The Flame and the Arrow
Page 30
Chapter 30
the prince’s principles
Annika skipped breakfast and lay in bed feeling terrible. She wanted to cry, but she was too angry. She kept seeing breasts and arms and familiar faces in Talvi’s bed, and she kept feeling the pain that Nikola had felt when he discovered his own girlfriend had been sleeping with him behind his back. She heard Talvi’s voice whispering the same meaningless promise to all of them…you’re the only one I want… She slipped out of the room and walked up to the deck, looking out at the sea. They’d only been sailing for a few days, and already she was sick of the view. She saw Hilda and Finn curled up with a book, and she walked over to them.
“Hey, Finn, can I talk to you?”
“Of course. What is it?” There was an unusually bright light dancing in his brown eyes.
“I need to ask you something. In private.”
“Shall we discuss it below deck?”
“No need for that,” Hilda replied before Annika could answer. “I was just about to make some tea.” Finn watched her go down the stairs that led to the kitchen and motioned for Annika to sit down.
“You look upset. What’s troubling you?” he gently asked.
“Tell me why you gave Talvi his nickname. Is it really from that book by Machiavelli?” Finn’s warm smile faded quickly, and she didn’t like the expression in his face at all. He was silent for a long time, before letting out a heavy sigh.
“That was a long time ago. It was supposed to be a joke.”
“But it’s not a joke, is it? Why else would it have stuck so long? Because he’s a pathological liar? Because he’ll say anything just to gain another notch in his belt?”
“He’s not a pathological liar, but he does have some bad habits. Or should I say, he used to,” Finn said delicately, as though it hurt him to admit this.
“I remember something you said back when we first met. You said it was just like him to bring girls to his bedroom without ever introducing them to you.” Finn looked awful as he recalled that conversation.
“I should never have said that, especially in front of you. I was in poor form. I’m sorry, Annika. I am deeply sorry. I hoped that you had forgotten that careless remark.”
“But it’s the truth, isn’t it?” she pressed. Finn looked at her in anguish for a long time but couldn’t deny it.
“What it is, is a defense mechanism.”
“Whatever you call it, that’s still pretty fucked up,” Annika said coolly. Finn watched helplessly as she walked away, and for once in his long life, he wished he could lie as easily as his brother.