One of the fairy wolves was pressed against the iron fence by some invisible force, while another two were dashed against the wall of a building. There was a flurry of motion, and three shapes descended on the scene, two tall and one cloaked in shadow. Steel blades sliced through the air, the wolves exploding into sprays of snow and ice. The shadowed figure strode toward me, and the pressure on my heel released. When I looked back over my shoulder, the creatures that had been restraining me were gone.

Warm tendrils of magic lifted me to my feet, but I brushed them away and flung myself at my friend. “Marc!” The fine wool of his cloak was blissfully warm against my frozen cheek, and I let the shovel fall from my numb fingers with a clatter. “What are you doing here?”

“Saving your scrawny behind,” Vincent answered for him, picking up my shovel and examining it. “Your choice of weapon is somewhat suspect, Cécile. It’s a good thing Marc has heard your shrieks for help before and recognized them.”

“Don’t I know it.” I squeezed Marc tighter. “Stones and sky, am I glad to see you three.”

“Perhaps we might delay this little reunion until we’re behind the castle walls.” We all turned to Sabine, who had retrieved her gun, the skirts of her gown shredded. Not waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and started walking.

The twins both cocked amused eyebrows, but Marc gave me a gentle push between the shoulders to set me walking. “She’s right.” Then, falling into stride next to me, he murmured, “Thibault sent us.”

“Why?”

“To deliver a message.”

“But…” I frowned, shaking my head. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why send you when he could send someone whose allegiance he is sure of?”

“That is a very good question.”

Show me our enemy. Our enemy. Enemy.

I gave my weary head a little shake. No, that the Queen had shown me Angoulême did not mean the King was on our side – it only meant that our enemies were many. She’d known Thibault was the troll I’d wanted to see – it was all just a trick for her to gain control over Tristan.

But…

We were in no position to fight a war on two fronts – three, if I counted the Winter Queen, which I did. And if we had to ally with someone… Thibault hated Angoulême as much as we did, and maybe there was something to be said for putting aside our animosities for a time for the sake of destroying the greater evil.

The problem was, even if that was the correct strategy, I wasn’t sure Tristan would be able to put aside his hatred of his father long enough to see it.

Chapter 9

Tristan

I paced back and forth across the council room chambers, barely hearing the reports being given to me by the city’s administrators.

“You’re making people nervous,” Fred said, after the last messenger exited the room, leaving us alone.