to beat them.”

“We will,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure that was true. “But we aren’t going to do anything right now. It can wait until the morning, when you’ve slept some.”

“Wendy.” He looked up at me, his eyes stormier than normal. “You didn’t see them. You don’t know what they’re like.”

“No, I don’t,” I admitted, and the tone of his voice made my stomach twist up. “But you can tell me all about it. Tomorrow.”

“Let me at least talk to Loki,” Finn said, almost desperately.

“Loki?” I asked. “Why would you want to talk to him?”

“He has to know how to handle these things,” Finn said. “There’s got to be some secret to defeating them, and if anyone knows it, it would be a Vittra Markis.”

“He’s probably sleeping –”

“Then wake him up, Wendy!” Finn yelled, and I flinched. “People are dying!”

“Fine.” I twisted my ring around my finger and relented. “If you promise to lie down, I’ll let Loki talk to you. But once he’s done, you have to rest until tomorrow. Is that clear?”

“Fine,” Finn said, but I had a feeling he’d agree to anything if I got Loki.

“Duncan?” I looked back to where he waited in the doorway. “Can you get Loki? Tell him I asked for him.”

Duncan left me alone with Finn. I motioned for Finn to lie back. He sighed but did it anyway. I sat next to him, and he stared at the ceiling, looking annoyed. His shirt was torn and bloody, and tentatively, I reached out to a cut on his arm.

“Don’t,” he said firmly.

“Sorry.” I dropped my hand. “And I’m sorry about what happened. I should’ve gone with you.”

“Don’t be stupid. If you’d gone with us, you’d only have gotten yourself killed.”

“I’m a stronger fighter than you are, Finn.”

“I’m not going to argue with you,” he said, his eyes still staring straight up. “You don’t even need to be here. I’m fine. I can talk to Loki alone.”

“No, I’m not leaving you alone with him.” I shook my head. “Not when you’re weak.”

“You think he’d hurt me?” Finn asked.

“No, I think he knows how to push your buttons. And I don’t want you getting all riled up.”

Finn scoffed. I hated how strained things had become between Finn and me, but I didn’t know how to fix it. I wasn’t even sure it could be fixed. We sat in silence until Duncan came back with Loki.

“This is not at all what I had in mind when the Princess summoned me in the middle of the night,” Loki sighed and stood in the door to Finn’s room. His light hair stood up all over, and he had red marks on his face from sleeping.

“Thank you for getting up,” I said. “Did Duncan tell you what happened?”

“Obviously not, or I wouldn’t be here,” Loki grumbled.

“The team we sent out to help Oslinna was attacked by hobgoblins,” I said. “Some of our people were killed.”

“You’re lucky not all of them were killed,” Loki said.

“Good men died tonight,” Finn growled and tried to sit up in bed, but I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back. “They fought to protect the people here! To protect the Princess! I would think that was something that mattered to you!”

“That wasn’t a slam against the lives you lost,” Loki said, managing to sound apologetic and irritated at the same time. “The hobgoblins are hard to beat. And from what I heard about Oslinna, it’s astonishing to me that any of you lived.”

“We caught them by surprise.” Finn settled back down in bed again.

“That does help,” Loki said. “The hobgoblins may be strong, but they’re stupid.”

“How do we defeat them?” Finn asked.

“I don’t know,” Loki shrugged. “I’ve never tried defeating them.”

“You must know how it’s done,” Finn insisted. “There must be a way.”

“Maybe there is,” Loki admitted. “But I have never tried defeating them.” He shrugged again. “I’ve never even fought beside them. The King usually doesn’t let hobgoblins leave the grounds. He’s afraid that humans will catch on to what we are if they see them.”

“Why is he letting them out now?” Finn asked.

“You know why he is,” Loki sighed and sat down in a chair in the corner of Finn’s room. “The King’s fixated on the Princess. He’ll do anything to get her.”

“How do we stop that?” Finn looked over at him.

“I don’t know,” Loki said.

“What if we can’t stop him?” I asked.

“We’ll find a way,” Finn assured me, but he wouldn’t look at me when he said it.

“The hobgoblins aren’t very bright,” Loki added quickly. “And they’re helpless against abilities. Any power you have works twice as well on them as it does on humans.”

“What do you mean?” Finn asked.

“Like persuasion or any of Wendy’s abilities.” Loki gestured to me. “It works on them like that.” He snapped his fingers to demonstrate. “That’s why I was in charge of guarding her at the Vittra palace. She could’ve convinced the hobgoblins to do anything for her.”

“So the Markises and Marksinnas, they can defeat the hobgoblins?” Finn asked. “But I can’t?”

“Not in hand to hand combat, I wouldn’t think.” Loki shook his head.

“We’re not going to get a Markis or Marksinna to fight in the war,” I said. “Especially not when a Markis was killed tonight, along with the Chancellor. They’ll be too afraid.”

“We can convince them,” Finn said. “If it’s the only way we can stop them, they’ll have to do it.”

“It’s not the only way,” I said, but both Loki and Finn ignored me.

“Your people are spoiled,” Loki smirked. “You can’t convince them to do anything.”

“We’re spoiled?” Finn scoffed. “That would mean something if it weren’t coming from a brat Prince.”

“I don’t know how you find that so offensive.” Loki sat up straighter. “I’ve seen the way these people treat Wendy, and she’s their Princess. They’re insolent.”

“They don’t know her,” Finn said. “It takes time, and it doesn’t help that she spends so much of it with Vittra prisoners.”

“I’m not a prisoner.” Loki looked disgusted. “I’m here on my own.”

“I do not understand that.” Finn shook his head in disbelief.

“Finn, he asked for amnesty, and I granted it,” I said.

“But your motivations completely baffle me,” Finn said. “We’re fighting with the Vittra, and you let him stay without consequence.”

“It really pisses you off that she wants me around?” Loki asked with a sly smile, and Finn glared at him.

“I don’t –” I stopped myself and shook my head. “It doesn’t matter why Loki’s here, but he is here now. And his knowledge of the Vittra can help us.”

“I’ll tell you as much as I know, but I honestly don’t know that much that can help you, Princess,” Loki said. “If you want information about policies and procedures, I can help. But if I knew a way to stop the King, I would’ve done it myself.”

“Why?” Finn asked. “Why would you stop the King?”

“He’s a bastard.” Loki lowered his eyes and pulled at something on his shirt. “Beyond measure.”

“But hasn’t he always been one?” Finn asked. “Why did you defect now? Why here? There are other troll tribes and hundreds of cities that aren’t at war with your King.”

“But only the Trylle have Wendy.” Loki’s smile returned but his eyes were pained. “And how could I pass on that?”

“She is married, you know,” Finn said. “So it might be a good idea if you stopped trying to flirt with her. She’s not interested.”

“It’s up to her to decide who she’s interested in,” Loki said, with an edge to his voice. “And it’s not exactly like you’re following your own advice.”

“I am her tracker.” Finn sat up in bed, but this time I didn’t try to stop him. His eyes were burning. “It’s my job to protect her.”

“No, Duncan is her tracker.” Loki pointed to where Duncan stood in the doorway, staring wide-eyed at their confrontation. “And Wendy’s stronger than the both of you combined. You’re not protecting her. You’re protecting
yourself
because you’re a love sick ex-boyfriend.”

“You think you have everything figured out, but you don’t know anything,” Finn growled. “You are sneaky and manipulative, and if it were up to me I’d have you sent back to the Vittra in a flash.”

“But it’s not up to you, is it?” Loki tilted his head, taunting him. “Because you’re just a tracker. You can’t make decisions.”

“But I can!” I snapped. “And this conversation is over. Finn needs to rest, and you are not helping anything, Loki.”

“Sorry,” Loki said and rubbed his hands on his pants.

“Why don’t you go back to your room?” I asked Loki. “I’ll be over to talk to you in a minute.”

“Sure,” he nodded and got up. “Feel better, tracker.”

Finn grunted in response, and Loki and Duncan left. I wanted to reach out and touch Finn, comfort him in some way because I felt like he needed it. Maybe even I needed it. The thought of losing him had terrified me. He had nearly died.

I couldn’t let anybody else die over this. I had to do something.

“Get some sleep,” I told Finn, since I could think of nothing better to say to him. I got up, but he reached out and grabbed my wrist.

“Wendy, I don’t trust him,” he said, referring to Loki.

“I know. But I do.”

“Be careful,” Finn said simply and let go of me.

It was well after midnight, and the rest of the palace had fallen silent. Tomorrow would bring endless meetings, but for now, everyone had returned to their beds. The hall was dark, and I could see the warm glow from the lamp in Loki’s room.

He didn’t hear me in the hallway, so I stood outside, watching him. He was making his bed, and when he’d finished, he chewed his thumb and stared down at the bed. He shook his head and pulled back the blanket a bit, so it looked more unmade. Then he changed his mind and smoothed out the bedding again.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Nothing.” He looked startled for a second, then smiled and ran a hand through his hair. “Nothing. You wanted to talk? Why don’t you come in?”

“Were you just straightening up the room for me?” I asked.

“Well…” He ruffled his hair again. “Whenever I have a Princess stopping by, I try to make my room presentable.”

“I see.” I went into his room and shut the door behind me, which only delighted him.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Loki gestured to his bed. “Make yourself comfortable.”

“I need to ask you a favor.”

“For you, anything,” he smiled.

“I want you to take me to the Vittra palace,” I said, and his smile fell away.

“Except that.”

“I feel horrible asking, because I know what Oren did to you, and I wouldn’t expect you to go inside or anything,” I said quickly. “I don’t know how to get there or how to get inside, but you could tell me and drop me at the door. I’d never put you in danger or risk your life.”

“But you expect me to risk yours?” Loki smirked and shook his head. “No way, Princess.”

“I can promise you your safety,” I said. “Once I am there, I doubt he’d even care about you. You don’t have to go anywhere near the palace even. Tell me how to get there.”

“Wendy, you’re not listening,” he said. “I’m not just worried about me. I won’t let you do that.”

“I’ll be fine,” I insisted. “He’s my father, and I’m strong enough to handle myself.”

“You have no idea what you’re up against,” Loki laughed darkly. “No. This is completely ludicrous. I’m not even going to entertain the idea.”

“Loki, listen to me. Finn almost died tonight –”

“Your boyfriend gets hurt, and suicide becomes the only viable option?” Loki asked.