Frey Saga Book II: Pieces of Eight (15 page)

I felt my brows pull up and
struggled for composure. My mouth opened to reply but quickly
closed again when I realized I'd no idea how to respond. His dark
blue eyes were on mine, waiting, and though I couldn't look away, I
knew Ruby's were as well, her deep emerald eyes that so resembled
mine. And then I was lost again, fixed on a memory that wouldn't
quite develop, somewhere in the blackest sapphire.

But before I could draw it
to the surface, Grey was there, summoning Chevelle. At first, he
didn't take his gaze off me, merely raising a hand to dismiss it,
but Grey explained, "It is Juniper Fountain."

He dropped his hand and his
face fell slightly, another apology, before he reluctantly turned
and followed Grey out. Ruby moved beside me and I was suddenly
drained. She helped me to the bed and, though my mind swirled
endlessly, sleep took me quickly.

I would have dreamed of
Chevelle, I was certain, if I'd only known what to think, how to
feel about the revelations. As it was, he was merely background
noise in a strangely calm, though murky, set of scenes. I walked
from the castle, the other Elfreda, draped in a dark cloak, masked
by the dark of night as I wandered the mountain. And I was me as I
walked, still cloaked, through the long corridors of the castle,
endlessly unable to find my way. I sat alone in a room, turning a
flat stone over and over in my hand, lacing it through my fingers,
focusing on it solely. And then I was outside the castle again, in
the morning haze, walking from the path just before the large stone
that tilted toward the pass, curving around and down, between
familiar dark gray patches of rock until I found the
entry.

I bolted upright the moment
I woke, remembering the last words I'd heard before falling asleep.
Junnie was here. I found myself running from the room and down the
corridor before I realized I had no idea where to go. I'd been
warned not to leave the "safe" areas of the castle without escort
by my guard so I only knew a section of rooms. I started toward the
dining area but turned, heading instead for the room where I'd
caught Chevelle with his tall guest before we'd left the castle.
Briefly thinking it was odd, I'd saved the memory. My boots slapped
lightly on the stone floor, not slowing until I turned into the
doorway, surprised that I'd located it so easily and actually
guessed correctly that they'd be there. But there was no Junnie,
just Ruby, Steed, and... Chevelle. I instantly flushed and dropped
my head to hide it.

Ruby approached. "Feeling
better?"

I'd forgotten why I came. I
couldn't speak. She waited.

When I didn't reply, she
patted my arm. "Steed, why don't you take Frey to get something to
eat. After we're done here, I'll meet you for practice."

I was shuffled from the
room and didn't recover myself until we were walking through the
dining-room door. I cursed.

"What's that?" Steed
laughed. He directed me to a chair at the end of a long rectangular
table as he sat across from me, the corner between us.

"Junnie," I said. "I wanted
to see Junnie."

"She's not here, Frey. She
merely stopped in on her way." I clearly wasn't satisfied so he
added, "She passed through, only briefly, before resuming her
course. Grey escorted her from the gates hours ago."

I huffed as a servant
placed several trays before us. She eyed me in a peculiar way and I
ran my fingers through my hair, convinced it was an evaluation of
my frazzled appearance.

"Eat," he commanded as he
slid a tray toward me.

I probably should have been
hungry but my stomach was too tense for food. He was watching me
not eat so I started a conversation that I really didn't have the
energy for. "Steed," I began slowly, "Anvil said that, before, I
didn't like fairies."

He smiled, "That isn't
uncommon on the mountain."

"Well, Ruby... she has to
hide?"

"Oh, don't worry about Red.
She's dealt with it the whole of her life." He could see that
hadn't consoled me. "Freya, she had the choice to leave. She enjoys
the mountain. And I've never caught sight of an elf she didn't
properly handle for giving her too hard a time." He smiled to
reassure me.

"But she couldn't ride into
the castle with us," I protested.

He hesitated. "That is a
different situation, Frey." His voice was low as he continued, "You
see, we are attempting to keep up appearances here, to protect
you." Ugh, there it was again.
"It's no
secret that once you would not have befriended one of her kind. It
is simply easier this way."

"What would I have done to
her before?" I whispered.

He laughed lightly. "I
didn't know you then... but I have known some who did." I stared
blankly as he considered whether to tell me.

When I could see he had
decided not to, I stopped him from his planned distraction,
stumbling in my hurry to get the words out. "Grey said someone, in
the group, it was affecting someone besides Ruby."

I was relieved when I saw
it had worked. He shook his head and then gave a little shrug as he
explained. "Anvil was an acquaintance of mine years
ago-"

"Anvil?" I interrupted,
sure it had been Grey, something to do with his relationship with
Ruby. Steed waited for me to listen.

"He has an impressively
wide-reaching array of associates." He smiled at some private joke
and then realized I was anxiously waiting for an explanation. "It
seems he'd been punished for consorting with the
fairies."

I stared at Steed, who
didn't look as if he was planning on adding to the account, and
then said plainly, "I don't get it."

He narrowed his eyes,
unsure exactly how much to reveal. "Do you remember much of Anvil?"
he asked.

"No," I answered
automatically, but then corrected myself. "Well, actually, I
remember him more than almost anyone." He watched me and I kept
talking, clarifying further. "But I barely remember anything of
anyone so it's not like that's a lot-"

He held up a hand to stop
me, deciding to get it over with. "I'll give you the condensed
version. Anvil had sought the fairies for a specific purpose but
before he'd had a chance to explain, you reprimanded him, searing
the tongue he'd criticized you with. Though, in your defense, I
understand he was quite vulgar."

I was shaking my head,
baffled, as I agreed with his story. "I think I remembered that," I
said in a rush, "but I didn't know because there was also a hawk
and Rune..." I drifted off at the thought of the large dark man but
Steed recaptured my attention before I'd gone too far.

He nodded, as if he'd
suspected I'd known more than I let on, "There's that,
too."

"What?" I
gasped.

"Well, quite honestly, it
was a little-believed tale that you'd influence over the hawk of
your family's honor and in a fit of rage commanded it to attack
him. Consequently, though a piece of his tongue was torn out in the
process, he proclaimed his fealty to you, the moment he'd witnessed
your power."

I blushed, remembering
Steed had directly asked me about my ability... and I'd lied. It
was plain that he understood my reaction so I blurted out the next
question to deflect the unspoken accusation. "How did it
happen
twice
?"

He laughed. "That's an
interesting one. Apparently, the hawk had been headed at his face
when he realized what was happening and opened his mouth in an
expletive. In the confusion, it merely caught his tongue instead
and tore a piece away. After you'd settled, he'd gone to the healer
and had it stitched up as well as possible. Later, when you'd
accepted his allegiance, you were so furious that he'd so blatantly
disobeyed you by dealing with the fairies that you burnt the exact
spot, simply to prove your point."

I felt my brows raise in
astonishment. I thought of all the awful stories Ruby had told and
was almost speaking to myself as I asked, "What was he doing with
them?" And then I was ashamed that I'd sounded as if I actually did
have an aversion to fairies.

But Steed hadn't seemed to
notice as he answered, "Yes, I'd asked the same of him. Odd that
someone so faithful would incite such wrath, but he was confident
in what he'd done. He believes, still, that had he only the
opportunity to explain first, you would have understood." I waited.
"You see, Frey, it is said that the dust... what is it you'd called
it, fairy's breath," he smiled, "it is said the fairy's breath has
the ability to grant foresight to some."

I remembered Ruby
mentioning foresight, but when
I'd
dreamt under the intense effects of the dust, I
knew that wasn't what I'd seen. "He was trying to see the
future?"

Steed shrugged. "I believe
the elders had, inadvertently, led the notion." My eyes narrowed.
"But, as I said, I was not here then," he explained, closing the
subject.

I was reeling. I knew my
face was a reflection of that and he watched me patiently, letting
me assemble my thoughts.

A movement by the doorway
caught my attention and I was annoyed to see the same servant, sure
she was watching or listening to us. I shook my head; it irritated
me unreasonably.

Steed chuckled, unaware of
the spectator. "A bit overwrought?"

I unintentionally shot him
a severe glance.

"Was that a threat?" he
teased.

I was too cross to think he
was funny but when he unexpectedly lunged at me, sweeping me up
from the chair. My breath rushed out of me in a huff and I found
myself laughing as I was swung in head-spinning circles around the
huge room. Mid-swing, we caught sight of Ruby leaning against the
entryway, her arms crossed as she sported a heavy smirk.

Steed set me down abruptly
and I tottered briefly before regaining my balance. "Merely
training," he said to Ruby as she stood shaking her
head.

"Well, since it seems you
have things fully under control, you might as well continue her
training while I grab a bite to eat," she answered.

"Here?" I asked. They
looked at me like I was an idiot, but surely there was a reason we
had the practice rooms.

"Why not?" Ruby said. "You
should be prepared for anything, after all."

I nervously surveyed the
room. There were a lot of knives. I was sorry I'd noticed as the
metal started to rattle against the smooth planks of table. I
took a step back and Steed laughed. When I realized I'd given him
the idea and would have to avoid being so obvious, my mouth screwed
up in a grimace. Ruby joined his laughter as she situated herself
to better enjoy the show.

I watched the corner of
Steed's mouth pull up slightly and then cringed as I realized what
was coming. He threw me a quick wink just before the first knife
barreled toward me.

My first reaction was to
close my eyes and duck but instead I forced myself to counter his
move. Though I still resisted, my eyes squinting partially shut, I
flung my hand, palm out toward the blade, and turned the knife just
before it reached me. I relaxed a fraction due to my success, but
the blade rebounded from the floor as a second one joined it, both
flying directly toward me, faster this time. I focused on them, and
then further out to Steed, as I pushed them back, flipping the
blades toward him and willing them to my target. He efficiently
knocked them aside and lost his playful smile as he focused on the
others.

An assortment of knives was
now heading directly for me at an alarming rate. I steadied myself,
intending to stop them all with one move, when Chevelle’s voice
broke my concentration. “Are you throwing
knives
at her?”

The blades clattered to the
floor as Steed blanched at the accusation and Ruby choked on a
laugh or her food (or both). I flushed, though I’d technically not
been at fault this time.

Ruby, still smiling, stood
as she said, “I’ll take her to the practice rooms and catch her on
fire instead.”

Chevelle appeared to be in
a foul mood. “No, I’ll take over.”

I didn’t understand it had
been a dismissal until Ruby winked at me, almost apologetically, as
she turned to go. Steed bumped his elbow at my side on his way
past, and I watched them as he followed her through the door. My
throat was thick when they disappeared. I forced my gaze to meet
Chevelle’s but he wasn’t watching me.

He stepped over to the
table, taking a seat away from the trays, and motioned for me to
join him. My legs felt like lead but I forced them to
move.

I sat on his side of the
table, but left a chair between us. It was awkward, but I didn’t
want him to see my hands tremble, hear how I struggled to breathe
evenly. He didn’t seem to notice and, after a moment, I wasn’t sure
he even realized I was waiting for him to speak.

The silence built and, as
usual, I panicked, blurting out a ridiculous and unnecessary
statement. “It was kind of my fault, I looked at the knives
and-”

My defense of Steed broke
off when Chevelle looked up at me, perplexed by my words. I could
see then that he’d not been thinking of anything resembling my
training and my mind raced to figure out what could have him so…
concerned. Too slow as always, I recalled seeing him earlier, a
tense meeting with Ruby and Steed. I’d been so caught off guard by
the confusing emotions of the Rune and arranged marriage
revelations that I’d not noticed the atmosphere - and then my mind
caught up and I asked before I could stop myself, “What did Junnie
say?”