“Would your magic bind you to a promise made while it was caged?” I ask. “Or would the agreement dissolve before it could take effect?”
“I don’t know,” she whispers. She turns back to me, grasping my arm. “Alex.”
I offer her a grim smile. “We need to get our hands on those contracts.”
* * *
Frederick doesn’t meetmy eyes when we arrive at the hotel. He stands near the carriage, his shoulders slightly hunched as if drawing into himself.
“Come up to my suite,” I say to him. “We have things to discuss.”
He hesitates, his face pale in the hotel’s lamplights.
“Are you going to help us or not?” I demand, losing my patience. We don’t have time for this.
Frederick flinches. “Do you want me to?”
Gentler than I am, Sabine steps up to him, setting her hand on his arm. “Of course we do.”
His face crumples. “Sabine…”
“I’m all right,” she assures him. “But let’s not linger outside.”
For her, he agrees, and the two follow me up the several flights of stairs to my suite. Ms. Kettinson left a lamp burning on the entry table, but the rest of the rooms are dark.
I shut the door behind us, turning the lock before looking back. “I have a plan, but we’ll need you, Frederick. Are you willing to help us?”
“I don’t even know what’s going on,” he answers. “All I’ve managed to puzzle together is that my father stole your carriage, abducted Sabine, and forced her to sign something.”
“Why don’t we sit?” Sabine suggests. “And we’ll explain.”
Frederick nods, and we go into the parlor.
I take the chair closest to the fireplace, running my hands restlessly over the velvet-upholstered armrests. Sabine does most of the talking, shooting me stern looks when I interrupt. Frederick listens to our story with his face in his hands, nodding occasionally. When Sabine is finished, he exhales slowly, lifting his head. His face is haggard, and his eyes are dull.
“I don’t understand how this could happen,” he finally says. “How could he…” He trails off, shaking his head.
“We have to destroy the contract.” I move to the edge of my chair, nervous energy making it difficult to stay still. “If we don’t, Sabine will be a prisoner to the agreement, and people will keep disappearing into Faerie.”
Slowly, Frederick nods.
“You don’t have to help us,” Sabine tells him. “He’s your father. We’re putting you in a terrible position.”
“No,” he says. “I cannot condone this—not the illanté trade, and not the way he manipulated you using Alex.”
He pauses to think, and we give him time, waiting for him to continue.
Finally, he says, “What do you need me to do?”
I leap to my feet, ready to put my plan into action. “You’ll need to locate the contracts and create copies. After that, you can switch the fake documents for the genuine ones—”
“Only the betrothal contract and the agreement between your father and me,” Sabine warns. “Don’t destroy the illanté transfer.”
“That’s right,” I say. “Only those two.”
“All right.” Frederick nods to himself, perhaps deciding it’s doable. “It might take a few days, but I should be able to accomplish it.”
“You’ll need to convince your father you’re on his side,” I say. “Talk to him and make him think he has your loyalty.”