I swallowed back any emotion I had, because that would only get in the way. I needed a clear head if I wanted to help what was left of the people of Oslinna.

“We have to do something,” I said numbly.

“My father is arranging a defense meeting now,” Finn said.

“Is that why he didn’t come to get me?” I asked. Finn’s father, Thomas, was head of security, and he was the one who usually reported the problems to me.

“No.” Finn gave me an apologetic look. “He didn’t want to inform you. He thought we should wait until we knew more, since you’d just gotten married.”

“I’m still the Princess!” I stood up. “This is still my duty. It doesn’t stop because of a silly party.”

“That’s why I came to get you,” Finn said, but he’d looked away, and I didn’t think that had been his only motivation for retrieving me this morning.

“Is this why you’re here?” I asked Duncan.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I was downstairs getting breakfast, and I heard a couple of guards talking about the Oslinna attack. I thought you’d want to know.”

“Thank you,” I said. I held my hand to my stomach, trying to ease the nerves inside me. I had to be cool and calm. “Get the defense meeting set up. We need to get moving on this as fast as we can.”

“Of course,” Finn nodded.

“Duncan, can you run and get Willa?” I asked, and using mindspeak, I said, She’s down in Matt’s room. She’d spent more nights with him than at her home lately.

“Yes, of course.” Duncan made a quick bow and started walking out.

“Oh, and can you run to my room and grab some clothes?” I asked. “They didn’t seem to make it in the move yesterday.”

“Sorry about that.” Duncan’s cheeks reddened. “It was Willa’s idea. She thought it would be –”

“Never mind that,” I waved it off. “Just grab me something to wear. And make sure Willa comes. I want her at this meeting.”

“Yes, Princess.” He rushed out of the room, hurrying to complete his tasks, but Finn stayed where he was.

“What?” I asked.

“What about him?” Finn’s eyes went over to Loki.

“What about him?” I asked, annoyed.

“He’s Vittra,” Finn said.

“He’s not –” I stopped and turned back to Loki. “Did you know about the attack on Oslinna?”

“No, of course not,” Loki said, and he did seem genuinely distressed about it, which was much different than his normal cocky smirk. “The King would never tell me of his plans.”

“See?” I turned to face Finn again. “He didn’t know anything.”

“Princess,” Finn gave me a hard look.

“I don’t have time to stand here and argue with you, Finn,” I said. “You need to get down to the meeting and make sure nobody does anything stupid before I get there. Don’t let the Chancellor decide anything. I’ll be in the War Room in ten minutes, okay?”

“Yes, Princess.” Finn didn’t look happy, but he nodded and left my room.

“I need to get clothes, too,” Tove said and pushed back his chair. He got up and tossed his napkin on the half-eaten plate of food. “Do you have any idea on how you want to handle this, Wendy?”

“Not yet.” I shook my head. “But I don’t entirely know what’s happened.”

“We’ll figure this out.” Tove walked over to me and touched my arm gently. “I’ll meet you in the War Room.”

“Okay,” I nodded. “Hurry.”

I ran a hand through my hair. My mind raced. An attack meant that people had been killed, but it also meant that many were injured and their homes might be destroyed. We had to help the survivors somehow, as well as figure out how to deal with the Vittra.

“I should probably let you get ready,” Loki said, rising.

“What?” I turned back to face him. I’d forgotten he was here.

“I am truly sorry for what happened,” Loki said solemnly. “Your people didn’t deserve that.”

“I know.” I swallowed hard. He turned away to leave and I asked, “Would you have done it?”

“What?” Loki paused at the door.

“If you were with the Vittra still?” I asked, and I looked at him directly. He stood a few feet from me, his golden eyes looking dark and sad. “Would you have attacked Oslinna? Would you have killed them?”

“No,” he said. “I have never killed anyone.”

“But you fought with them.”

“I never fought for my King.” He shook his head. “That’s why I ended up in the dungeon.”

“I see.” I looked down at the floor, unsure of what to think of him anymore. “Stay out of sight. Nobody else will trust you.”

“I will.”

“Loki,” I said just before he slipped out the door, and I turned to him, so he could see I was serious. “If I find out you knew anything about the attack, I will bring you to the King myself.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” He bowed, then left my chambers.

9. Repercussions

Duncan came in a few minutes later, and I dressed quickly. I smoothed out my hair the best I could, because I couldn’t look a fright at this meeting, but I didn’t have time to make sure I looked top notch.