Chapter One

I had been inside the Ondarike palace for three days. That was my first thought as my eyes fluttered open. Dim light shone from underneath the door to the bedroom, which was the only light in the room. I found myself missing the huge windows at the palace in Förening, as Ondarike's had no windows on the side where the living quarters were.

As I sat up in bed, there was a soft knock on the door. Before I could even invite the visitor inside of a bedroom that wasn't even mine, they pushed the heavy wooden door open. Loki Staad stood in the doorway, wearing his usual and very handsome smile. His dark hair was messy, unkempt on top of his head. I noticed that he seemed to have gotten a hair cut since the afternoon before, as the sides of his head were shaved much shorter than the tuft on top. The faded hairstyle looked great on him, with his chiseled jaw, dark emerald eyes, and sexy, easy smile. His eyes sparkled mischievously as he looked me over.

"Good morning, Princess." He stepped inside the bedroom and flicked on the light switch. I squinted against the sudden change in atmosphere and rubbed my fists against my eyes. Loki made his way to the foot of the king-sized bed. "Rise and shine, the King wants to see both of us as soon as possible."

I sighed heavily. Just two days before, I had found out even more about my strange heritage as half Trylle and half Vittra, all troll. Oren, the King of the Vittra that Loki mentioned, was also my father. My mother was the Queen of the Trylle and had told me when I was first returned from my changeling childhood that my father was dead. The truth, as I believe to be, is that Elora and Oren had married in an attempt for peace. When it became clear that Oren's cruelty was a danger to Elora and her unborn child, me, she ran away and hid me as quickly as possible. Oren had been searching for me for years, but because of the erratic family that Elora had placed me in, he was never able to find me until I was returned to my mother.

I had essentially been captured three days prior, as well as my mänkslig, Rhys, and my host brother, Matt. I still hadn't convinced Oren to let them go and that I would stay. He was keeping Rhys and Matt in a dingy dungeon in the basement of the palace. Though they were not being tortured, it hurt my heart to know that they were trapped downstairs and I was upstairs, presumably free to move about the palace but still a prisoner myself. I hoped that this early morning meeting was Oren's decision to release them, though I highly doubted he would give up any of his collateral against Elora.

Loki went toward the closet that had been stocked with gowns and a couple of more casual dresses, presumably given to me by Sara, the Queen of the Vittra and Oren's wife. He flipped through the hangers of dresses, studying each individually before shaking his head slightly and moving on to the next one. "Why does Oren always seem to choose you as my caretaker?" I questioned quietly, watching him.

Loki was the only Vittra Markis left, which was the equivalent of a Duke in troll hierarchy. Oren had Loki doing things that a mänks or tracker would do in Förening, and though I disagreed with the unfair treatment, I was curious if the hierarchy in Ondarike was different.

Loki selected a dark green gown, long and flowing with black diamonds sewn into the sweetheart neckline. It was strapless and would hug my waist, presumably a very flattering and maybe even sexy gown. It was stunning, far too much to wear on a daily basis unless you were a Princess. I had gotten used to wearing similar ridiculously glamorous garments in Förening, usually chosen by Willa, a Trylle Marskinna, which was the female version of a Markis, or Finn, the tracker who had taken me from my human life and brought me into this strange and confusing world. I felt a pang in my heart for Willa and Finn both, though I tried to ignore the depth of which my sadness at missing Finn went.

Loki laid the gown across the foot of the bed gingerly, as not to ruffle the fabric too much. "Everyone is Oren's servant," he stated simply, but the dark smile he gave me afterwards hinted to how unhappy he was here. He had shown me so much kindness since I had been captured, though he was the one who knocked me out by simply looking into my eyes. He was also the one who called for Sara when I had awoken in the dungeon of Ondarike, who had healed my broken rib and punctured lungs given to me by a particularly rough Vittra tracker. I felt sympathy for Loki; Oren seemed like he treated him pretty badly. Even though Loki was a person of power in technically what would be considered my rival's kingdom, I trusted him. I didn't understand why but he made me feel safe, and the way he looked at me and interacted with me alluded to the fact that he actually did care.

"Princess, please get dressed. As much as I like pissing him off, Oren will have my head if we're late to the meeting. He stressed its importance." Loki sighed and fell into a cushioned chair in the corner of the room, watching me for my reaction.

My face flushed. "I can't get out of bed with you in here." I had worn only a tank top and underwear to bed, so there was no way that I would be half naked in front of Loki. There was a good ten feet from the corner of the bed to the ornately decorated screen where I could change behind. He cocked his head to the side in confusion, though something sparkled in his green eyes.

"Do you sleep half naked?" His tone was teasing and his grin looked very sexy on his handsome face. He in general was very sexy, wearing black pants and a black button down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. My deepening blush answered his question as he stood from the chair. He chuckled, "I'll give you three minutes to change before I come back in." He moved toward the door and stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind him.

I threw the blankets off my legs and jumped out of bed as soon as it clicked shut. I tugged off the tank top and stepped into the gown, pulling it onto my body and using my forearm to hold the dress against my chest. I knew that Loki would come back into the room without knocking and I refused to let him see me mostly naked.

I heard the door open again as I was struggling to reach around my back to zip up the gown. I had gotten it to the middle of my back from where the zipper began, just below my backside, but I was having trouble pulling it higher. I sighed and looked over my shoulder at Loki's teasing smile. "A little help, please?" I muttered, my skin flushed across my face down to my neck.

"Of course. Anything for the beautiful and mighty Princess Wendy," he proclaimed, stepping up behind me to zip me up. He placed one hand on my waist to steady me and the fabric before he slowly pulled the zipper tab upward. When I felt the final tug of the zipper reaching the top, I stayed still. Loki didn't move his hand from my waist and I took a moment to focus on how his soft grip felt on me. His hands were large, taking up more surface area on my small torso than I thought they would. I felt the heat from his palm through the fabric of the gown.

He dipped his head down toward my neck, breathing through his nose. I closed my eyes and tried not to waver as his cool breath fanned across my neck and shoulders. Goosebumps rose on my arms and he lightly placed his other hand on my upper arm, very softly resting his lips against my skin. He tilted his head up slightly so that the tip of his nose brushed my ear lobe. "As much as I would love to continue this, I believe we're still needed before the King." I was breathless, so all I did was nod.