Stolen Songbird(133)

“What has happened?” I asked, her bowed head filling me with anxiety.

She looked up, eyes glistening. “It’s Tips. He snuck into the mines with one of the day-shift gangs to help them meet quota.” élise squeezed her eyes shut. “He was pinned by a falling rock. The rest of the miners got him out, but his leg was crushed.”

I blanched. “Is he healing?”

Her tears fell faster and faster. “Anyone else would have been, but he’s mostly human. He heals like a human.” She looked up at me. “They don’t think he’s going to make it – and even if he does, he’ll never walk again. The guild will put him in the labyrinth for certain.”

My stomach tightened, and I gripped the edge of the table hard, breathing deeply in an attempt to control my hammering heartbeat. My eyes fixed on the stack of grimoires in front of me, two of which I knew contained spells for healing humans. Spells that I knew would work on half-bloods. “I’m not going to let him die,” I said, my voice hoarse.

“There isn’t anything you can do,” élise sobbed, her shoulders shaking.

There wasn’t anything I should do. Tristan had been right when he said that bravery and wisdom made poor bedfellows. It had been one thing to tell Victoria, but if I helped Tips, everyone would know I was a witch. And the trolls hated witches – they’d been hunting them down for centuries. It would not surprise me in the slightest if some of them demanded I be burned in the streets when they found out, no matter the risk to Tristan. I bit my lip hard. Risking my life meant risking his, but if I did nothing, Tips was a dead man, that much was certain. And I couldn’t quietly stand back and let that happen, even if it was the smart thing to do.

Picking up the two grimoires, I rose to my feet. “What,” I said softly, “would you say if I told you I could help?” I swallowed hard, knowing I wouldn’t be able to turn back once the words were out. “What would you say if I told you I was a witch?”





CHAPTER 34





CéCILE





I kept my hood up and my head down as I made my way from the library towards the Dregs. My light bobbed about in front of me and, unless anyone looked closely, I’d be mistaken for a troll. I was alone – élise had gone in search of the ingredients I needed for the spell, but not before she’d convinced Martin to let us out the small back entrance. I didn’t need my guards following me – the fewer who knew about what I was going to attempt, the better.



Knocking on the door to the miners’ dormitory, I glanced surreptitiously up and down the street, hoping no one would notice my finery and question what a noble woman was doing at the door to a half-blood home. But everyone nearby walked with the hunched shoulders of weariness, too set on their own business to pay me mind. I was still relieved when the door swung open.

“Your Highness!” said the girl who answered, her eyes wide with surprise. She started to curtsey awkwardly, but I held a finger up to my lips and gently pushed her inside. “I’d rather no one know I am here,” I said, shutting the door behind me. “Where is Tips?”

Her face tightened. “This way.”

The smell of blood and sweat assaulted me the second I entered the room, but it was the sight of Tips lying on the bed, face contorted with pain, that made me feel sick to my stomach. The other miners in the room rose to their feet when they saw me, but not before exchanging confused looks with each other.

“Hello, Princess,” Tips said weakly. “I can’t say I expected to see your pretty face again.”

I smiled. “Why would you say such a thing – do you think I am such an inconstant friend?”

He laughed. “Never that – I’m afraid that I am the one you can’t be counting on these days.” He made a small gesture with one hand towards his covered legs.

Taking a deep breath, I raised the edge of the blanket. I immediately clenched my teeth to hold back the bile threatening to surge up my throat. From the knee down, the pulverized bone and flesh was barely recognizable as having once been a leg and foot. “God have mercy,” I whispered, lowering the blanket.

“I’m not so sure your god has much time for us,” Tips said through clenched teeth.

“Why not?” I asked, settling into a chair next to the bed. “You’re nearly as human as I am.” I turned my head to address the other miners. “Could you please leave us alone for a bit? I need to speak privately with Tips.”