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.”“Like I’m the one being devious,” I scoffed.“I haven’t lied to you yet,” he said, sounding oddly serious.“How do I break my friends out of the dungeon?” I asked him, testing his claim.“Just because I don’t lie doesn’t mean I’ll answer you,” Loki smiled.“Fine.I’ll find them myself.”I felt confident he wouldn’t stop me, although I didn’t know why he wouldn’t.If Oren found out that he was even indulging my plans for escape, I’m sure it wouldn’t bode well for him.When I brushed past him, walking down the corridor to where I thought the main hall was, he followed me.His pace matched mine easily, even though I tried to walk quickly.“You think it’s this way, do you?” Loki asked, with a teasing lilt in his voice.“Don’t try to confuse me.I know my directions.I don’t get lost,” I lied.I got lost a lot.“Isn’t that a Trylle affinity or something?”“I don’t know.I’m not Trylle,” he replied.“And neither are you.”“I’m half Trylle,” I said defensively.Why was I defending it? I didn’t even want to be Trylle, or Vittra, or anything.Plain ordinary human had suited me just fine my whole life.Now that I found myself in this quagmire of ethnicity, I felt strangely protective of Trylle and Förening.Apparently, I cared more than I thought I did.“You’re rather feisty for a Princess,” Loki remarked, watching me as I walked purposefully down the hallway.“How many princesses have you met?” I countered.“None.” He tilted his head thoughtfully.“But the King isn’t feisty at all.”“I must get it from my mother then,” I said.When we reached the main hall, I wanted to jump up and down, but it didn’t seem appropriate.Besides, I’d only found the doorway to the dungeon.I still had to actually rescue Matt and Rhys.“Now what?” Loki asked, pausing in the center of the hall.“I go down and get them.” I pointed the large doors leading down to the basement.“No, I don’t very much care for that idea,” he shook his head.“Of course you don’t.You don’t want me to get them out,” I said.My heart beat rapidly, and I wondered exactly how far Loki would let me take this.“That’s not why.It just doesn’t seem very interesting.” He pushed up the sleeves of his sweater, revealing his tanned forearms.“In fact, I’m rather bored with the whole thing.Why don’t we do something else?”“No, I’m getting them out,” I said.“But you haven’t heard what I’d like to do instead.” His eyes gleamed, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to know what he’d rather do.I didn’t think he would hurt me, but there was definitely something devious in his eyes.“I thought you said you preferred your princesses unsoiled,” I attempted to tease him.“But you’ve cleaned yourself up now, haven’t you?” His expression changed, and he looked at me in a way that made me feel funny.Not bad, and not the same as when he made me pass out.It wasn’t a magic Vittra power or anything.It was just a look that made me feel sort of… fluttery inside.Before I had time to analyze what I felt or what he meant, a loud banging at the main doors interrupted anything that might have happened.The hall had the doorway leading to the lower level, but it also had the massive doors leading outside, doors that dwarfed the ones on the King’s and Queen’s chambers.The banging came again, making me jump, and Loki moved in front of me.Was he protecting me? Or hiding me?The doors flew open, and joy surged over me.Tove had blown the doors open with his abilities, and he stood on the other side of them, looking astonishingly bad ass.Tove had been a rather foxy and very powerful Trylle I’d known in Förening.His quirky, anti-social personality had endeared him to me, but he was also about the last person I’d expect to see here.His abilities did allow him to move objects with his mind, though, so he was a very powerful ally to have.Then I caught sight of who had with him.Duncan and Finn stood behind him, letting him throw open the doors while they waited to rush in.As soon as I saw Finn, my heart wanted to explode.I’d been so afraid Finn had been hurt or I might never see him again, and there he was.“Finn! You’re okay!” I rushed past Loki without a second thought and ran to Finn.I threw my arms around him, and for a brief second, he hugged me.The strength of his arms embracing me let me know how worried he had been about me.But almost as soon I felt it, he cut it short, and pushed me away.“Wendy, we have to get out of here,” Finn said, as if I’d suggested that we vacation here.“Matt and Rhys are here.We have to get them first.”I turned to start telling Finn about the dungeon, and I saw that Tove had Loki pinned up high on the wall.Tove stood several feet back, holding his hand out at him, and Loki hung suspended in the air, his face grimacing in pain.“No, Tove! Don’t hurt him!” I yelled.Tove glanced at me but didn’t question my reasoning.He lowered Loki to the ground and released him, leaving Loki to gasp for breath.Loki held his side, bending over.Tove wasn’t a violent guy by nature, but after the horrible battle he’d done with the Vittra a few weeks ago, I didn’t blame him for being a little preemptive.“Let’s get you out of here,” Duncan said, and grabbed my arm, as if he meant to drag me out of here.I glared at him, and he instantly dropped his hand.“Sorry, Princess.But we need to hurry.”“I’m not leaving without Matt and Rhys,” I reiterated, and turned to Loki.“Loki, will you help me get them?”His eyes met mine, and his cocky demeanor had completely disappeared.He looked conflicted and pained, and I knew it wasn’t just from Tove hurting him.“We can come back for them,” Finn said.Nobody had rushed to the hall yet to investigate the commotion, but it was only a matter of time before someone did.And I knew it would serve us well not to tangle with Oren.“No.We can’t leave.If we do, he’ll kill them.” I kept my eyes on Loki, pleading with him.We needed to hurry, and we might even need him to do it.He didn’t answer immediately, and that was too long for Finn.He left my side and went over to Loki, grabbing his arm roughly.“Where are they?” Finn asked, and I’m not sure if he was asking Loki or me.Either way, I’m the one that answered.I ran towards the dungeon, moving with an anxious fervor.I almost tumbled down the basement stairs in my hurry, but Finn caught my arm before I fell.Duncan actually did trip, thanks to his shoelaces, and I rolled my eyes.“What the heck is that?” Duncan asked when he saw the hobgoblin guarding Matt and Rhys’s cell.It wasn’t Ludlow, but a hobgoblin just like him.They all stopped short at the sight of him.The shocked reaction by Duncan, Finn, and Tove pleased me.Apparently, I wasn’t the only one unfamiliar with this particular type of Vittra.I’m not sure if that meant Oren was very good at keeping secrets, or if Elora was, but I had a feeling it was probably both.“Never mind him.” I walked over to the door, pushing the troll out of my way easily.He didn’t put up much of a fight.At the sight of the four of us, with Loki as a hostage, he knew he didn’t stand a chance.He started to take off, but Tove stopped him, pinning him against a wall and preventing him from alarming anyone.“This is pretty weak security,” Duncan said.He watched the hobgoblin wiggle against the wall, while I went over to unlock the door.“We didn’t really expect anyone to break in,” Loki said.He enunciated his words more than he needed to, as if he was in pain or talking to a small child.“Well, that was pretty stupid,” Duncan laughed.“I mean, she’s the Princess.It’s not rocket science that we’d come after her.”“No, I suppose not,” Loki said tightly.“I don’t understand this!” I said after futilely twisting at things that did nothing [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]