Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy, #1)(46)

“The sympathizers,” I said. “They don’t just want to be rid of your father – they want to be rid of all the troll nobility so that there’s no one powerful enough left to lord over them. What’s to stop them from killing all your friends, all your family, other than the fact they need you to keep Forsaken Mountain off their heads?” Then the realization dawned on me: he was waiting until he was in power before breaking the curse. Not only would he be king, he’d be a hero to his people. I opened my mouth to say as much, but then snapped it shut again. Withholding freedom from a city full of people was certainly a dangerous secret, but knowing he was doing so did nothing to explain the purpose of his diagrams. “Well?” I finally asked.

He took a deep breath. “Are we in agreement then? You will tell me the location of all my papers in exchange for me explaining their contents?”

“Yes,” I said. What could be more important than the knowledge he was purposefully keeping the curse in place? “I agree.”

“You must understand: Marc, Ana?s, and the twins are the only ones who know. And I only trust them because I have their true…” He broke off. “Why I trust them is irrelevant. My point is, I have no such assurance from you.”

I said nothing. Telling him he could trust me wouldn’t make a difference. I could lie.

Tristan took a deep breath. “The documents contain the plans for building a structure that would support the rock.”

“No magic required,” I whispered.

“Not after I finish building it.”

“But to what purpose?” I demanded. “Once you are king, won’t you just do what is necessary to break the curse? With it gone, couldn’t you fling off all the rock, or… or, leave this place?”

“That is a possibility.” There was no emotion in his voice, but I could see the forced rise and fall of his chest. He was controlling his breathing, trying to control his emotions so that I couldn’t read him. But why? What more was he hiding?

I bit my lip. “You don’t think the curse can be broken, do you?”

He sucked in a deep breath and sighed. “It may be too much to ask for.”

“Low expectations, right?”

“You’ve a good memory,” he said. “I know I can build. I have no such certainty about how to end our imprisonment.”

Which was just as well for me. Once I escaped this place, I’d sleep far better at night knowing the trolls could not get out. Pushing aside those thoughts, I turned my attention back to his plans.

“But if you build this for the half-bloods, they wouldn’t need you anymore,” I said. “What’s to stop them from killing you? Get you out of the way rather than risk future enslavement?”

“Goodwill?” he said, a faint smile touching his lips. “They could call me Tristan the Liberator and compose songs in my honor.”

“My question was serious, Tristan,” I replied. “And what of all the full-blooded trolls? Will they kill them all?”

“Hardly,” he said. “I’ve negotiated the safety of most. There is a list of names they have sworn not to harm.”

I shook my head. “I can’t see all of them thanking you for freeing their servants. For diminishing their power.”


“And there lies the rub,” he said softly. “In freeing thousands from servitude, I will be gaining many powerful enemies. I have no doubt the attempts on my life will come often and regularly. But the benefits of the many are worth the risks to myself.”

I bit my lip. “You don’t seem as concerned as you should.”

The corner of his mouth turned up. “I’m exceedingly difficult to kill.”

“But I’m not.”

Tristan’s smirk fell away. “No,” he said. “You are not. Which is why I didn’t want you brought here. I am very sorry for that.”

I’d saved him from one death only to allow him to walk freely towards the promise of another. And not just his death, mine too. Sharp tears stung in my eyes, blurring my vision so that I did not see him reach over until he tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “It will take years to build, Cécile, and I promise, the instant I have control over Trollus, I will send you away and pay as many humans as I must to keep you safe. To go and live how and where you might wish.”

Forever fearing the assassin that would come for me in order to kill him.

“I know this is a great deal to take in, and likely not the answer you were expecting,” he said in a low voice. “But don’t focus on what might happen years down the road – focus on the now. If I am discovered before I am ready to strike, we will both be dead. I must keep up the ruse that I am loyal to my father and, in order to do that, I must make people continue to believe that I view humanity with contempt.”

My chin jerked up and down with understanding.

“I will ignore you. Be cruel to you. And you must play along. Act sad and unhappy. Never give anyone a reason to think I’ve shown you a moment’s kindness or that I’ve confided in you in any way. And above all, never let anyone suspect that I care one way or another whether you live or die, beyond how it might impact me.”

“Do you?” I asked, stepping towards him before I knew what I was doing. We were nearly touching now, and he smelled clean, of soap, with a faint hint of leather and steel – like a boy should.