Frey Saga Book II: Pieces of Eight (16 page)

He looked surprised and
then, finally, nodded slowly before he began in his practiced,
careful tone, “You’re remembering more?”

I flushed again at his
question, unsure of the implication, and then could only nod in
reply.

I thought he was
embarrassed for a moment before he explained more clearly. “About
council?”

“
Oh,” I
started, “um, I don’t know.”
Ugh
. I tried again. “Well, I had
remembered some of them, mostly just their faces. But, well, the
things I’m getting lately,” I blushed, “they are more about…
me.”

“
You?”

“
Well, the old me, I
guess.” His eyes were on me and I couldn’t stop the flow of babble.
“And other stuff. I remember Anvil and stones and… and the path.”
It took all of my strength not to mention Rune and the lightning
and the broken him on the floor. Fortunately, no part of me could
even consider speaking the marriage details.

He didn't reply
as he watched me, but his jaw tightened.

"What?" I asked,
defensive as if he could somehow read my thoughts.

He shook his head
and relaxed his face a fraction. I waited. After what seemed to be
an eternity, he finally spoke. "It's just...
frustrating."

I nodded in
agreement automatically, I knew
exactly
how frustrating it
was to have lost the memories, but then what he'd said sunk
it.
He
was frustrated by it. I examined the idea, thinking how
my binding affected him, all they'd had to do to protect me: taking
care of the things that were supposed to be my responsibility,
keeping my fragile brain safe by ferreting away all those
secrets,
grrr
... And then, I briefly thought of the last of those
secrets that had been revealed, the one I'd done my best to avoid
thinking about, and I wondered if that was the cause. I flushed
before I'd even had the chance to consider all the ramifications of
that, couldn't think of all those inexplicable looks he'd given me,
all the times he'd seemed as if he might reach out to me, couldn't
begin to reclassify all that had passed between us in the months
since I'd met him.
Thought I'd
met him
.

I glanced at
Chevelle, sure my flush would have him moving from me as usual, but
he just stared back at me. That was worse.

I fluttered. "Why
are you meeting with Junnie, if she is Grand Council?"

It didn't really
sound like an accusation, but his brow raised for an instant before
he sighed quietly and answered, "It is complicated,
Frey."

I gave him a
sardonic smirk.
What
isn't?

He reluctantly
began, "While Junnie was a leader of Grand Council, she
also-"

"What?" I
interrupted.

It took him a
second to realize what had confused me, and then he was irritated
again. "Yes, she was a leader." Before I had a chance to question
him further, he continued, "She does not strictly adhere to their
ideas." He had to hold a hand up to stop me from cutting in again.
"She is helping us protect you for many reasons but you must
remember, she is your mother's aunt."

"She's meeting
you to
protect
me?" I'd heard the words so often they'd
begun to have a negative connotation. He nodded but I could see
there was more. I thought of the times she'd met them before,
warning of Fannie and I wasn't certain what else. "So what did she
say I needed protection from this time?"

He hesitated a
moment while he formed an answer. "It is not merely protection, she
has her own tasks as well."

"What?" I asked,
suddenly brave.

He leaned forward
as he answered and the courage vanished in an instant. "Freya,
there is much you do not know."

That much I did
know. I swallowed hard and asked a question I thought he
would
answer. "So Junnie was fighting council to protect me?" I
thought of the battle before I'd regained part of my memories,
before I'd learned I'd been intended to rule. She'd fought against
her own, but she'd pursued Asher with vengeance.

"She was
protecting you, yes, but she has also had issues with the current
leaders of council." I watched him, my face pleading for more
information. "I realize that Rhys and Rider have filled you in on
Fannie and the events that led to the..." His words trailed off as
my face paled at the mention of my mother, death, and
destruction.

I collected
myself and nodded for him to continue.

"Junnie feels
that the event was used as an excuse to rout the leadership and cut
the defenses of the northern rule. While she disagreed severely
with the events that had taken place, she kept with you and Fannie
in the village to ensure your safety until those that intended harm
were located."

I was astonished,
even though I knew I'd merely gotten the briefest of explanations,
to protect my fragile brain.

"So, she left the
village because we were safe."

It was meant as a
statement but Chevelle answered, "No." My brows raised so he
explained further. "She left when I had taken her place." My mind
filled in the words he didn't say,
protecting you
.

I struggled to
keep breathing normally, my head was spinning, my stomach twisted.
"Why?"

I was baffled and
it came out as a general question, but he thought I'd meant
Junnie's leaving. "She contacted me when the first council elder
was killed."

Now I was lost.
"What?" came out just as the
why
had before.

"Quinn of Loelle
was slain." I stared at him, completely mystified, until he cleared
it up with three words. "By an animal."

I
gasped.

I was trying to
force the disturbing information to settle in the disorder of my
mind when a flash of something distracted me.
I glanced to the doorway to see who it was but there was no
one there. I looked back at Chevelle but he was gone. At a loss, I
scanned the room for him, only to find that he was coming back in
through the door. It took me a second to catch up, he must have
seen something too, went to check quicker than I could notice in my
fog. He was furious.

"What is it?" I
asked.

He shook his head as he
advanced toward me, taking my arm and leading me from the room. "I
shouldn't have expected to be alone with you."

I was confused, until we
found the others.

Chapter Nine

Follower

Chevelle led me to a room
I'd never seen and, before I could register that Rhys and Rider
were there with Grey, he started spitting out orders. "Grey, take
Frey to Ruby and stay with them." He turned to the others. "Storm
must be located, she is likely already outside the walls." They
only nodded in understanding as I struggled to grasp what had
happened. And then my stomach twisted. She was watching
us.

Suddenly, the men spun and
left the room. Grey had moved at the same time, grabbing my arm to
escort me as I tried to watch the others. He didn't speak as we
hurried through the corridor and his posture brought me with him to
the gravity of the situation. I focused, watching and listening as
we moved through a part of the castle that was new to me. We turned
a dark corner and he glanced quickly behind us once more before he
opened a heavy door and pushed me through before closing it behind
us.

My breathing was steady as
I scanned the room, but as soon as I saw Ruby I loosened enough
that worry sprang to the surface. She was calm as she looked to
Grey, waiting for his explanation.

"Storm," was all he
replied, his jaw tight, but Ruby's eyes flashed and she almost
seemed to blaze with anger. I stared at her open-mouthed until she
composed herself, a moment later.

"What is going on?" I
asked, my voice strained.

Ruby, abruptly wearing
bright eyes and a gentle smile, assured me, "Don't worry, Frey.
It's fine."

I might have
snorted.

She conceded my point. "How
much did Chevelle explain to you?" she asked. I felt my brows raise
and she sighed. "He was supposed to be conveying some important
information to you?"

I thought back to our
conversation. "Um, Junnie and council." My words were short but my
mind was roiling. Junnie was my family and wanted to protect me so
she was warning my guard, but she didn't agree with council, though
she was previously a leader, council used my mother as an excuse to
destroy the North and its rule, Junnie stayed with me in the
village but she left when a council member was killed by an animal.
"... and Fannie," I finished.

She shook her head and
mumbled
knew I should have done it
myself
before asking, "Exactly what did he
say of Fannie?"

Chevelle hadn't actually
pointed her out as the attacker but I answered anyway. "Quinn of
Loelle." She nodded in understanding. "And then we were
interrupted."

"Okay," she said, "sit
down."

I swallowed hard as I
complied.

"I am aware that you have
been through much, Frey. We have tried to shield you as long as
possible," she peered into my eyes, "but it is time."

I clenched my jaw against
the panic.

"So you know about Asher-"
My puzzled expression stopped her, "He didn't tell you about
Asher?"

My head shook just a
hint.

She cursed. "Please
enlighten me
precisely
on what you do know."

I was in disarray, so I
simply gave her a brief summary of the information I'd gotten from
Rhys and Rider regarding Fannie and Asher, skipped over the part
about the Rune dreams and arranged marriage details, decided
against relaying what Steed had told me about my fairy issues, and
gave a quick review of Chevelle's abrupt telling of the
Junnie/council subject ending with Chevelle taking her place when
the council elder was attacked because someone was after
us.

Ruby was confounded for a
moment before deciding where to begin. "All right. So, the first
thing you need to know is who they were protecting you from." She
stared directly into my eyes, as if willing me to remain calm as
she spoke in a low and steady tone. "Asher."

Her manner didn't make any
sense to me at first. I sat, staring blankly back at her until it
sunk in.
Protecting me.
My mind was spinning so I wasn't aware I was
speaking until I heard the words, "But that doesn't make any sense,
he was at your house, Chevelle was meeting him, he was
there..."

I felt her hand on my
shoulder. "Stay with me, Frey." The turmoil must have been
transparent. "There is a great deal you do not yet know," she
continued. I thought I was nodding, but I lost focus on the
movement when I'd realized why they were hunting Storm, who she was
watching for. A notion flashed that I was picking up things much
faster than I was used to just before the blackness took
me.

The murkiness of sleep was
broken briefly by a conversation that I couldn't quite grasp. A
man's voice sounded foggy and far away. "No, that's not why. Ruby
didn't even get that far before she..." And with the mention of her
name, I heard Ruby jump in, closer to me. "... I'm afraid to tell
her the rest. She can't seem to bear..." And then a deep voice,
further out. "... I don't know how... it sickens me, she'll
certainly not be able to tolerate..." And then I was gone, floating
in a wordless dream surrounded by dark stone and jagged, misshapen
rock.

I came to slowly.
The room was quiet and dim. I sat up
gingerly, rubbing my temples and then ran a hand over my face as if
it could wipe away... well,
everything
. It didn't. I
dropped my hand to my lap and it landed with a thump, as if the
limb were dead. I sat, staring blankly, thinking I was alone, for a
long moment. When there was a sound in the darkness across the room
from me, I reacted automatically and was shocked when I heard the
solid thud of someone's body hit the block wall behind them. As I
was processing what had happened, I'd just enough time to realize
the noise I'd heard was merely someone clearing their throat before
the room lit bright and I saw Grey regaining his footing, giving me
a serious scowl.

"Aw, shit," I
cursed. He'd been politely letting me know he was in the room,
watching me, and I'd tossed him against the wall. I was halfway
across the room to him now, hoping to somehow help or apologize,
but he stopped me, clearly uninjured.

He shook his head
but I could see a smile working its way through. I flushed and then
tottered the slightest bit before he closed the distance and
steadied me. "I think we both need to sit down," he
suggested.

He led us to a
set of chairs positioned against the wall below a massive
tapestry.

"Are you all
right?" I asked sheepishly.