Page 8 of Switched

“Yes. It is. ” There was a hint of pride in his voice. He had brought me here, and I was starting to realize that I must have been a very special request.

  When she moved, she looked even more poised and regal. The length of her skirt swirled around her feet, making it seem as if she floated rather than walked.

  Once in front of me, she inspected me carefully. She seemed to disapprove of my pajamas, especially the dirt stains on my knees I had sustained during the fight, but it was the bruise on my face that caused her to purse her lips.

  “Oh, my. ” Her eyes widened with surprise, but her expression lacked anything resembling concern. “What happened?”

  “Vittra,” Finn answered with the same contempt he had used when speaking that term before.

  “Oh?” Elora raised an eyebrow. “Which ones?”

  “Jen and Kyra,” Finn said.

  “I see. ” Elora stared off for a minute, smoothing out the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress. Sighing tiredly, she looked to Finn. “You’re sure it was only Jen and Kyra?”

  “I believe so,” Finn said, thinking hard. “I didn’t see any signs of others, and they would’ve called for backup, had there been any to call. They were quite insistent on taking Wendy. Jen got violent with her. ”

  “I can see that. ” Elora looked back at me. “Just the same, you are lovely. ” She sounded almost awed by me, and I felt a blush redden my cheeks. “It’s Wendy, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, ma’am. ” I smiled nervously at her.

  “What an ordinary name for such an extraordinary girl. ” She looked displeased for a moment, and then turned to Finn. “Excellent work. You may be excused while I talk to her. Stay close by, though. I’ll call when I need you. ”

  Finn did another small bow before leaving the room. His level of reverence made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure how to act around her.

  “I’m Elora, and I won’t expect you to call me any different. I know you still have so much to get accustomed to. I remember when I first came back. ” She smiled and gave a light shake of her head. “It was a very confusing time. ” I nodded, unsure what else to do as she gestured expansively to the room. “Sit. We have much to talk about. ”

  “Thanks. ” Uncertainly, I took a seat on the edge of the sofa, afraid that if I really sat down on it I would break it or something.

  Elora went to the chaise lounge, where she lay on her side, letting her dress flow around her. She propped her head up with her hand and watched me with intense fascination. Her eyes were dark and beautiful, but there was something familiar about them. They reminded me of a wild animal trapped in a cage.

  “I’m not sure if Finn has explained it to you, but I am your mother,” Elora said.

  EIGHT

  family

  It was impossible. I wanted to correct her. There must be some mistake. Nothing as stunning and elegant as that could spawn me. I was awkward and impulsive. Her hair was like silk, and as it had been pointed out to me before, my hair was like a Brillo pad. I couldn’t be related to her.

  “Ah. I see he did not,” Elora said. “From your bewildered expression, I take it you don’t believe me. But let me assure you, there is no mistaking who you are. I personally chose the Everly family for you and delivered you to them myself. Finn is the best tracker we have, so there is no way you could be anyone else but my daughter. ”

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  “I’m sorry. ” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “I didn’t mean to question you. I just . . . ”

  “I understand. You’re still used to your normal human way of being. That will all change soon. Did Finn explain anything to you about Trylle?”

  “Not really,” I admitted carefully, afraid that I might get him in trouble.

  “I’m certain you have many questions, but let me explain everything to you, and if you still have questions, you can ask me when I’m done. ” Elora had a coldness to her voice, and I doubted I’d ever be able to question her on anything.

  “Trylle are, to the layman, trolls, but that term is antiquated and demeaning, and as you can tell, it doesn’t do us justice at all. ” Elora gestured to the expanse of the room, with all its grace and luxury, and I nodded. “We are beings closely related to humans, but more in tune with ourselves. We have abilities, intelligence, and beauty that far surpass that of humans.

  “There are two important distinctions to our lifestyle as Trylle that separate us from the humans,” Elora continued. “We want to live a quiet life communing with the earth and ourselves. We work to strengthen our abilities and use them to better our lives, to protect ourselves and the things around us. We devote our entire lives to this. Förening exists only to preserve and enhance the Trylle way of life.

  “The other distinction is how we maintain this lifestyle, although it isn’t that different, really. ” She looked thoughtfully out the window. “Human children have their schools, but these places prepare them for a life of servitude. That’s not what we want. We want a life of complete and total freedom. That is why we have changelings.

  “The changeling practice dates back hundreds, maybe thousands of years. ” Elora looked at me gravely, and I gulped back the growing nausea in my belly. “Originally we were forest dwellers, far less . . . industrialized than you see now. Our children were prone to starvation and medical problems, and we did not have an adequate educational system. So we’d leave our babies in place of human children so they would have the benefits that only a human childhood could offer, then when they were old enough they would come back to us.

  “That practice evolved because we evolved. Changelings were healthier, more educated, and wealthier than the Trylle counterparts that stayed behind. Eventually, every child born became a changeling. Of course, now we could easily match the benefits of the human population, but to what end? In order to maintain our current level of existence, we’d have to leave the solace of the compound and spend our lives doing menial jobs. That simply would not do.

  “And so we leave our children with the most sophisticated, wealthiest human families. The changelings live a childhood that is the best this world has to offer, and then return with an inheritance from their host families that infuses our society with wealth. That, of course, isn’t the only goal, but it is a large part of how we can live like this. The money you obtain from your host family will support you for the rest of your life. ”

  “Wait. I’m sorry. I know I’m not supposed to interrupt, but . . . ” I licked my lips and shook my head. “I just need to clarify a few points. ”

  “By all means,” Elora said, but venom tinged her voice.

  “When I was a baby, you gave me to strangers to raise me so I could have a good education, a good childhood, and I would bring money back. Is that right?”

  “Yes. ” Elora raised an eyebrow, daring me to question this.

  I wanted to yell so badly I was shaking. But I was still afraid of her. She looked like she could snap me in half with her mind, so I just twisted my thumb ring and nodded. She had dumped me off on a crazy woman who tried to murder me, just because Elora never wanted to work and needed cash.

  “Shall I continue?” Elora asked without even trying to mask the condescending tone in her voice. I nodded meekly. “I don’t even remember what I was saying. ” She waved her hand in irritation. “If you have any other questions, I suppose you can ask them now. ”

  “What are the Vittra?” I asked, trying to distract myself from how angry I was with her. “I don’t understand who they are or what they wanted with me. ”

  “Förening is populated with Trylle. ” Elora extended her arm in a wide gesture. “The term Trylle is a distinction similar to a tribe. We are trolls, and over the years, the troll population has been dwindling. Our numbers used to be great, but now there are less than a million of us on the entire planet.

  “We are one of the largest tribes left, but we are not the only one,” Elora continued. “The Vittra are a w
arring faction, and they are forever looking to pick off some of us. Either by turning us to their side, or simply by getting rid of us. ”

  “So the Vittra want me to live with them?” I wrinkled my nose. “Why? What could I do for them?”

  “I am the Queen. ” She paused, letting me take this in. “You are the Princess. You are my only child, the last of my legacy. ”

  “What?” I felt my jaw drop.

  “You are the Princess,” Elora explained with a condescending smile. “You will one day be Queen, and being the leader of Trylle carries great weight. ”

  “But if I’m not here, won’t you just find a replacement? I mean, there’s going to be a Queen here even if I’m not,” I said, scrambling to make sense of this all.

  “There is more to it than that. We are not all created equal,” Elora went on. “Trylle are far more gifted than the others. You have already tapped into persuasion, and you have the potential for much more. Vittra are lucky to have any abilities. Adding you to their ranks would greatly add to their power and influence. ”

  “You’re saying I’m powerful?” I raised a sardonic eyebrow.

  “You will be,” Elora amended. “That is why you need to live here, to learn our ways so you can take your rightful place. ”

  “Okay. ” I took a deep breath and ran my hand along my pajama pants.

  None of this seemed real or made sense. The idea of myself as a Queen was completely absurd. I barely managed to pass for an awkward teenager.

  “Finn will be staying to watch over you. Since they’re looking for you, added protection would be prudent. ” Elora ran her hand over her skirt, not looking at me. “I’m sure you have many more questions, but you’ll get the answers over time. Why don’t you go get yourself cleaned up?”

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  “Wait,” I said, my voice small and uncertain. She raised her head, looking at me with disdain. “Just . . . um . . . where’s my father?”

  “Oh. ” Elora looked away from me and stared out the window. “Dead. I’m sorry. It happened shortly after you were born. ”

  Finn had promised me a different life where I belonged, but really, it seemed to be the exact same life with different trappings. My mother here seemed almost as cold as my fake mom, and in either life, my dad was dead.

  “Also, I don’t have any money. ” I shifted uneasily.

  “Of course you don’t. You probably won’t have access to your trust fund until you’re twenty-one, but with persuasion, you can get it sooner. Finn tells me you’re very advanced with that. ”

  “What?” I shook my head. “No. I don’t even have a trust fund. ”

  “I specifically chose the Everlys because of their wealth,” Elora said matter-of-factly.

  “Yeah, I know you chose them for their money, because it certainly wasn’t for their mental health. ” I lowered my eyes, realizing I had been smart with her, but quickly plowed through it.

  “My dad killed himself when I was five, so none of his insurance paid out. My mom never worked a day in her life, and she’s been in a mental institution for the past eleven years, which has eaten a lot of her funds. Not only that, we’ve moved around a lot and wasted tons of money on houses and tuition. We’re not poor by any means, but I don’t think we’re anywhere near the kind of rich you think we are. ”

  “Stop saying ‘we. ’ They’re not part of you,” Elora snapped and sat up. “What are you talking about? The Everlys were one of the wealthiest families in the country. You couldn’t have bled them completely dry. ”

  “I don’t know how much money we—they—have, but we don’t . . . er . . . I didn’t live like they were that rich. ” I was almost shouting in frustration. “And you weren’t listening, I had a terrible childhood. My fake mother tried to kill me!”

  Elora seemed more shaken by my confession that my family wasn’t loaded than she was about Kim trying to kill me. She sat very still for a moment, then took a deep breath.

  “Oh. So she was one of those. ”

  “What do you mean by that?” I pressed, and by now I was livid. I couldn’t believe the casual, callous air that she had about my attempted murder. “‘One of those’?”

  “Oh, well. ” Elora shook her head as if she hadn’t meant to say that. “Every now and again, a mother knows. Sometimes they hurt the child or kill them. ”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. You knew there was a chance that she might kill me?” I snapped and stood up. “You knew that I could die but you just left me? You didn’t care what happened to me at all!”

  “Don’t be so melodramatic. ” Elora rolled her eyes. “This is the way we live. It’s a very small risk, and it rarely happens. And you lived. No harm done. ”

  “No harm done?” I pulled up my shirt, showing her the scar that stretched across my belly. “I was six years old, and I had sixty stitches. You call that no harm done?”

  “You’re being disgusting. ” Elora stood up and waved me off. “That’s not at all how a Princess should behave. ”

  I wanted to protest, but nothing came out of my mouth. Her reaction left me feeling dazed and strange. I let my shirt fall back down over my belly, as Elora glided over to the window. She clasped her hands in front of her and stared outside. She never said a single word, but a minute later Finn appeared in the doorway.

  “You need something, Elora?” Finn did a small bow to her back, making me think she probably had ways of seeing him even when she wasn’t looking.

  “Wendy is tired. Set her up in her room,” Elora commanded diffidently. “See that she has everything she needs. ”

  “Of course. ” Finn looked at me. His dark eyes were comforting, and even though I knew this was just his job, I felt relieved knowing he was there.

  He left hastily, and I hurried after him. I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, trying to steady my nerves. I was still reeling from everything, trying to make sense of how I fit into all this.

  Elora was right, though. I probably did need to get cleaned up, and maybe if I slept on it, everything would seem better somehow. But I doubted it.

  Finn led me up a winding staircase and down another elaborate hall. At the end, he opened a heavy wooden door, revealing what I assumed was my room. It was massive, with high-vaulted ceilings, and one entirely windowed wall that made it seem even larger.

  A gigantic four-poster bed sat in the center, and an array of gleaming modern furnishings surrounded it. The room boasted a laptop, flat-screen, gaming systems, iPod, and every other gadget I could possibly want. Finn opened the closet door, which was already stocked with clothing. He opened another door and flicked on the light, revealing my own private bathroom, which more closely resembled a spa.

  “How do you know where everything is?” I asked. He seemed to know this house very well, and having him there beside me helped calm me some.

  “I stay here from time to time,” Finn replied nonchalantly.

  “What? Why?” I felt a horrible pang of jealousy, terrified that he was somehow involved with Elora in a perverse fashion. He did seem to revere her more than I thought he should.

  “Protection. Your mother is a very powerful woman, but she’s not all-powerful,” Finn explained vaguely. “Since I’m a tracker, I can tune in to her. I can sense danger and aid her if it’s required. ”

  “Is it required?” At that moment I didn’t particularly care if a band of raging marauders tried to do her in, but if there were frequent attacks on her “castle,” I thought I should know.

  “I’ll help you get acclimated. Everybody knows this isn’t a perfect system. Rhys’s room is down the hall. My room, along with Elora’s, is on the other wing. ”

  It didn’t escape me that Finn had ignored my question entirely, but it had been a long day, so I let it pass. I definitely felt better knowing he would be around. I didn’t think I could handle it all if I was left alone in this house with that woman. While she was clearly stunning and powe
rful, there wasn’t any warmth to her.

  I hadn’t realized that I even wanted that until now. After all the years of rejecting Maggie’s and even Matt’s attempts at bonding, I hadn’t known how much I’d crave basic human warmth once it was gone.

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  “So . . . did you do this?” I gestured to my high-tech room.

  “No. Rhys decorated it. ” Finn didn’t look that interested in any of the expensive gear I had lying about, so that made sense. “The clothes were all Willa, I believe. You’ll meet her later on. ”

  “Rhys isn’t my brother?” I asked again. I couldn’t figure out how he fit into all of this. We had only met briefly, but he seemed nice and normal.

  “No. He’s mänsklig,” Finn answered, as if I would understand.

  “What does that mean?” I furrowed my brow at him.

  “It means he’s not your brother,” Finn replied glibly and made a step toward the door. “Is there anything you need before I go?”

  His abrupt decision to leave disappointed me, especially when I felt so isolated and confused, but I had no reason to keep him. Still hugging myself tightly, I shook my head and sat on the bed. Instead of leaving, Finn paused and looked back at me.

  “Are you going to be all right with all of this?” Finn asked, eyeing me intently.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “This wasn’t at all what I had expected. ” It was far grander and far worse than anything I had envisioned. “I just . . . I feel like I’m in The Princess Diaries, if Julie Andrews had been a thief. ”

  “Mmm,” Finn murmured knowingly and walked back over to me. He sat on the bed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I know this way of life is a hard concept for some. ”

  “They’re grifters, Finn. ” I swallowed hard. “That’s all they are. I’m just a means of swindling money out of rich people. Joke’s on her, though. My family’s not that rich. ”

  “I can assure you that you are much more than that to her, much more. Elora is a complicated woman, and showing emotion doesn’t come easy for her. But she is a good woman. Regardless of whether you have money or not, you will have a place here. ”

  “Do you know how much money they have? The Everlys?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Finn said almost hesitantly. “Elora had me checking your finances while I tracked you. ”

  “How much?” I asked.

  “Do you want to know your trust and what you stand to inherit, or your guardian and brother’s total wealth?” Finn’s face had gone expressionless. “Do you want net worth? Liquid assets? Are you including real estate, like the house they still own in the Hamptons? Dollar amount?”

  “I don’t really care. ” I shook my head. “I was just . . . Elora was convinced that we really did have a lot of money, and I was just curious. I didn’t even know I had a trust fund until today. ”