He had been essential to their defeat. Other than the trackers that had been guarding, most of the Trylle had played defenseless, myself included.
The ballroom looked even worse than we left it. Someone had lit lanterns around the edge of the room so we could at least see better than before. Willa was still scraped and bruised, but she ran eagerly over to me when she saw me and threw her arms around me. She then launched into an excited tale about how she had blown a Vittra out of the ceiling, and I told her I was proud, but I was still too stunned by the destruction.
When Elora saw us, she pulled Aurora from where she was helping a bleeding man. I noted with some grim happiness that the Chancellor had a nasty cut on his forehead, and I hoped that Aurora couldn’t make time to fix him. Elora didn’t look any worse for the wear at all. In fact, if I hadn’t known, I would’ve never thought she’d been here when the fight was going on. Aurora, on the other hand, looked beautiful and regal, but she showed signs of the battle. Her dress was torn, her hair was a mess, and there was blood all over her hands and arms, but I doubted most of it was hers.
“Princess,” Elora looked genuinely relieved when was walked over to us, delicately stepping over broken tables and a Vittra corpse. “I’m glad to see you’re alright. I was very worried about you.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I mumbled. She reached out and touched my cheek, but there was nothing affectionate about it. It was the way I would touch a strange animal in the zoo that they assured me was safe, but I didn’t really believe it.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to you.”
She smiled wanly at me, then dropped her hand and looked at Finn. “I’m sure a thank you is in order for saving my daughter.”
“No need,” Finn replied rather curtly, and Elora gazed him intently for a moment, saying something in his mind. Then she turned and walked away, going to deal with something far more pressing than her daughter.
Aurora squeezed Tove’s arms and looked at him affectionately, making me feel a horrible pang at my own mother’s reaction. Aurora had seemed like an ice queen, too, but she could at least show signs of genuine happiness that her son hadn’t died. The moment passed quickly, and then she was moving on to me. She tore open the hole in my dress wider so she could put her hand on my wound, and I gritted my teeth at the pain. Finn’s tightened his arm reassuringly around my shoulders, and I instantly forgot the pain. He had this way of eclipsing everything else that I would be forever grateful for. A warm tingling sensation passed over my side, and moments later, the pain stopped.
“Good as new,” Aurora smiled tiredly at me. She seemed to have aged since before she’d touched me, and I wondered how much all that healing took out of her. She started taking a step away, going back to helping other people, while Finn was leaning on me, clearly in pain.
“What about Finn?” I asked, and she looked back at me, startled. I was the Princess, but apparently, I had asked something wrong, and she didn’t know how to react.
“No, no, I’m fine,” Finn waved her off.
“Nonsense,” Tove clapped him on the back. He nodded at his mother.
“Finn saved the day. He deserves a little help. Aurora, wanna take care of him?”
She looked uncertainly at her son, then nodded and walked over to Finn.
“Of course,” Aurora murmured.
She started looking over him for his wounds, trying to find out specifically what he needed fixing. I glanced away from them, and I happened to see Rhys sitting on the edge of a table. He was holding a bloody cloth to his forehead and staring down at the ground. The last time I had seen him, I thought he might have been killed trying to save my life.
“Rhys!” I shouted, and when he looked up and saw me, he smiled.
“Go see him,” Finn suggested quietly. Aurora poked at something painful in his side and he winced. “She’s taking care of me.”
“I got him.” Tove took Finn’s arm, so he would be leaning on Tove instead of me.
I didn’t really want to leave Finn, but I felt like I should at least say hi to somebody that tried to save my life. Especially since Rhys had been the only person that had told me I looked beautiful all night without sounding really creepy about it. I looked back at Finn, but he nodded me for me to go and tried not to let on how much pain Aurora was causing him.
“You’re alive!” Rhys grinned. He tried to stand up, but I gestured for him to sit back down. “I wasn’t really sure what happened to you.” He looked past me at Finn, and his expression faltered. “I didn’t know Finn was back. If I had, I wouldn’t have worried.”
“I was worried about you.” I reached out and carefully touched his forehead. “You took quite the punch there.”
“Yeah, but I couldn’t get one in,” Rhys grumbled, looking down at the floor. “And I couldn’t stop him from taking you.”
“Yes, you did!” I insisted. “If you hadn’t there, they would’ve hauled me off before anybody had a chance to do anything about it. You kind of saved the day.”
“Yeah?” His blue eyes were hopeful when he looked at me.
“Definitely,” I smiled back at him.
“You know, back in the day, when a guy saved a Princess’s life, she would reward him with a kiss,” Rhys commented. His smile was light, but his eyes were serious. If Finn hadn’t been standing a few feet behind me, watching, I probably would’ve kissed him. But I didn’t want to do anything to spoil having Finn back, so I just shook my head and smiled. “Maybe when I slay the dragon. Then I’ll get a kiss?”
“I promise,” I agreed. “Would you settle for a hug?”
“A hug from you is never settling for anything,” Rhys assured me. I leaned over and hugged him tightly. A woman sitting next to us on the table looked aghast, and I realized the new Princess was openly hugging a mänsklig.
Things were really going to have change when I was Queen.
After Aurora healed up Finn, she suggested we both get rest. The room was still a disaster, but Tove insisted that he and his mother were taking care of everything. I wanted to protest and help more, but honestly, I was exhausted.
Tove said that we were safe, and all but demanded that I go to my room.
Naturally, Finn went with me, just in case it wasn’t completely safe. Before we even reached the stairs, Finn had taken my hand in his as we walked slowly to my room. Most of the way, I was silent, but when we got close to my door, I felt like I had to say something.
“So… are you and Tove like pals or something?” I was teasing, but I was curious. I had never really seen them even speak before, but there seemed to be a kind of familiarity with them.
“I’m a tracker,” Finn answered. “I tracked Tove. He’s a good kid.” He looked over at me, smiling a little. “I told him to keep an eye on you.”
“If you were so worried about me, why did you leave?” I asked more sharply than I meant to.
“Let’s not talk about that now,” Finn shook his head. We had stopped in front of my bedroom door, and there was something playful in his dark eyes.
“What should we talk about then?” I looked up at him.
“How beautiful you look in that dress.” Finn was facing me, looking me over appreciatively, and he put his hands on my sides.
I laughed, and then he was pushing me against the door. His body was so tight against me, I could barely breathe, and his mouth was searching mine.
He kissed me in the same frantic way he had before, and I loved it. I wrapped my arms around him, pressing him to me, and pushed myself against him eagerly. He reached around me, opening the door, and we tumbled into my room. He caught me before I actually fell, then lifted me easily into his arms and carried me. Gently, he tossed me onto the bed, and then lowered himself on top of me. His stubble tickled my neck and shoulders as he covered me in kisses.
Sitting back, he peeled off his jacket and hoodie, and I expected him to take off his tee shirt and pants, but he stopped, looking down at me. His black hair was slightly disheveled, but his expression was completely foreign to me.
He just stared at me.
“What?” I asked, feeling strangely embarrassed.
“You’re just so perfect,” Finn said, almost sadly.
“Oh, I am not,” I blushed and laughed. “You know I’m not.”
“You can’t see what I see.” He leaned over me again, his face right above mine, but not kissing me. He made like he was going to, but kissed my forehead and my cheeks, and then very tenderly, kiss my lips. “I just don’t want to disturb you.”
“How are you going to disturb me?” I asked.