And what power in this world could stop them?

“Where’s Tristan?”

He walked away.

“Cécile? Cécile!”

My head snapped sideways with the force of her slap. I stared at her, and she shook her head. “I’m sorry for that, but this is the wrong time for you to lose your nerve.”

Taking in a few shaking breaths, I squared my shoulders. “You’re right.”

Letting Sabine lead me into the other room, I let the story spill out while she examined my cheek, finishing with, “I was so consumed with finding Anushka and breaking the curse that I never stopped to think about what we’d do if we succeeded.” I pressed a handkerchief to my injury, using the pain to clear my head. “They could be here right now.”

My skin prickled as I imagined Lessa or Roland creeping through the streets of Trianon. Now that the trolls were free, there was nothing to stop them from coming after Tristan. Or me.

“I’m not sure that’s the case.” Sabine walked to the window, and gestured to the faintly glowing dome encasing the city. “I saw it form while I was hiding from Julian. It’s Tristan’s doing, isn’t it? He’s keeping them out?”

I nodded, feeling only a modicum of relief, because the dome was only a stopgap measure. Tristan couldn’t take the crown from his father or put an end to Angoulême by hiding behind walls, and I knew he couldn’t protect the whole city from an outright attack. And the dome did nothing to help those outside of Trianon. “Our families are out there,” I said. “The trolls know who they are. They know where to find them.”

Sabine pressed a hand against the bloody shoulder of her gown, rubbing it as one does an old injury. “Tristan sent Chris back to the Hollow with instructions. They won’t be caught unaware.” But the expression on her face told me we were of a like mind, both wondering what possible preparations they could undertake to protect themselves.

I blew a breath out, watching it mist against the glass. “We can’t afford to wait around to see what they intend to do. We need to act first. Find out what they’re up to.”

“How?” Sabine asked. “I’m not guessing they’ll make it easy to spy on them, and if whoever we sent got caught–”