Warrior Witch (The Malediction Trilogy #3)(51)
Inching open the door, I checked to make sure there was no one nearby, then hurried into the depths of the stacks. From the time I’d spent here searching for information on Anushka, I was vaguely familiar with the layout, and I trotted in the direction of the estate histories, hoping to find something on the Angoulême lands dating back before the curse. Keeping my smelly fingers to myself, I walked up and down the rows, taking in title after title even as my heart sank. The information might well be here, but it would take me days, if not weeks, to find it by myself.
“I know you’re here, you cursed creature.”
I leapt at the muttered words, spinning in a circle as I tried to figure out where they were coming from.
“I can smell you. And if you think you can dine on my books, you are sorely mistaken. Ah hah!” A troll leapt out from behind a stack, sluag spear in hand.
I stumbled backward, holding up my hands. “Martin, stop!”
The spear froze in midair, only a few inches from my face.
“Who are you?” Light blossomed, and I heard his sharp intake of breath. “Princess? What are you doing here? And why do you smell like–”
“I sneaked in through the sewer.”
His jaw dropped. “And you’ve been touching the books?”
“I cleaned my hands,” I said. “Martin, you mustn’t tell anyone I’m here. If the King were to capture me, it would be disastrous.” Even as the words poured out, I realized that I’d no idea where the librarian’s loyalties lay, or if he even looked up from his books enough to care.
“And you’ve come here with an interest in estates?” His voice was hard. “Looking to settle down already?”
I shook my head. “We’re trying to find Angoulême. We know he’s…” I trailed off, the expression on his face making me step back. Timid and bookish he might be, but Martin was still a troll. It was well within his power to harm me. And in his mind, I might deserve it, given what had happened to the girl he loved.
“I’m so sorry about élise,” I whispered. “She was my friend, and she died saving my life.”
Silence.
“Do you know what he did to her?” Each word was torn from his throat. “He locked her in a box, then paraded it though the city so we could all hear her screams. Until we couldn’t any more.” His hand went to a shelf for balance, knocking several volumes to the floor. “I tried to help her, but I wasn’t strong enough. Duchesse Sylvie and the Queen did nothing. The King did nothing.”
Tears ran down my cheeks. “I can’t bring her back, but I can offer you a chance for revenge against the Duke, because as soon as we find him, we’re going to kill him.”
He stared at his feet for long enough that I wondered if he were waiting for me to leave. Wondered if maybe my promises seemed empty, because they were powerless to undo the hurt he’d endured. When he finally moved, I flinched, but he only reached inside his robes to pull out a slender vial hanging from a silver chain. The contents glowed a faint blue, and I immediately knew what it was: élixir de la Lune.
“Tristan promised her that once he was king that he’d allow anyone to be bonded, not just full-bloods,” Martin said. “But I didn’t want to take the chance that he’d…”
I wondered what had been his concern. That Tristan would find a way around his promise or that he wouldn’t become king?
Before I could ask he added, “So I sneaked into the garden and stole a vial of the élixir. I convinced élise to use it on next full moon–” his eyes flicked to mine “–the night you broke the curse. But she was dead by then.”
I opened my mouth to apologize, but no sound came out.
“Even if Tristan wins and delivers on his word,” he said, “it’s too late for us. I should get rid of this blasted potion.” He tugged on the chain. “It’s useless now.”
Before he could break the links, I caught his hand in mine and squeezed it tight. “It’s not. Please keep it. It meant something to her, and it would’ve broken her heart to see you throw it away.”
“It’s useless,” he repeated. “Angoulême took her away before I had the chance to know her – to truly know her.”
“I understand, but maybe one day–” I started to say that he might one day meet another girl he loved just as much, but instead said, “Maybe one day it will give someone else a chance.”
“Maybe.” He was silent for a long moment, then he tucked the vial back in his robes. “I’ll do whatever it takes to see that monster of a duke bleed out, just as his daughter did. How can I help? What do you need to know?”
I explained to him the only clue we had, and he swiftly moved amongst the shelves, withdrawing several books that he laid open on a table. “These were the Angoulême lands,” he said, tracing the outline of an area on the other side of the Isle. “Their estate was here, but the castle and all the surrounding property was destroyed after the Fall.” He shook his head. “Everything was. The humans wanted no part of our legacy to remain, and while there might be ruins of some of the larger structures, of a surety, no portraiture would have survived intact.”
I dug my nails into the table, trying not to let my frustration get the better of me. “Is there nothing of the trolls that survived? No place left on the Isle that would have meaning?”