“No. You need to come to my room with me,” Finn said.
“What? Why?” I asked.
A very small part of me felt excited about the prospect of going to his room with him. That sounded like the start of a fantasy I might have. But the way he was looking at me now, I was afraid he might kill me once we were in private.
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“I need to get ready for the day, and I can’t very well let you out of my sight. ” He wore pajama pants and a T-shirt, and his dark hair wasn’t as sleek as it normally was.
I nodded and hurried after him. He walked fast and pissed off, and I fell about a step or two behind.
“I really am sorry, you know,” I said. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep there. We were just watching movies, and it got late. If I had known it would be like this, I would’ve made sure I was in my room. ”
“You should’ve known, Wendy!” Finn exclaimed, exasperated. “You should know that your actions have consequences and the things you do matter!”
“I am sorry!” I repeated. “Yesterday was so boring and I just wanted to do something. ”
Finn whirled on me suddenly, startling me so I took a step backward. My back hit the wall, but he stepped closer to me. He rested an arm against the wall on the side of me, his face only a few inches from mine. His dark eyes were blazing, but somehow his voice remained calm and even.
“You know how it looks when a girl spends the night alone with a boy. I know you understand that. But it is so much worse when a Princess spends the night alone with a mänsklig. It could put everything in jeopardy. ”
“I-I don’t know what that means,” I fumbled. “None of you will tell me. ”
Finn continued to glare at me for another painful minute, then sighed and took a step back. As he stood there, rubbing his eyes, I swallowed back tears and caught my breath.
When he looked back at me, his eyes had softened a bit, but he didn’t say anything. He just walked to his room and, uncertainly, I followed him.
His room was smaller than mine, but a much more comfortable size. Even though the blinds were shut, I could tell one of his walls was made entirely of glass. Dark blankets covered his bed, and books overflowed from several bookshelves. In one corner he had a small desk with a laptop on it.
Like me, he had an adjoining bathroom. When he went in it, he left the door open, and I heard the sound of him brushing his teeth. Tentatively, I sat on the edge of his bed and looked around.
“You must stay here a lot,” I commented. I knew that he stayed here on and off, but to have a room full of stuff implied a more permanent living situation.
“I live here when I’m not tracking,” Finn said.
“My mother is quite fond of you,” I said dimly.
“Not right now she’s not. ” Finn turned off the water and came out, leaning on the doorframe to his bathroom. Sighing, he lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry for yelling at you. ”
“It’s okay. ” I shrugged. I still didn’t understand why he’d been that mad, but he had a point. I was a Princess now, and I had to start behaving like one.
“No, you didn’t deserve it. ” He scratched his temple and shook his head. “My anger was misdirected. When you weren’t in your room this morning, I panicked. With everything going on with the Vittra . . . ” He shook his head again.
“What’s going on with the Vittra?” I asked, my heart speeding up.
“It’s nothing to concern yourself with,” Finn said. “My point is that my emotions were high when I couldn’t find you, and I snapped at you. I apologize. ”
“No, it’s my fault. You guys were right,” I said. Finn just stood there looking away from me, and then I realized something. “How did you even know I wasn’t in my room?”
“I checked on you. ” Finn gave me a look like I was an idiot. “I check on you every morning. ”
“You check on me when I’m sleeping?” I gaped at him. “Every morning?”
He nodded.
“I didn’t know that. ”
“Why would you know that? You’re sleeping,” Finn pointed out.
“Well . . . it just feels weird. ” I shook my head. Matt and Maggie used to check on me, but it felt strange knowing that Finn would come in and watch me sleep, even if it was only for a second.
“I have to make sure you’re safe and sound. It’s part of my job. ”
“You sound like a broken record sometimes,” I muttered wearily. “You’re always just doing your job. ”
“What else do you want me to say?” Finn countered, looking at me evenly.
I just shook my head and looked away. My pants suddenly became very fascinating, and I picked lint off them. Finn kept looking at me, and I expected him to finish getting ready. When he didn’t, I decided that I had to fill the silence.
“What is a mänsklig?” I looked at Finn again, and he exhaled.
“The literal translation for mänsklig is ‘human. ’” He tilted his head, resting it against the doorframe, and watched me. “Rhys is human. ”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand. Why is he around?”
“Because of you,” Finn said, and that only confused me more. “You’re a changeling, Wendy. You were switched at birth. Meaning that when you took the place of another baby, that baby had to go somewhere else. ”
“You mean . . . ” I trailed off, but it was incredibly obvious once Finn said it. “Rhys is Michael!”
Suddenly my crush on him felt very weird. He wasn’t my blood brother, but he was my brother’s brother, even though Matt wasn’t really my brother either. It still felt . . . not right, somehow.
And really, I should’ve noticed sooner. I couldn’t believe I didn’t. Rhys and Matt looked so much alike—their sandy hair, blue eyes, even the way their faces were shaped. But Matt’s worry had hardened him, while Rhys was quick to smile and laugh.
Maybe that’s why I hadn’t noticed it. The complete contrast between their personalities had thrown me off.
“Michael?” Finn looked perplexed.
“Yeah, that’s what my mother—Kim, my fake mom—named him. She knew she had a son, and that’s Rhys. ” My mind swirled. “But how . . . how did they do it? How did they switch us?”
“It’s relatively simple,” Finn explained, almost tiredly. “After Rhys was born, Elora induced labor with you, and using persuasion on the family and hospital staff, she switched you out for him. ”
“It can’t be that simple. The persuasion didn’t really work on Kim,” I pointed out.
“We normally do same-sex exchanges, a girl for a girl, a boy for a boy, but Elora had her mind set on the Everlys. It doesn’t work as well when you do a boy-to-girl switch like that. Mothers are more likely to pick up on something being wrong, as was the case with your host mother. ”
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“Wait, wait!” I held up my hands and looked at him. “She knew it was more dangerous, that Kim would be more likely to snap? But she did it anyway?”
“Elora believed that the Everlys would be the best for you,” Finn maintained. “And she wasn’t completely wrong. Even you freely admit that the aunt and the brother were good to you. ”
I had always kind of hated Kim. I thought she had been terrible and cruel like so many of my classmates, but she had known that I wasn’t her child. Kim had actually been an insanely good mother. She had remembered her son, even when she shouldn’t have been able to, and she refused to give up on him. The whole thing was tragic, when I thought about it.
“So that’s why they don’t want me with the mänsklig? ’Cause he’s like a stepbrother?” I wrinkled my nose at the thought.
“He’s not your brother,” Finn emphasized. “Trylle and mänsklig have absolutely no relation. The problem is that they’re human. ”
“Are we, like . . . physically incompatible?” I asked carefully.
“No. Many Trylle have left the compound to live with humans and
have normal offspring,” Finn said. “That’s part of the reason our populations are going down. ”
“What happens to Rhys now that I’m back?” I asked, ignoring the clinical way Finn addressed everything. He was nothing if not professional.
“Nothing. He can live here for as long as he wants. Leave if he decides to. Whatever he chooses. ” Finn shrugged. “Mänsklig aren’t treated badly here. For example, Rhiannon is Willa’s mänsklig. ”
“That makes sense. ” I nodded. Rhiannon seemed so skittish and nervous, but also rather normal, unlike everyone else. “So . . . what do they do with mänsklig?”
“They aren’t exactly raised as real children, but they are given everything to keep them happy and content,” Finn said. “We have schools set up for the mänsklig, and while they aren’t as nice as the schools you’ve gone to, the mänks do get an education. They even have a small trust fund set up for them. When they’re eighteen, they’re free to do as they please. ”
“But they’re not equals,” I realized. Elora tended to talk down to everyone, but she was worse with Rhys and Rhiannon. I couldn’t imagine that Willa was much nicer either.
“This is a monarchy. There are no equals. ” For an instant Finn looked almost sad, then he walked over and sat on the bed next to me. “As your tracker, I am expected to educate you, and as Elora pointed out, I should’ve started sooner. You need to understand the distinct hierarchy here.
“There is royalty, of which you are at the top. ” Finn gestured to me. “After Elora, of course. Below you there are the Markis and Marksinna, but they can become Kings and Queens through marriage. Then there are your average Trylle, the common folk, if you will. Below that there are trackers. And at the very bottom, there are mänsklig. ”
“What? Why are trackers so low?”
“We are Trylle, but we only track. My parents were trackers, and their parents before them, and so on,” Finn explained. “We have no changeling population. Ever. That means that we have no income. We bring nothing into the community. We provide a service for other Trylle, and in return we are provided with a home and food. ”
“You’re like an indentured servant?” I gasped.
“Not exactly. ” Finn tried to smile, but it looked forced. “Until we retire from tracking, we don’t need to do anything else. Many trackers, such as myself, will work as a guard for some of the families in town. All of the service jobs, like the nannies, the teachers, the chefs, the maids, are almost entirely retired trackers, and they make an hourly wage. Some are also mänsklig, but they stick around less and less. ”
“That’s why you always bow to Elora,” I said thoughtfully.
“She is the Queen, Wendy. Everyone bows to her,” Finn corrected me. “Except for you and Rhys. He’s rather impossible, and host parents don’t usually force their mänks to bow to them. ”
“It’s nice to know that being the Princess has some perks, like not bowing,” I said, smirking.
“Elora may seem cold and aloof, but she is a very powerful woman. ” Finn looked at me solemnly. “You will be a very powerful woman. You will be given every opportunity the world has to offer you. I know you can’t see it now, but you will have a very charmed life. ”
“You’re right. I can’t see it,” I admitted. “It probably didn’t help that I just got in trouble this morning, and I don’t feel very powerful. ”
“You’re still very young,” Finn said with a trace of a smile.
“I guess. ” I remembered how angry he had been earlier and I turned to him. “I didn’t do anything with Rhys. You know that, right? Nothing happened. ”
Finn stared thoughtfully at the floor. I studied him, trying to catch a glimpse of something, but his face was a mask. Eventually he nodded. “Yes. I know that. ”
“You didn’t this morning, though, did you?” I asked.
This time Finn chose not to answer. He stood up and said he needed to shower. He gathered his clothes and went into the bathroom.
I thought this might be a good time to explore his room, but I suddenly felt very tired. He’d woken me early, and this whole morning had been incredibly draining. Lying back down, I rolled over and curled up in his blankets. They were soft and smelled like him, and I easily fell asleep.
FOURTEEN
kingdom
Other than the garden out back, I’d seen little of the palace grounds. After breakfast, Finn took me outside to show me around. The sky was overcast and gloomy, and he stared up at it with a skeptical eye.
“Is it going to rain?” I asked.
“You never can tell around here. ” He sounded annoyed, then shook his head and walked on, apparently deciding to risk it.
We’d gone out the front door of the mansion this time, stepping out on the cobblestone driveway. Trees overshadowed the palace, arching high into the sky. Immediately at the edge of the driveway, lush ferns and plants filled in the gaps between the pines and maples.
Finn walked into the trees, pushing the plants aside gently to make a pathway. He’d insisted I wear shoes today, and as I followed behind him, I understood why. A rough trail had been made, but it was overgrown with moss, and twigs and stones littered the ground.
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“Where are we going?” I asked, as the path climbed upward.
“I’m showing you Förening. ”
“Haven’t I already seen Förening?” I stopped and looked around. Through the trees I couldn’t see much of anything, but I suspected it all looked about the same.
“You’ve barely seen anything yet. ” Finn glanced back at me, smiling. “Come on, Wendy. ”
Without waiting for my answer, he climbed on. The trail already had a steep incline, and it looked slick with mud and moss. Finn maneuvered it easily, grabbing on to the occasional branch or protruding root.
My climb wasn’t anywhere near as graceful. I slipped and stumbled the whole way up, scraping my palms and knees on several sharp rocks. Finn didn’t slow and rarely glanced back. He had more faith in my abilities than I did, but I suppose that was nothing new.
If I hadn’t been so busy mastering a slippery slope, I might’ve enjoyed the time. The air smelled green and wet from all the pine and leaves. The river below seemed to echo through everything, reminding me of the time I put a conch shell to my ear. Over it, I heard birds chirping, singing a fevered song.
Finn waited for me next to a giant boulder, and when I reached him, he made no comment about my slow pace. I didn’t have a chance to catch my breath before he grabbed a small handhold in the boulder and started pulling himself up.
“I’m pretty sure I can’t climb up that,” I said, eyeing the slick surface of the rock.
“I’ll help you. ” He had his feet in a crevice, and he reached back, holding his hand out to me.
Logically speaking, if I grabbed on to him, my body weight would pull him back off the boulder. But he didn’t doubt his ability to pull us both up, so neither did I. Finn had this way of making me believe anything, and it scared me sometimes.
I took his hand, barely getting a chance to enjoy how strong and warm it felt before he started pulling me up. I squealed, which only made him laugh. He directed me to a crevice, and I found myself hanging on to the boulder for dear life.
Finn climbed up, always keeping one hand out for me to grab if I slipped, but I did most of the actual climbing myself. I was surprised when my fingers didn’t give and my feet didn’t slide. When I pulled myself up to the top of the boulder, I couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride.
Standing up on the massive rock, wiping mud off my knees, I started to make some comment about my amazing agility, but then I caught sight of the view. The top of the boulder had to be the highest point atop the bluffs. From here I could see everything, and somehow it was even more amazing than the view from the palace.
Chimneys stood out like dots among the trees, and I could see the plumes of smoke blowing away in
the wind. Roads curved and wound through the town, and a few people walked along them. Elora’s palace was masked with vines and trees, but it still looked startlingly large hanging on the edge of its bluff.
The wind whipping through my hair made the whole thing exhilarating. Almost like I was flying, even though I was just standing there.
“This is Förening. ” Finn gestured to the hidden houses peeking out among the green foliage.
“It is breathtaking,” I admitted. “I’m totally in awe. ”
“It’s all yours. ” His dark eyes met mine, emphasizing the solemnity of his words. Then he looked away, scanning the trees. “This is your kingdom. ”
“Yeah, but . . . it’s not actually mine. ”
“Actually, it kind of is. ” He offered me a small smile.
I looked back down. In terms of kingdoms, I knew this one was relatively small. It wasn’t as if I’d inherited the Roman Empire or anything, but it still felt strange to me that I might possess any kind of kingdom.
“What’s the point?” I asked softly. When Finn didn’t answer, I thought my words might have been carried away by the wind, so I asked louder. “Why do I get this? What am I to do with it?”
“Rule over it. ” Finn had been standing behind me, but he stepped closer, moving next to me. “Make the decisions. Keep the peace. Declare the wars. ”
“Declare the wars?” I looked at him sharply. “That’s really something we do?”
He shrugged.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“Most things will already be decided when you take the throne,” Finn said, staring down at the houses instead of me. “The order is already in place. You just have to uphold it, enforce it. Mostly, you live in the palace, attend parties, trivial governmental meetings, and occasionally decide on something substantial. ”
“Like what?” I asked, not liking the hard tone his voice had taken on.
“Banishments, for one. ” He looked thoughtful. “Your mother once banished a Marksinna. It hadn’t been done in years, but she’s entrusted with making the decisions that best protect our people and our way of life. ”
“Why did she banish her?” I asked.
“She corrupted a bloodline. ” He didn’t say anything for a minute, and I looked at him questioningly. “She had a child with a human. ”
I wanted to ask him more about that but I felt a drop of rain splash on my forehead. I looked up to the sky to be certain I’d felt rain, and the clouds seemed to rip open, pouring water down before I had a chance to shield myself.
“Come on!” Finn grabbed my hand, pulling me.
We slid down the side of the rock, my back scraping against the rough surface of it, and fell heavily into a thicket of ferns. Rain had already soaked through my clothes, chilling my skin. Still holding my hand, Finn led me to shelter underneath a giant pine tree.
“That came on really suddenly,” I said, peering out from under the branches. We weren’t completely dry under the tree, but only a few fat drops of rain made their way through.
“The weather is so temperamental here. The locals blame it on the river, but the Trylle have more to do with it,” Finn explained.