She blew a breath of air through her teeth. “And since we’ve been in Trianon, it’s even more noticeable. I’ve watched merchants from the continent unload their ships’ holds into wagons, bypass the Trianon markets, and head south, but there is no market between here and Courville for a hundred bolts of silk, and if their destination was Courville, why wouldn’t they sail there directly? Obviously because it’s intended for Trollus.”

I gaped at her in astonishment. Not because what she was saying didn’t make sense, but that she’d noticed all these comings and goings and I hadn’t. I knew I wasn’t the most observant, and that I’d a tendency to walk around with my head in the clouds, but it was alarming that I’d miss something so obvious.

“All these merchants know about the trolls,” Sabine continued. “But more importantly, no one interferes with them. No one asks questions. Which means others either know about them too, or they’ve been paid off. Hundreds of people must be aware the trolls exist, but they remain a secret from most everyone on the Isle. The only way that’s possible is that they are more in control than anyone realizes.”

“You’re right,” I said, because though I may not have considered the practical aspects of trolls’ control over the Isle, I knew no one was beyond the King’s reach. “Sabine, do you know what a regent is?”

She shrugged. “Like a king?”

“It’s the title given to the individual who is temporarily head of a kingdom in place of the monarch.”

“But the Isle doesn’t have a monarch.”

I lifted one eyebrow, and watched understanding settle on her face. “I think the first regent was put in his position by the trolls after they were cursed, but only because they thought it would be temporary until Anushka was tracked down and killed.”

A crease formed between Sabine’s eyebrows. “But then… wouldn’t it be in the best interest of the Regent not to find her? To keep the trolls contained, and thus keep control of the Isle?”

I nodded. “That’s exactly what I think the Regency has been doing throughout history. On the surface, they’ve made it look like they are helping search by legalizing the witch-hunts, but in reality, they’ve been harboring the one witch who mattered most. I don’t have any proof, but I think that might have something to do with Catherine’s fall from grace – that she got too close to the truth.”

“Catherine?”

“La Voisin,” I clarified, so used to her knowing everything that I’d forgotten she didn’t know the outcome of my meeting with the witch she’d discovered.

Sabine’s frown stayed in place as I explained Catherine’s connection to the Regency and the reasons for my speculations, growing deeper when I told her about the spell I’d done with Chris the prior night. “So even though she might not understand how important Anushka is, Catherine might still know her identity?”

“Not that she’s likely to tell me anything,” I said with a grimace. “She’s terrified of the Regency.”