“I suppose.”
Marc sat down in a chair across from me and said nothing else, which allowed me to turn my attention back to the girl. She was fading. I straightened abruptly. “It’s diminishing! The bond, it’s fading away.” The triumphant grin on my face vanished at the sight of Marc’s slowly shaking head.
“She’s sleeping. You’ll notice her a lot less when she’s asleep, unless she dreams – that can get interesting.”
I motioned for him to fill my glass. “It isn’t interesting at all,” I said. “It’s a problem. She’s a problem – one that needs dealing with.”
Marc’s face darkened. “Cécile,” he said, emphasizing her name, “isn’t a problem. She’s an innocent girl who has been dragged into this situation entirely against her will. Your father had her violently kidnapped, dragged through the labyrinth, and then bonded to a troll using a magic that I am certain she didn’t know existed. She is not our problem – we are hers.”
Leaning back in my chair, I watched my orb of light circling above us. “You make a valid point.”
“The poor girl is probably terrified,” Marc added. “How could she not be?”
“Well, she isn’t,” I said. “What she is, is blasted inquisitive. I’d rather the fear – fear doesn’t think, it just reacts.”
Marc snorted. “Tristan, the bond changes everything,” he said. “Whether you like her or not, keeping her safe will become your ultimate priority. The last thing you are going to want is for her to be afraid – especially of you.” He took a sip of wine, watching my face. “For the rest of your lives, you will feel what the other is feeling every waking moment. Sometimes in your dreams.”
I covered my eyes with a hand, a heavy feeling in my chest. I was the one that was afraid.
“Where did you leave her?” Marc asked. “Is she safe?”
“She’s safe enough,” I said, hesitating for a moment before adding, “She’s locked in the closet of my sitting room.”
Marc’s face twisted – which for him, was saying something. “Are you quite serious?”
“It was the only place I could hide her.” I quickly explained the conversation I’d had with my father.
“And you left her there? After she had to listen to that?”
I nodded, starting to feel somewhat ashamed.
Marc got to his feet, left the room, and was back moments later. “I sent a message to Élise. She’ll take care of it.”
I bit my lip hard, considering all my options, none of which were good. “Is it always going to be this invasive?” I finally asked, realizing how strange my lack of knowledge was about something so common to my people. A mystery that was kept a secret by those who had experienced it. “Explain it to me.”
Marc sighed. “You’ll get used to it, but in your case, that might not be such a good thing. In a few days, you will only notice extreme emotions. Fear, happiness, anger, sadness, or pain.”
“And physical distance?” I had noticed walking over here that I could feel the distance, like a lengthening cord, growing between us.
“Only if it changes dramatically. Or if you concentrate.” He smiled. “You’ll always be able to find her.”
“And she will be able to find me, I suppose?” I drained my glass. “And therein lies the crux of our problem.” I held up a hand to keep him from interrupting. “It is not that I know what she feels – it’s that she feels what I feel. She’s going to know when I’m being the deceitful, manipulative… troll that I am. If she betrays that information for an instant, it could be my undoing.”
Marc opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again and nodded.
I could feel the pressure in the room building as my magic responded to my frustration, the air growing hotter by the second. “So, what you’re telling me is,” I shouted, my words directed more at myself than my cousin, “that on top of controlling every word I say, every relationship I have, every twitch, tick, and gesture that I make, that I must also now control how I feel?” I slammed my fists down on the table, the wood groaning beneath the impact.
“No, Tristan,” Marc said, ignoring my anger. “You’re the one who thinks you can control every aspect of your life. But you’re wrong. You can’t control this. You’ll have to find another way.”
“What other way?” I demanded.
“Win her over,” he said. “Make her your ally – you’re bonded, be what you are supposed to be to each other.”
The world spun around me and I grabbed the edge of the table for support, feeling my aunt’s prophesy driving me towards what seemed like an inevitable and unavoidable goal. “No,” I said under my breath. “I’ll do what it takes, but it won’t be that. The cost is far too high.”
CHAPTER 9
CéCILE
If Zoé and Élise were surprised to find me locked in a closet, they didn’t say so. My hands in theirs, they led me to an adjoining room, and I immediately fixated on the large four-poster bed dominating the space. Under other circumstances, its thick blankets and mounds of pillows might have been inviting. Tonight they held all the appeal of a torturer’s rack.
The maids removed my gown and jewels, and at my request, clasped my mother’s necklace back around my neck. They proceeded to dress me in a white lace nightgown and a thick velvet wrap. “We’ll bring your breakfast in the morning,” Élise said, then motioned for her sister to leave. Their troll-lights followed along behind them, the room already growing dim.