“And I might as well be the most ugly for all the difference it makes.” She touched her chest. “My flaw lies within.”
Hefty personality flaws didn’t matter much to men when the outside was pretty, I wanted to say; but I didn’t think that was what she meant.
“You know about my sister? How she died?”
I hesitated, then nodded. “Marc told me. She bled to death.”
She scowled. “He would know. Regardless, since she had the blood sickness, I have it too.”
I shook my head. “You got your fair share of scrapes during the earthshake and they’ve already healed. If you had the sickness, that wouldn’t have happened.”
“Just because it hasn’t manifested doesn’t mean I don’t have it, Cécile. It’s in me. I’d pass it down to my children.” Her shoulders slumped. “I am an unfit wife, for the future king or for anyone. I have been told so to my face by the King himself.” I watched as all her cool composure fell away, her body trembled with unshed tears. “I wasn’t good enough to marry Tristan. I am not good enough to marry anyone. No one will even touch me for fear of tarnishing my reputation. I will always be alone.”
A knock at the door interrupted her.
“Yes?” I called out, feeling rattled by the swell of sympathy Ana?s’s confession had inspired in me. The door opened and Victoria walked in, shoulders bent with exhaustion.
“Well?” Ana?s snapped. Her composure was back in place again, and I half wondered if I’d imagined her losing it in the first place.
“Six dead in the city, a dozen more injured. Two mineshafts collapsed – we think there are five gangs of half-bloods trapped, but there could be more. Miners’ Guild is waiting for the tremors to finish before they go after them, but there isn’t much hope of reaching them in time.”
I gasped and leapt to my feet. “We have to help them! They have no way to get themselves out.”
“She’s right.” Ana?s got to her feet and began pacing back and forth like a caged animal. “They may not have much time.”
“No sense risking more lives. We don’t even know if they are still alive,” Victoria said, picking through broken glass, trying to find an unbroken cup and eventually giving up.
“It’s worth the risk,” Ana?s argued. “I’d do it myself if I didn’t have to stay here to mind the human.”
“Go then,” Victoria said. “I’ll stay with Cécile. You’re probably the only one left in the city who isn’t nearly drained, and no doubt she will prefer my company to yours.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Without a backward glance, Ana?s bolted out the door and I watched resentfully as she went. She could move rocks the size of horses with the flick of a finger, dig out miners buried beneath the mountain. She could save lives, and all I could do was sit here and wait. Worse yet, both Victoria and Ana?s could be out helping, but instead their magic was wasted on minding me.
“I feel so useless.”
“No one is expecting you to help, Cécile,” Victoria said, her voice sympathetic. “This is work for trolls.”
I sighed. “Let me find you an unbroken glass, then. I can do that much at least.”
With my little ball of magic in tow, I wandered from room to room, picking my way through overturned furniture, fallen items, and broken glass. The entire palace looked like a dollhouse that someone had picked up and given a good shake.
Spying an unbroken goblet on the floor, I called out, “I’ve found you a…” but then trailed off as I looked through the doorway. My friend was leaning back in a chair, mouth open, the sound of gentle snores filling the room. “Glass.”
Walking out onto my balcony, I looked down at the city. It was darker now. The trolls were all spent and had retreated to their homes. The tree was flush with power, the pillars, arches, and canopy visible even to me. It was up to the builders now to direct the magic to best balance the load. Up to Tristan.
I could feel him, so I knew that he was well enough. Anxious and tired, but unharmed. My knee ached unmercifully, but I tried to ignore the pain as best I could. I didn’t want Tristan coming back here because he thought I was hurt when his people desperately needed him. I racked my brain for what should be done to treat it, berating myself the entire time for not paying more attention to Gran. Why couldn’t I be strong like a troll, not… fragile. Human.
Tiptoeing around Victoria, I extracted Anushka’s grimoire from its hiding place. Flipping through the pages, I found her healing spell, but the plants were not native to the Isle. Turning to the last page, I stared at the word curses. Once again, I hoped for inspiration to come. For some answer that would save all the good in Trollus while protecting the world from the bad. But as before, there were no answers.