“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.

“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.