“That’s precisely what it means under Thibault’s rule. And under Tristan’s,” he said.

Lifting my face, I met his gaze. “I know. But if I help you rid Trollus of them, Marc will be pulled down in the process. I can’t win.”

“You’ll be alive,” he pointed out.

“That’s not enough,” I said; then, before he could lash out, I added, “But, if you give me your word that if you succeed in bringing down Tristan and putting Roland on the throne, that you’ll let me leave this house to be with Marc – that you won’t stand in the way of us being together – I’ll…” I gave him the grimmest nod I could manage.

He stared at me unblinking, like a snake poised to strike. Then he laughed, the tone harsh and mocking, and I took an involuntary step back, certain he’d seen through my manipulation.

“Oh, dear, sweet little Pénélope, you have my word.” I felt the flux of magic with his promise, but the tears of mirth running down his face made me feel as though I’d won no victory.

“If you help my plans succeed, I promise that I not only won’t stand in the way of your union, I’ll throw you a party fit for a queen.”

My skin crawled, but there was no turning back now. “Good. Perhaps we will both get what we want.” Not waiting for him to respond, I rose to my feet and hurried from the room, his laughter trailing in my wake.

Chapter 15

Marc

I have to get her out of that house. The same thought had circulated my head a hundred times since I’d sent Pénélope on her way with a dangerous plan that might work for a few days, even a few weeks, but not for the three years Tristan envisioned it would take for him to seize the throne.

Not even close.

Which meant I needed to come up with something else, some way to get her out from under the Duke’s thumb. Yet though everything had changed for me, and for her, nothing had changed in that regard. There was no easy solution, and I felt the press of the mountain and the curse keenly as I paced the grounds of my home waiting for news that the Duke had caught Pénélope in her trickery, because there was no escape. There was nowhere we could hide. There was no one who could – or would – help us.

My eyes involuntarily went to the beam of sunlight tracking across Trollus through the lone opening in the rock above, the opening that revealed the moon for a brief time each night. I wanted to be bonded to Pénélope – that hadn’t changed, and now I had even more incentive. The Duke couldn’t touch her if she was bonded to the nephew of the King. She’d be safe. But the Élixir de la Lune required for the magic to occur was the property of the crown, and even if I stole it, there was no chance of us making it through the ceremony without being interrupted. And even if we did, there was the matter of the consequences of having done it without my uncle’s permission.