But more than that, what I hadn’t had was the desire to see the trolls freed. Anushka hated them – had managed to survive all these long years in order to keep them contained. Nothing mattered more to her, and in order to break her curse, I needed to want them free equally as much or more.

But I didn’t. At least, not all of them. There was only one who I’d do anything for.

“Let him go!” I screamed the words over and over until I couldn’t pull any more air into my lungs, and had to repeat it in my head.

Then, up out of my mind swam a memory or a dream, or the memory of a dream of summer. What you seek is the name of that which you most desire…

With all the strength I had left, I pushed myself up on one elbow, my eyes fixing on the fading glow that was all that was left of the setting sun. A moment of transition, and thus a moment of power. “Let Tristanthysium be free of Anushka’s curse.”

A pulse shuddered through the air, and I slumped back onto the sand. Darkness that was more than night swept over my eyes, but before all the light was gone I whispered one more thing: “Tristanthysium, come to me.”

Chapter 32

Tristan

Lessa was every bit as powerful as her blood warranted, and the full strength of her magic was directed into the noose choking off my breath and the shield keeping me from attacking her directly. Before she could crush my throat, I shoved power between my flesh and her magic, but there we reached a stalemate. I tried to pull the rope off, but it was intractable, slithering and reforming every time I broke a piece away. I couldn’t breathe. I needed air, and spots were forming in front of my eyes as I tried and failed to force aside her magic.

I needed the iron out of my flesh.

But almost as though she sensed my thoughts, another invisible rope bound my wrists to my sides, sending ripples of agony up my arms. My mouth opened in a silent scream of pain, and I turned on her shield, hammering it with all the power I had. The air shuddered with the echoing boom-boom of my magic colliding with hers, but it was a struggle to find leverage hanging in the air as I was. I could feel her magic cracking and splintering under the blows, saw her eyes widen as she realized that even now, I was more powerful than her. Except that I could feel myself failing. I had to get through her shields within seconds, or all was lost.

With the strength only desperation could bring, I sliced at the magic rope holding me up in the air. Landing on unsteady feet, I took only a second to find my balance before attacking her shield. The force of it imploding made the stone walls of the palace groan, the noise drowning out the sound of the door slamming open.