*The article contains spoilers from the book: Torn by Amanda Hocking
Torn by Amanda Hocking is the second book of the Trylle series.
The book opens almost exactly where the end of Switched left off, with Wendy and Rhys fleeing the palace in Trylle’s Förening. Wendy tries to explain to her “host brother” Matt that Rhys is his brother when they arrive at the house. He is taken aback, but she tells him she cannot tell him where she has been or what Finn has been up to. While attempting to comprehend what has occurred, Matt develops a dislike for Rhys.
Later that night, Finn visits her and tries to persuade her to return to Förening with him. As another tracker, Duncan arrives with the same aim, but she declines. Wendy informs both that she will not be returning to Förening, and they depart. Loki and Kyra, two Vittra members, attack the house as Finn and Duncan leave and take the three to the Vittra palace to the King, where Wendy is seriously injured by Kyra. Wendy is hurt multiple times while being held captive by Vittra, and Matt requests that a guard bring in a doctor to treat her.
Wendy uses her persuasive power on Rhys there (after being treated by Sara, a Vittra healer), with an unexpected side consequence. She is brought to King Oren, who informs her that Sara is her stepmother and he is her father, the result of a previous union with Elora in an attempt to unite the Trylle and the Vittra. Wendy understands that Vittra has been pursuing her because, while they live long lives, many of them are sterile or give birth to hobgoblins, and she is the only way for an heir to the throne to be born.
Wendy strives to find a means to liberate her companions because Oren refuses to let them leave the dungeon as insurance for Wendy’s good behavior. Wendy understands after a heart-to-heart with Loki that they are both prisoners in different ways, and Loki lets the three escape with the help of Tove, Duncan, and Finn, and they return to Förening.
Wendy enrolls in classes with Tove, a competent Markis with enormous psychokinesis powers, at Förening to improve and regulate her talent. Duncan is also assigned to her as a bodyguard.
Elora informs everyone nearby one night of the emergence of a Vittra on their boundaries. Loki is proven to be the culprit, and Wendy insists on imprisoning him rather than executing him. Wendy’s abilities become more powerful, as do Matt’s interactions with Rhys and young Marksinna Willa.
Wendy uses her more controlled skills to track down Finn and visits his family home, where his mother raises Angora goats and his father is also a tracker. Finn avoids her because of the stigma associated with such a relationship.
Wendy confronts her mother about what Oren told her during her stay at the Vittra palace, and Elora tells Wendy about her past and their arranged marriage. Elora claims that her parents believed it was a fine idea, so she went along with it without hesitation. Wendy opposes when she tells her that she has arranged her marriage to Tove. Elora falls and begins to bleed from her nose, later notifying her that she is dying as a result of her precognition painting. Wendy discovers that the trolls’ abilities deteriorate and exhaust them. Wendy eventually accepts the proposal, and the couple is married.
The Trylle and Vittra agree on Loki’s return, with the Vittra vowing a cease-fire on Forening’s grounds as long as Elora is Queen. Loki subsequently returns to Forening and invites her to accompany him to flee both the Vittra and the Trylle, knowing she is unhappy. Wendy ultimately declines and instead devotes her time to learning Trylle’s “dead language” to assist the commune better. Finn helps her with this until they have a brief passionate rendezvous, which is cut short by Finn’s father. Finn walks away, humiliated, and tells her that he chose duty above love.
The book concludes with Tove proposing to Wendy and the two attending their engagement celebration together.
