“Don’t presume to simplify my motivations, Your Highness. The curse I set on your kind required the death of a troll and the sacrifice of a human. With you and her, I will finish what I started five centuries ago.”

She jerked her chin at Julian. “He’s no danger now that he’s chained. Go track down Cécile – there’s little chance of her stumbling upon us, and we’ll have need of her shortly.”

“Yes, love.” Julian hid his pistol in the waistband of his costume, and I would have cringed as he kissed her cheek in passing, but my mind was on her words. If she didn’t know that I could find Tristan, that meant she didn’t know we were bonded, and there had to be a way to use that to my advantage. Keeping to the shadows, I crept closer to the door, hoping Tristan had noticed my presence.

He had.

“Really?” It was Tristan’s turn to mock her, and he did it well. “I’d heard you’d a taste and a talent for ensnaring powerful men, but I see your predilections are for those young enough to be your son. You’ve fallen far indeed if manipulating children is all you’re now capable of. The great Anushka, guilty of murder, regicide, infanticide, and… the bedding of orphan boys.”

He was baiting her, trying to distract her so that I could make my move. Except I didn’t have one. Regardless, my mother only laughed. “Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Julian isn’t for me – he’s for Cécile.”

Tristan lifted one brow. “Seems it will be a short courtship, given you intend to kill her tonight.”

“On the contrary, Cécile will have a long and glorious career with Julian at her side. It’s Genevieve whose time has come to an end.”

Tristan’s confusion mirrored my own, and my stomach tightened, knowing that her plans were not as we had thought.

“All will become clear in time,” she said. “But the girl need not suffer for so long as that. The power of her sacrifice will keep.”

In a quick motion, my mother caught hold of Sabine’s ankle and jerked her away from Tristan. He swore, and the steel chains holding him in place groaned with strain as he pulled against them. “If you harm her, I’ll tear the heart from your chest, witch.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, troll.” Anushka knelt beside Sabine, and I watched in horror as she pressed the mouth of her pistol to my friend’s chest. “I did promise I wouldn’t put a bullet in her head,” she added with a smile.

I had to stop her, but I didn’t know how. I had no materials or time for a spell, and what was the strength of my power against hers?

Her finger tightened on the trigger, and I lunged out into the room. “Stop!” I threw as much magic into the word as I possessed. Her hand froze and her eyes went blank. But only for a second, and then they went wide and overly bright.