“Let her go, Fred.”
“Piss off, Girard.” Fred shoved Chris hard, and my heart skipped at the thought that he might do worse. But it was me he was angry at. “Not only did you make a fool of me in front of my men, you forced me to ignore orders. Orders that came from the very top. Do you have any idea how much trouble I might end up in if I can’t talk my way out of this? Do you even care?”
I bit my lip, my throat burning. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t thought it was absolutely necessary.”
“Absolutely necessary?” His shoulders shook with silent hysterical laughter. “Absolutely necessary in this fantastical world you’ve created for yourself?”
“It isn’t a fantasy. You know that.”
“Wrong!” he shouted, flecks of spit hitting me in the face. “I know what you’ve told me. But there isn’t any proof!”
“She isn’t lying,” Chris said, the tension in his shoulders mirroring my own as he eyed those still watching us. “I’ve been there myself.”
“Shut up!” Fred was shaking now, his eyes wild with anger. “You were gone for months. Months with no word from you, and everyone thought you were in a shallow grave somewhere. And then you return half-dead and spouting this impossible tale for your family and countless lies for everyone else. I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
“Fred…” I needed to fix this, to make him understand that everything I’d told him was true. That what I’d done tonight was necessary. But only soundless air came out, because I didn’t know what to say. My chest burned with the hurt of his disbelief. He was my older brother, my defender – my lifelong threat against anyone who gave me trouble. The only person I’d thought capable of rescuing me in those dark early days of my captivity in Trollus. And he was turning on me.
He held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear any more of your delusions.” His finger twisted out, jabbing at the shop next to us. “This. This is real. And far more dangerous than you seem to realize.”
I opened my mouth to tell him I knew exactly how dangerous it all was, but he cut me off. “Do you even know who La Voisin is?” He leaned close. “She was a lady’s maid to Marie du Chastelier, the Regent’s wife. She should have found herself burning for what she did, but instead she was exiled from court. But that doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten. And it certainly doesn’t mean they aren’t watching. The very fact I’m here tells you as much.”
Ever and always the stakes grew higher, enemies cropping up at every turn while my allies fell away. My veins felt as though they ran with ice and that I would never again know warmth. His words terrified me, but I’d made my choice on the beach when I’d made my promise to the troll king. “I have to do this.”
His shoulders abruptly slumped, the tension flying from his jaw, leaving it sagging. Defeated. It made me wish for his anger to return. “I could lose my position for this. I could go to prison for this.” His voice lowered, making me strain to hear. “But worst of all, what you’ve done might well bring the Regent’s gaze down upon you, and if they discover what you are, you’ll die for it.” He took one step back and away from me, and then another. “This is the last and only time I help you with your delusions, Cécile. I don’t want to see you anymore.”
“Fred, don’t say that.” I tried to go after him, but Chris pulled me back. “Let him go. He doesn’t mean that – he only needs time to cool off.”
I wasn’t convinced, but I let Chris hold me still. Because I didn’t know what words existed in the world that would make things right. It ate at my heart to watch my brother ride away. He was one of the people I loved most. One of the people I should be trying to protect. Yet I’d done the exact opposite, endangering his career and maybe even his freedom, all while destroying the trust he had in me.
My tongue was sour with guilt, but underneath it, creeping its way up through my innards, was something worse. Tristan had warned me that releasing the trolls would be the downfall of humanity, forcing me to see the faces of my friends and family as those who would suffer first. And what was this, if not a precursor of what would happen should I succeed in my hunt? It was an omen, as dark and ugly as I had seen, and yet there was no turning back.
Because over and over in my ear, I heard a voice. Louder now, like the call of a hound who has caught the scent of his quarry.
Find her.
Eleven
Tristan
Trollus seemed overly bright as Marc and I walked toward the entrance to the mines. I moved without really seeing, the details of the comings and goings of my city sliding by in a blur. As we rounded the corner and the wide steps leading down to the mines materialized ahead of us, my legs seemed to forget their purpose, and I tripped, stumbling to a halt.