“I should go.” My eyes burned, but I was so drained, it felt like there were no tears left to spill. “I could find him.”

“If that’s what you want.”

His tone was careful, and I knew it was his way of saying that to do so would be a mistake. “Just say what you’re thinking, Marc,” I muttered, knowing I shouldn’t be sharp with him. That Trianon wasn’t in total chaos was all thanks to him and Tips. The injured were being cared for, the dead put to rest, and the walls rebuilt, and though the city had been through hell and back, there was no sense of hopelessness.

The sound of trolls and humans hard at work fell away, and Marc pulled forward his hood to conceal his lips from sharp eyes. “No one knows that Roland defeated Tristan yet,” he said. “And for now, we need to keep it that way. Trollus has chosen to rally behind him, but if they knew the truth…”

“That might change,” I finished for him.

He nodded. “Angoulême likely saw how Trollus helped the people of Courville who were on those skiffs, and he’ll know what that means, so he will be eager to inform them of Tristan’s demise – that their chosen one is, to his knowledge, a dead man.”

“So what do you think he’ll do?”

Marc’s eyes went distant as he thought. “The news of Tristan’s death would throw Trollus and Trianon into chaos. The humans would have lost their protector, and the trolls would be faced with the decision of whether to accept Roland or rally behind a new candidate as king or queen. The latter will cause infighting that will lead to even more upheaval until someone lands on top. He’ll want to attack now rather than risk fighting a new, unified front.”

“If we find Tristan, won’t they fight for him?”

Marc blew out a breath between his teeth, the expression in his unblinking eyes answering my question, and sickness burned the back of my throat. Whether Trollus remained loyal would depend on what state Tristan was in, and as it was, there was no chance he’d be recovered by the time Roland and Angoulême arrived to attack.

“Of a surety, some of the Duke’s followers survived the battle, and they’ll be running to meet him with the news that not only are you alive, you’re well enough to perform magic, which will make him suspect Tristan survived the battle with his brother.”

“Will that keep him from attacking?”

He shook his head. “I think it will only cause him to move faster – to strike before Tristan has the chance to recover.”

“Surely we can hold against him,” I said. “We’ve hundreds of trolls here, plus all the half-bloods and human soldiers.”