“Yes.” I nodded quickly, grateful for an escape from this.
“I’ll walk you,” Finn said, speaking for the first time.
“Finn, I don’t think that’s necessary,” Annali said.
“I have to be sure she gets home,” Finn said. He opened the door, letting in the frosty air that seemed like a wonderful reprieve from the suddenly stifling kitchen. “Are you ready, Princess?”
“Yes.” I nodded and stepped toward the door. I waved vaguely at Annali and Thomas, unwilling to actually look at them. “It was lovely meeting you. Tell Ember I said good-bye.”
“You’re welcome here anytime, Princess,” Thomas said, and I could actually hear Annali hitting him in the arm as I walked out of the cottage.
I took a deep breath and walked up the gravel road. The stones dug into my bare feet, but I liked it better that way. It distracted me from the awkward tension hanging between Finn and me.
“You don’t have to walk with me,” I said quietly as we reached the top of the gravel road. From there, the road turned into smooth tar leading back to the palace.
“Yes, I do,” Finn replied coolly. “It’s my duty.”
“Not anymore.”
“It’s still my duty to carry out the Queen’s wishes, and keeping the Princess safe is her highest wish,” he said in a way that was almost taunting.
“I’m perfectly safe without you.” I walked faster.
“Does anybody even know that you left the palace?” Finn asked, giving me a sidelong glance as he matched my pace, and I shook my head. “How did you even know where I lived?” I didn’t answer because I didn’t want Duncan to get in trouble, but Finn figured it out on his own. “Duncan? Excellent.”
“Duncan’s doing a perfectly adequate job!” I snapped. “And you must think so, otherwise you wouldn’t have left me in his care.”
“I have no control over whose care you’re left under,” Finn said. “You know that. I don’t know why you’re angry with me for that.”
“I’m not!” I walked even faster, so I was almost jogging. That didn’t bode well for me, because I stepped on a sharp rock. “Dammit!”
“Are you okay?” Finn asked, stopping to see what was the matter.
“Yeah, I just stepped on a rock.” I rubbed my foot. It didn’t appear to be bleeding, and I attempted to walk on it. It stung a little, but I’d survive. “Why couldn’t we take your car?”
“I don’t have a car.” Finn shoved his hands in his pockets and slowed down.
I hobbled a little, and he didn’t offer to help me. Not that I would’ve accepted his offer, but that was beside the point.
“What do you call that Cadillac you always drive?” I asked.
“Elora’s,” he said. “She lends me the car for work, the same way she lends all the trackers cars. But we don’t own them. I don’t actually own anything.”
“What about your clothes?” I asked, mostly just to irritate him. I assumed he actually owned them, but I wanted to argue with him about something.
“Did you see that house back there, Wendy?” Finn stopped and pointed to his house. We’d gone too far to see it anymore, but I looked at the trees blocking my view. “That’s the house I grew up in, the house I live in, the house I will probably die in. That’s what I have. That is all I have.”
“I don’t have anything that’s really mine either,” I said, and he laughed darkly.
“You still don’t get it, Wendy.” He rested his eyes on me, and his mouth twitched into a bitter smile. “I’m just a tracker. You have to stop this. You have to go be a Princess, do what’s best for you, and let me go do my job.”
“I really didn’t mean to bother you, and you don’t need to walk me home.” I turned and walked again, more quickly than my foot would’ve liked.
“I’m making sure you get there safely,” Finn said, following a step behind.
“If you’re just doing your job, then go do it!” I stopped and whirled on him. “But I’m not your job anymore, right?”
“No, you’re not!” Finn shouted and stepped closer to me. “Why did you come to my house today? What did you think that would accomplish?”
“I don’t know!” I yelled. “But you didn’t even say good-bye!”
“How does saying good-bye help anything?” He shook his head. “It doesn’t.”
“Yes, it does!” I insisted. “You can’t just leave me!”
“I have to!” His dark eyes blazed, making my stomach flip. “You have to be the Princess, and I can’t ruin that. I won’t.”
“I understand, but…” Tears welled in my eyes, and I swallowed hard. “You can’t keep going like you do. You have to at least say good-bye.”
Finn stepped closer to me. His eyes smoldered in a way that only he could manage, and the chill in the air seemed to disappear entirely. I leaned in to him, even though I was afraid he’d be able to feel the way my heart hammered in my chest.
I stared up at him, praying he would touch me, but he didn’t. He didn’t move at all.
“Good-bye, Wendy,” Finn said, so quietly I could barely hear him.