Warrior Witch (The Malediction Trilogy #3)(48)
“Is my sister all right?” Joss asked. “I’ve been worried about her since I left.”
I didn’t answer. This was Winter trying to ascertain how affective Cécile’s spell was; whether she could use her to lure me out. But the fact of the matter was that I knew Winter wouldn’t risk killing Cécile, so it was a failed gambit. And if the direness of Cécile’s situation came from another source, it wasn’t as though she couldn’t drag me out of the castle whether I willed it or not.
“Cécile got Gran to do a spell to make her forget your name.”
That caught my attention, although I didn’t let her know it. Was it the truth? Maybe. Cécile had been clear in her desire to unknow it, but I’d quietly refused to entertain that option. I’d wanted her to have the failsafe, because while it was one thing to curb my urge to go running to her whenever I believed she was in danger, it was quite another to ignore her call for my help. That, I’d never intended to do. No matter what the risk. But now there was no way for me to know the difference.
Unless Joss was lying.
“That’s fascinating, but I’m rather busy at the moment,” I said. “Perhaps you might find another place to linger.”
“I see,” she said, her face turning bright red. “I’ll leave you to it.”
Waiting until she was out of earshot, I turned to Souris. “Care to go for a walk?”
The dog stayed close to my heels as we trailed Josette through the castle. She continually cast furtive glances over her shoulder, confirming my suspicion she was up to no good. Exiting through a door in the kitchen, she meandered through the outbuildings in the direction of the wall, which Marc and Fred appeared to have manned with half the soldiers at their disposal.
She paused next to the narrow stairs leading to the battlements, but instead of going up, scurried beneath them. The space was full of building material – blocks of stone and sacks of sand – that, judging from the layer of dust coating them, had languished there for some time. Josette squeezed between them, her feet briefly sticking out, and then she disappeared from sight.
Curious, I ducked under the stairs, shifting the materials slightly to reveal a small opening that had been eroded under the wall, probably by the river flooding. Even if I’d been inclined to do so, it was too small for me to fit through. But Josette’s slender frame had clearly managed the task. “The rat has found a hole,” I said. Or more accurately, had been told where to find the hole, given that, to my knowledge, she’d never been to this place.
Souris growled and wove between my feet, lips pulled back to reveal his fangs.
Dropping to my hands and knees, I lowered my head into the opening – careful not to pass the iron barrier above me – and I listened.
“He’s still under the spell,” Joss whispered, and I motioned Souris to be silent so that I could better hear. “From what I’ve heard, all he does is sit in the council chambers with his game and that dog. He speaks to no one, and that the entire city hasn’t fallen into chaos is all thanks to Marc arriving when he did.”
“It will not last,” a woman said, her voice melodious and soothing. “Magic fades. It is the way of these things.”
“But what if it doesn’t fade in time?” Joss’s voice cracked. “You showed me what Roland’s done so far. All those people dead. How many more will die while we sit around waiting?”
“A valid fear.” The Winter Queen’s voice was morose. “Mortal lives are already brief – to see them cut short is no doubt heart-wrenching.”
I shook my head at Joss’s inability to see through the fairy’s false sentiments.
“Isn’t there anything you can do to stop Roland?” Joss asked. “You’re a queen, an immortal. Surely…”
A heavy sigh. “Not alone, I’m afraid. The trolls are an abomination, Josette. An unintended outcome that should never have been allowed to live. They are too powerful, and far, far too dangerous. I fear humanity is in grave danger.”
“All because of my sister.”
The Queen made a tutting noise. “Now, now. Amongst the three powers, Tristan alone desires to protect your kind, and your sister knows that. But he has colored her mind against an alliance.”
“But why?”
“An ancient animosity exists between his family’s court and mine,” she said. “One he seems unable to set aside. One that keeps him from seeing that my assistance will secure his victory over his enemies, and that will ensure the survival of humanity.”
“Couldn’t you just tell me where the Duke is?” Joss asked, her tone pleading. “Maybe then he’d see your intentions were good.”
“I’ve told you why.” Winter’s voice was chilly, her patience for providing explanations to a sixteen year-old human, I suspected, growing thin. “If I give him the information he desires, with what will I negotiate for the safety of my court? I wish to see humanity triumph, but above all, I must protect my kind from his. Do you understand?”
“Ah,” I murmured, patting Souris on the head, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. Since the mountain had fallen and Anushka had cursed the trolls, my uncle, the Summer King, had been working to keep us alive, especially in recent years. Winter, on the other hand, had been content to see us contained, sending the sluag to our world to trouble us, though it meant they’d be as trapped as we were. As mortal as we were. She wanted the trolls destroyed, because she believed, if freed, we’d be a threat to her court. How that was the case, I did not know, but what mattered was that now I understood why she wanted an alliance.