And magic closed around my wrist.

My body flew out of the river and was dropped like a sack of potatoes on the bank. Curling up into a ball, I blinked at the light in front of my face, ready to castigate Martin the moment I’d recovered my breath.

But I never got a chance, because the troll kneeing in front of me wasn’t the librarian.

Chapter Thirty

Cécile

“I’m not sure how your half-blood friends managed to sneak their way out of the city,” the guard said, nudging me with the butt of her spear, “but I can assure you that none of them swam out.”

I curled in on myself, trying to hide my face. Not that it would do me much good in the long run.

She dropped to one knee. “There’s not a one of us who doesn’t want to see the outside, girl, but it isn’t safe. Especially not for those like you. Prince Roland is roaming the Isle with none but the Duke to keep him in check, and he holds no love for half-bloods. Do you want to run afoul of him?”

I shook my head.

“Trollus is safe,” the guard said, patting me on the shoulder. “Here, you are under the King’s protection. Be grateful for that. Now get up.”

Even if I’d wanted to, I wasn’t sure if I could. My body felt numb, and though I could move my arms and legs, they didn’t feel like my own.

“Stones and sky,” the troll grumbled. “You’re not going to make me drag you back, are you?”

Thud.

I opened my eyes just in time to see the guard drop to the ground next to me, eyes blank and unseeing. Martin stood behind her, robes dripping with river water. “She won’t be unconscious for long,” he said. “And when she comes after us, she won’t come alone.”

With Martin half carrying me, we ran to the end of the tunnel and down the endless steps to the lake. It gleamed like polished onyx, and it wasn’t until I tried to push the boat into it that I realized the water was frozen.

“Will it hold our weight?” I asked, wrapping one of the blankets from the boat around my shoulders as best I could. I was dizzy, adrenaline and exertion barely holding back hypothermia.

“I don’t feel in a position to…”

Not waiting for him to finish, I stomped past him, then eased onto the lake, sliding my boots across the slick surface. “Keep your distance,” I muttered. “We don’t both want to fall through.”