Where was Sabine?
Genevieve had retreated almost to the rear of the ballroom, stopping in the door well of one of the exits and leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. It was too dark to see her expression, but I took advantage of those very same shadows to watch her openly, my ears picking up on every waver in Cécile’s voice through a performance I missed almost entirely.
The music rose into a climax, drums beating and cymbals crashing with deafening noise. It would be over in a matter of moments, and then I was sure Anushka would make her move. But as Cécile’s voice rose to the highest note of her range, the door behind Genevieve opened, a hand reaching around to clamp over her mouth. I caught a flash of a blade, but before I could react, her assailant dragged her out into the corridor.
It was happening.
Ignoring the surprised looks of those around me, I sprinted to the door closest to me, instead of drawing more attention to myself by pushing through the crowded room. The hall was empty, and I ran, knowing I could be around in seconds to the door Genevieve’s attacker had taken her through.
“Tristan, wait! It’s her!” Sabine’s voice floated up from behind me, but I didn’t dare pause. I had to find Genevieve before Anushka had a chance to kill her and vanish. If I failed, the chance of freeing my people might be lost. If I failed, Cécile might never forgive me for letting the witch kill her mother.
The narrow corridor sped by me in a blur, my boots skidding against the floor as I rounded the first corner. Then the second. The music from inside the ballroom was loud even here, but not loud enough to drown out the piercing scream of a woman. Turning down another corridor, I prayed my ears had not deceived me.
Then heeled shoes clattered, and Genevieve de Troyes was running toward me, one gloved hand clutching a bloodied throat. “Help me!” she whimpered. “Please help me!”
Sliding to a stop, I let her through my magic, keeping my eyes on the darkness she had come from, even as she flung her arms around my neck, the steel claws on her gloves making my skin itch. “She attacked me! Oh, God, I’m bleeding. I’m dying.”
There wasn’t nearly enough blood for that to be a risk, but I wrapped an arm around the woman to steady her anyway. Not for a minute did I believe Anushka had let her go so easily. This was a trap. “Who took you?” I demanded. “Was she alone?”
“A woman. She was alone, but she had a knife.” Her words were garbled with tears. “She cut me – I need help.”
Running footsteps came up from behind us, and I whirled around, ready to attack.
But it was only Sabine, her skirts pulled up to her knees. “Tristan,” she screamed when she saw us. “Get away from her!”
I looked back over my shoulder, sure an attack was coming, but the hallway was empty.
“It’s her!” Sabine slid to a stop a few paces from me. “Genevieve is Anushka!”
The truth of her words ran through me, and my first instinct was to shove Genevieve away from me, to bind her, to kill her, but then I remembered Cécile’s warning: One of our friends is foe. Trust no one. Had she meant Sabine?
I hesitated for a second, and Genevieve spoke. “Well now, this is a vexing development.” The steel of her claws bit deep into my neck, the metal burning and blood soaking into my collar. I shoved her away hard enough that she slammed into the wall, but she only laughed and said, “Bind the light.”
A vice far tighter than the steel of my father’s manacles clamped down on my power. Frozen, I struggled against the binding, but it was like fighting myself. It was fighting myself, because I realized that, just like Cécile had used my own magic to heal me, Anushka was using it to hold me in check. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t kill her with my bare hands.
I lunged, but the witch was already moving, dragging Sabine in front of her and holding a pistol to the girl’s head. “Now, now, Your Highness,” she said. “Do not be so hasty.”
She would not hesitate to kill Sabine, and without magic, there was no way to stop her other than acquiescing to her demands. Which was the last thing I wanted to do.
“Do you really believe her life is worth so much to me that I’d let you get away to save it?” I snapped, taking a step forward for every one she dragged Sabine back.
“I do,” she replied, blue eyes glittering. “But in case I’m wrong, I’ve another plan. Just in case.”
The hammer on a pistol clicked, and I went very still. Turning my head slightly, I saw the young man who had played the devil – Julian – was standing in the shadowy entrance to a room, his weapon leveled at my head.
She sighed softly. “Five hundred years have passed, and you trolls still have not learned.”
“Learned what?”