“They killed Jen?” Loki asked, surprised. He’d never cared for the guy, but Loki’d always thought he was a fairly good tracker.
“They’re much stronger than we thought,” Kyra continued.
“Where is she?” Sara asked, as if she hadn’t heard anything Kyra had said. “Where’s the Princess?”
“She’s still in F?rening.” Kyra glanced nervously at the King, afraid of when he might strike her down. “She’s fine, but they still have her.”
“How many casualties did we have?” the King asked, so far sounding unfazed.
“I don’t know,” Kyra admitted. “A lot.”
“Hmm.” The King stood up, folding his hands behind him. “Very well then. We’ll have to do something more drastic to get her.”
He smiled, and Kyra cringed, finding that more frightening than his frown.
“We’ll do whatever it takes,” the King went on, “but I assure you, Wendy will belong to us.”
Torn
If you enjoyed Switched, you’ll love Torn. The second novel in the Trylle series.
The first chapter follows here . . .
ONE
return
When Rhys and I showed up at my “brother” Matt’s house at eight in the morning, he was happy . . . in the sense that he was glad I was alive and hadn’t disappeared forever. Despite being angry, he listened while I put together a vague explanation, glaring at me the whole time with mystified rage.
At least I only had to face Matt. My aunt Maggie is my legal guardian, but she wasn’t there when we arrived. Matt explained that she had gone off looking for me in Oregon. I have no idea why, but for some reason, she thought I’d run off there.
As Rhys and I sat on the shabby-chic couch in Matt’s living room, surrounded by the boxes that he had yet to unpack from when we’d moved into the house two months ago, Matt paced back and forth.
“I still don’t understand,” Matt said. He stopped in front of us, arms folded over his chest.
“There’s nothing to understand,” I insisted, gesturing at Rhys. “He’s your brother! It’s pretty obvious when you look at him.”
I have dark, wild, curly hair and mahogany eyes. Matt and Rhys both have sandy hair and sapphire eyes. They have something much more open in their faces too, and the same easy smile. Rhys stared up at Matt with bemused wonderment, his eyes wide with awe.
“How could you possibly know that?” Matt asked.
“I don’t know why you can’t just trust me.” I sighed and laid my head back on the couch. “I never lie to you!”
“You just ran away from home! I had no idea where you were. That’s a major trust violation!”
Matt’s anger couldn’t cover up how hurt he still was, and his body showed signs of the strain he had been under. His face was gaunt and haggard, his eyes red and tired, and he had probably lost ten pounds. When I disappeared, he completely collapsed, I’m sure. I felt guilty, but I hadn’t had a choice.
Matt had always been too preoccupied with my safety, a side effect from his mother having tried to kill me and all that. His life revolved around me to the point of being unhealthy. He had no friends, no job, no life of his own.
“I had to run away! Okay?” I ran a hand through my tangled curls and shook my head. “I can’t explain it to you. I left for my safety and for yours. I don’t know if I should even be here now.”
“Safety? What were you running from? Where were you?” Matt asked desperately, not for the first time.
“Matt, I can’t tell you! I wish I could but I can’t.”
I wasn’t sure if it was legal for me to tell him anything about the Trylle or not. I assumed everything about them was secret, but nobody had expressly forbidden me from telling outsiders either. Matt would never believe me, though, so I didn’t see the point in trying.
“You’re really my brother,” Rhys said in a hushed tone. He leaned forward to get a better look at Matt. “This is so weird.”
“Yeah, it is,” Matt agreed. He shifted uncomfortably under Rhys’s stare before he turned to me, his expression serious. “Wendy, can I have a word with you? Alone?”
“Uh, sure.” I looked over at Rhys.
Taking his cue, Rhys stood up. “Where’s your bathroom?”
“Down that way, off the kitchen.” Matt pointed to his right.
Once Rhys was gone, Matt sat down on the coffee table in front of me and lowered his voice.
“Look, Wendy, I don’t understand what’s going on. I have no idea how much of what you’ve told me is true, but that kid looks like a total weirdo to me. I don’t want him in my house, and I don’t know what you were thinking bringing him here.”
“He’s your brother,” I said wearily. “Honest, Matt. I would never, ever lie about something this major. I am one hundred percent certain that he is your real brother.”