I lowered my head, keeping my eyes on the snow so she would not see my expression. Not that it mattered: she had cemented her half of the bargain, and she would have her due. I closed the distance between us, the icy scent of winter tickling my nostrils as I leaned down.

“Done,” I said, and the moment the words crossed my lips, my magic was gone. Her form turned as solid as my own, lips parting with a silent shriek of pain as my iron-corrupted power burned into her. I slammed my palm against her mouth, forcing one of the seeds between her teeth, driving her backwards, knowing it would only take a second for the spell to work even as we fell into Bouchard’s property and Sabine leapt to her feet and slammed the iron gates behind us.

Before Winter could react, I rolled backward, vaulting over the fence and into a pile of snow.

Crouched next to Sabine, I watched as the creature who was as old as time came to the realization she’d been tricked. No emotion came with the understanding, but I suspected she’d shake the spell quickly, and that her wrath would be formidable.

Boots pounded up behind us as Marc raced onto the scene. “Are you all right?” he asked, helping Sabine to her feet, while I watched Winter circle the property, testing out her new set of powers, which, as I’d suspected, were as bound as she was by the iron circle.

Cécile.

I opened my palm to reveal the remaining black orb. It shifted and swirled, repulsive, yet incredibly alluring at the same time. It was easier not to feel.

But when had I ever chosen the easier path?

Dropping the seed on the ground, I crushed it with the heel of my boot. “Hold the city,” I said. “Give me a few hours head start, then you know what to do.”

“What if she won’t deal?” Marc asked, his arm steadying Sabine. She’d taken a huge risk stepping outside the castle walls and tempting Winter’s wrath, but it had paid off.

I cast a backward glance at Winter – who was watching us with a gaze so alien and strange, it almost made me feel human – and wondered how long it would take her to figure out just how trapped she was. “I don’t think you need to worry about that,” I said, then I started toward Trollus.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Cécile

Water closed over my head and, when I kicked upwards, my hands hit a glassy sheet. I needed air. Needed to breath, but I couldn’t find a way up. The satchel strapped to my back was weighing me down, but it had Anushka’s grimoire, the perfume bottles full of blood.

They won’t do you any good if you’re dead.