The Queen made a tutting noise. “Now, now. Amongst the three powers, Tristan alone desires to protect your kind, and your sister knows that. But he has colored her mind against an alliance.”

“But why?”

“An ancient animosity exists between his family’s court and mine,” she said. “One he seems unable to set aside. One that keeps him from seeing that my assistance will secure his victory over his enemies, and that will ensure the survival of humanity.”

“Couldn’t you just tell me where the Duke is?” Joss asked, her tone pleading. “Maybe then he’d see your intentions were good.”

“I’ve told you why.” Winter’s voice was chilly, her patience for providing explanations to a sixteen year-old human, I suspected, growing thin. “If I give him the information he desires, with what will I negotiate for the safety of my court? I wish to see humanity triumph, but above all, I must protect my kind from his. Do you understand?”

“Ah,” I murmured, patting Souris on the head, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. Since the mountain had fallen and Anushka had cursed the trolls, my uncle, the Summer King, had been working to keep us alive, especially in recent years. Winter, on the other hand, had been content to see us contained, sending the sluag to our world to trouble us, though it meant they’d be as trapped as we were. As mortal as we were. She wanted the trolls destroyed, because she believed, if freed, we’d be a threat to her court. How that was the case, I did not know, but what mattered was that now I understood why she wanted an alliance.

She wanted to use my magic to destroy my kind once and for all.

My guts twisted as I pictured how she would do it, helping me kill my father, my brother, Angoulême, and everyone else with the power to stand in my way. Then she’d use my debt to force me to slaughter every other troll alive.

“I understand, my lady,” Joss whispered, pulling me from my thoughts. “What do you want me to do?”

“We must lure him out,” Winter said. “And there is only one way to do that. He must believe your sister’s life is in danger.”

“I don’t want Cécile hurt.” There was an edge to Joss’s voice.

“Of course you don’t,” Winter replied, her voice soothing. “She needn’t be in true jeopardy – it’s her fear that will lure him out. Her life will be in no danger from me.”

“But will he care?”

“If we time it correctly. You must watch him, look for signs the magic is fading. Then I will move.”

I listened to their plan until one of the guards heard voices and called down, sending Joss scampering back through her hole and into the castle.