Trylle by Amanda Hocking

Author:Amanda Hocking [Hocking, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781447283720
Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK

SIXTEEN

métier

Beg pardon?” I said when I found my voice.

“The Queen has found time to see you,” Finn said. “But you need to hurry.”

With that, he turned to walk down the hall. I stepped out and shut my bedroom door behind me. When Finn heard it, he slowed a bit, so I assumed I was supposed to catch up to him.

“Where is she?” I asked. I didn’t hurry to catch him, so he glanced at me. “Where am I meeting Elora?”

“I’ll take you to her,” Finn replied.

“You don’t need to. I can find her myself.”

“You’re not to be left alone.” He paused until I reached him, then we continued side by side.

“This place is swarming with guards. I think I can manage walking down the hall to see Elora,” I told him.

“Perhaps.”

I hated that I had to walk down the halls with him and pretend like I didn’t care about him. The silence felt too awkward between us, so I struggled to fill it.

“So . . . what’s it like working with your father?” I asked.

“It’s acceptable,” Finn said, but I heard the tightness in his voice.

“ ‘Acceptable’?” I glanced over at him, searching for any sign that would give away how he really felt, but his face was a mask. His dark eyes stared straight ahead, and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

“Yes. That’s an apt way to describe it.”

“Are you close to your father?” I asked, and when he didn’t answer, I went on. “You seemed close to your mother. At least, she cares a great deal for you.”

“It’s hard to be close to someone who you don’t know,” he said carefully. “My father was gone most of my childhood. When he started being around more, I had to leave for work.”

“It’s good that you get to be around each other now,” I said. “You can spend some time together.”

“I could give you the same advice in regard to the Queen.” He gave me a sidelong glance, something teasing in his eyes that played against the ice in his words.

“Your father seems much easier to know than my mother,” I countered. “He seems at least vaguely human.”

“You know that’s an insult here,” Finn reminded me. “Being human is something we strive against.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” I muttered.

“I’m sorry for the way things went at the defense meeting.” He’d lowered his voice, speaking in that soft, conspiratorial way he did when it was only the two of us.

“It’s not your fault. In fact, you came to my aid. I owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“I don’t agree with the things they said in there.” Finn slowed to a stop in front of a heavy mahogany door. “The way they blamed you and your mother for what’s happened here. But I don’t want you to hold it against them. They’re just afraid.”

“I know.” I stood next to him, taking a deep breath. “Can I ask you something, honestly?”

“Of course,” he said, but he sounded hesitant.

“Do you think it would be better for me to go with the Vittra?” I asked.

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