Torn by Amanda Hocking Page B

the palace. What can happen here?”
    Willa gave me a knowing look, but thankfully, before she could say something, Matt announced breakfast was done. When I had been regaling him with the tales of being Trylle, I had conveniently left out the part about the Vittra busting in here or Oren being my father. I thought it would freak him out too much.
    “Are you gonna eat some too?” Matt asked Willa. He dished up the flapjacks, and polite as ever, he’d included her. “We’ve got plenty to go around.”
    “Are those blueberry ?” Willa wrinkled her nose, looking totally disgusted by the prospect of eating them. “ Eww . No way.”
    “They’re really good.” Matt slid a plate towards her.
    For reasons I didn’t completely understand, we didn’t enjoy many foods. We mostly ate fresh fruits and vegetables. I didn’t like juice of any kind, although I did like some wine. Pancakes were made with processed flour and sugar, so they were never that appealing, although I had been eating them for years to appease Matt.
    “You’re not gonna eat those, are you?” Willa was completely aghast as I picked up my fork and prepared to dig in.
    Matt had given Duncan a plate too. I’m sure the pancakes sounded as appealing to him as they did Willa and me, but Duncan followed suit and picked up his fork.
    “They’re pretty good,” I said.
    I had been assured by people over the years that they were really good, although I’m not sure how anyone could taste them after they drowned them in the syrup the way Matt and Rhys were doing. Duncan and I declined syrup. There’d be no way we could even force them down with that.
    “I’ve cooked for Wendy for years,” Matt said, unfazed by Willa’s reaction. “I know how to make food that she likes.”
    In general, he had gotten pretty good at it, but there were a lot of times when I ate things just to make him happy. And also, I’d starve if I didn’t.
    “Oh yeah, right,” Willa scoffed. “Like I’m gonna trust a mänks in sweats and a baby tee to make me pancakes .”
    “Willa,” I said. “He’s my brother, okay? So lay off.”
    “What?” She tilted her head, not fathoming what I meant. “Oh. You mean he’s your host brother?”
    “Yeah.” I took a big forkful of the pancake and shoved it in my mouth.
    “You know he’s not your real -”
    “Willa!” I snapped with a mouthful of food, and I choked it down. “I understand the semantics. Now drop it.”
    “I can understand how that dweeb Duncan can eat that.” Willa smoothed out her designer outfit, trying not to look offended that I’d snapped at her. “But you’re a Princess. He’s too stupid to-”
    “Hey!” Matt had been sitting next to Duncan, eating, but he stopped and glared at her. “I get it. You’re fancy and pretty and rich. Good for you. But unless you wanna go over there and make us all breakfast, then I suggest you quit your bitching and sit down.”
    “Whoa!” Rhys laughed. He loved seeing her put in her place.
    Willa made a face at Rhys but didn’t say anything. When Matt went back to eating his pancakes, she sat down on the stool next to me.
    From when I’d seen her, she walked around with a sense of entitlement. She was nice to me because she thought we were equals, but she definitely didn’t feel the same way about everyone else.
    “I am thirsty,” Willa said after a minute, sounding pouty.
    Automatically, Duncan started getting up to get water for her, but Matt shook his head, stopping him. Uncertainly, Duncan sat back down. As a tracker, he spent a lot of his life waiting on changelings. Trackers were considered staff and treated as such by most of the royalty.
    “You know where the fridge’s at,” Matt said between bites.
    Willa opened her mouth but didn’t say anything. She turned to me, hoping I would come to her aid, but I only shrugged. She did know where the fridge was at, after all.
    After a minute of deliberating, she got up and went over to the fridge. Rhys