“I’ve never met anyone as annoying as you.”

I smiled and batted my eyelashes at him. “Kisses?”

Chris scooped up the coins and shoved them in his pocket. “Gold will be fine.”

I laughed and sat down in the chair across from him, but my good humor didn’t last. “We need your help, Chris,” I said. “Cécile and I can’t accomplish this alone, and you and Sabine are the only people in Trianon we can trust.”

And I did trust him. Which was altogether strange, given that I did not know him well. I remembered the first time we’d met – both of us had been children, and his father had brought him to Trollus for the first time. We’d had a strong relationship with the Girard family for generations, as they’d sold us not only the bulk of their farm’s yield, but were also responsible for procuring grain and produce in the markets in the southern half of the Isle. Christophe stood to inherit the farm and the family business, so his arrival had been expected and planned for.

There had been a bit of a ceremony when he’d given his oaths, and I’d been the one to take them. They’d been the first set I’d received, although there had been hundreds since. It was the King’s duty to collect them, as it had the added advantage of protecting him from his enemies. But while it was typical for a King to pass the duty off to his heir once he or she was grown, it had been very unusual for my father to pass the duty to his eight year-old son. Yet it had worked out for me in the end, because it was the only reason Chris was free to speak of us outside the confines of Trollus.

“Aye, well.” Chris took a fourth cake. “Let’s hope our help is enough.” He hesitated. “Do you know what you’ll do when you find her?”

Would I kill her?

“I honestly don’t know.” I sighed. “Nearly everyone I care about is in Trollus. It was easy to desire Anushka to live and the curse to endure when I was in there with them. When I could protect them. But I’ve abandoned them to the mercy of a handful of very powerful and dangerous trolls, and knowing I’ve done so eats at my conscience.”

Chris leaned back in his chair, expression thoughtful. He spoke simply, but anyone who took him for a fool was one themselves. “You’re thinking about going back once you’ve got Cécile clear of your father, aren’t you?”

Reluctantly, I nodded. “I’ve thought about it. But if I did go back, I’d have to kill my father, which might well kill my mother and my aunt. I’d have to kill my brother. And only then would I be in power, but for how long? Everyone would know that I held the freedom of my people in my grasp and threw it away. They’d hate me for it, and how long until one of them found a way to put a knife in my back? Then it would be a war for the throne, and who can say how many would die. The beginning of the end was five centuries ago when Anushka entombed us in rock, but this I think would see her act through to completion.”

“Or you could set them free.”

“And entertain an entirely different set of costs,” I replied, full well knowing that I’d thought of that option as much as the one of which I’d just spoken.

“Stuck between a rock and a hard place, aren’t you?”

I laughed, wishing it didn’t sound so bitter. “Every day of my life.”

A knock sounded at the door. Chris rose to his feet. “That will be Sabine, I expect.”

The blonde girl strode in, kissed Chris on the cheek, then took the seat furthest from me. “I’ve come from tea with Cécile. She’s put your plan in motion, so I suppose we’ll soon see if it works.” Pouring tea into a delicate china cup, she blew gently on the contents. “Genevieve’s returned – she dropped in on Cécile’s fitting with the dressmaker.”

Chris made a sympathetic noise. “Cécile got a bit of a tongue-lashing, I reckon?”

“Oddly enough, no.” Sabine took a mouthful of tea. “She said Genevieve seemed out of sorts and was perhaps not yet recovered from her affliction. She stayed only long enough to see the dresses she’d commissioned for Cécile, and then she left.”

“That’s a stroke of luck,” Chris muttered. “Not like that woman to let a grievance go.”

“I doubt she has,” Sabine said. “I’m sure she’s only waiting for a prime moment to dole out punishment.”

“Any sign of Aiden or of Cécile’s brother?” I asked. Cécile believed there was little risk of a repeat attempt at kidnapping her, but I was still wary of her walking around the city alone.

“I asked at the barracks, and Fred is on duty at the castle. Neither of them have approached Cécile.” Her eyes flicked around the room, eventually landing on me. “I see you’ve exchanged one palace for another.”

“I’m here for a purpose, not for my own comfort.”

She sniffed and set her cup on the table. “Oh yes, because I’m sure if left to your own devices you would have settled for second-class accommodations.”

“Sabine.” There was an edge to Chris’s voice. “Don’t start.”

“Why not?” Her words were clipped. “I’m told you trolls value the truth, so shouldn’t that be what you want from me?”

She watched me as though I were some dangerous creature, unpredictable and likely to bite at any moment. Not afraid, no. But wary. And angry. I silently nodded.