Free Torn (Trylle Trilogy, Book 2) by Amanda Hocking Page B

silver Cadillac waited for us at the edge of the trees. The moon filtered through the branches, glinting on the car, and I quickened my pace. I didn’t have the stamina to run all the way to Förening, and I had become a little afraid I might have to.
    When we reached the car, Duncan had already jumped in back, and Matt stood next to the open car door, waiting for me to get there. Rhys stood next to him, but he was far more anxious, shifting his weight from one leg to the other.
    “Get in the car! Let’s go!” Finn commanded, looking at them like they were idiots. Tove was the only one who complied, climbing in the front passenger’s side.
    “Wendy,” Rhys said. “I can’t sit down.”
    “What?” Finn looked irritated, his eyes bouncing between Rhys and me.
    “I used my persuasion on him, and I got him stuck-” I tried to explain lamely, but Finn cut me off.
    “Just tell him to get in the damn car,” Finn said. I didn’t understand, so he elaborated. “Use the persuasion. Make him sit in the car. We’ll sort it out when we get home.”
    I looked at Rhys, barely able to make out his eyes in the moonlight, but I didn’t know if seeing him actually mattered. Using all my concentration, I told him to get in the car. A few seconds later, he got in the car and let out a massive sigh of relief.
    “It feels sooo good to sit down!” Rhys said, and fresh guilt washed over me.
    Matt got in the car after him, but he didn’t close the door. He was waiting for me to get in back with him, but Finn still had my hand. He led me around the front of the car, and I got in the driver’s side. I slid over so he could drive and sat on the armrest hump in the middle.
    Matt started to voice his complaints, but Finn put the car in drive. Matt swore , slamming the car door shut as Finn sped off down the road. The rest of us settled into a tense silence. I think we all expected the Vittra to put up more of a fight, especially after the way they’d pursued me. This felt almost… too easy.
    “That’s weird,” Duncan said. “They didn’t do anything. They didn’t even try to stop us.”
    “We did just damage their army,” Tove said, offering some kind of an explanation. “I’m sure most of their people are recuperating or…” He trailed off, unwilling to verbalize that the Trylle had been forced to kill the Vittra in the attack.
    Duncan made a few more comments about how strange it was and how the palace was different than he’d thought it’d be. Nobody said anything in response, so eventually he stopped talking.
    I got as comfortable as my seat would allow. Once I felt safe, my exhaustion really had a chance to take hold, and I don’t think it would’ve mattered where I was sitting.
    I rested my head on Finn’s shoulder, taking a small, private glee in being close to him. As I drifted off to sleep, I could hear him breathing, and that definitely helped me relax.
     

8. Predictions
     
    It may have felt good falling asleep next to Finn, but it did not feel good waking up. My body still felt sore from the recent Kyra attack, and the uncomfortable way I’d slept had left me full of kinks and aches.
    When Finn pulled up in front of the house, I stretched, and my neck screamed at me. I got out of the car, rolling my shoulders, and Matt stared up at the mansion with shock.  
    Opulent and gorgeous, it really was a palace. Resting on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, vines covered the white exterior. It hung off the edge, held up by thin pillars, and the entire wall facing the river was made of glass. I remembered how the elegance had hit me when I first arrived, but now I was too angry to even take it in.
    I wanted to talk to Matt about everything, but I had to talk to Elora first. She had lied to me, again. If I had known that the Vittra King was my father, I never would’ve taken Rhys to see Matt. I would never have put them in danger that way.
    When we went into the house, I left Rhys to help show Matt around. I