“I respect Tristan,” Sabine continued. “Sometimes I even like him. And I truly believe he loves Cécile, and for that, I can forgive his faults.” Staring at the plate, she set it on the table. “But damned if he isn’t the most entitled creature I’ve ever met.”

Marc laughed softly. “It’s a common trait amongst the nobility, human and troll alike.”

Her eyes flicked to him. “Not you.”

“Yes, well…” He turned, tugging his hood forward so that his face was obscured. “He had some advantages I did not.”

She touched his sleeve; and though they looked nothing alike, for a moment, she reminded me of Pénélope. “I think you are the better man for it.”

The room was silent for the first time in far too long, but unfortunately, it didn’t last. A knock sounded on the door, and one of Tips’s miners leaned into the room. “Got a girl here who claims to be Cécile’s sister.”

“Let her in,” Marc said, and both of them straightened in surprise as Josette de Troyes entered the room, setting Souris off into a flurry of barking.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Cécile

Three days and six villages later, and we were all exhausted. As was the twins’ supply of tricks. The only strategy we had left was direct conflict between them and Angoulême’s followers, and given their drawn faces and sluggish steps, I was desperately afraid of how that would go. The thought of losing one of them terrified me, not only because they were dear friends, but because together, they represented half of the trolls we had on our side.

I rested my shoulders against the rough wood of the cabin and closed my eyes, wishing Tristan was here. Or that I was in Trianon. It was strange that we’d fought so hard to get back together, to be physically in each other’s presence, and almost as soon as we’d managed it, I’d left.

You could go back.

I bit the insides of my cheeks, knowing that if I returned to Trianon, it would be for my own selfish reasons. I hated the effects of the spell I’d cast on Tristan, hated the flat, toneless intensity of his presence in my head. It wasn’t him. Was like being bonded to a stranger. The purpose of the spell had been to allow me to leave the safety of the city, and if I went back, it would no longer be required.

But what good would I do once I was there?