Rise of the Seven (7 page)

Over the last few weeks, I’d realized it was
fortunate the way things had worked out. We could have died a
thousand ways by now, Chevelle and I, as we went for revenge in the
grasp of rage. Nothing short of losing every memory I had could
have kept me from settling scores. And nothing short of recovering
me could have kept him from doing the same. I had taken care of
Asher. Chevelle had seen me returned. Now one objective remained.
And I would stay alive long enough to see it through if it was the
last thing I did.

“
You look like you’re trying
to memorize something,” Chevelle said.

“
You look like a member of
the royal guard,” I retorted.

His eyes narrowed on me.

I shrugged.

And suddenly, we were flying through the air.
For half a second, I thought Chevelle had retaliated, but there was
nothing playful about the hit I’d taken. I hadn’t even seen him
come off his horse, but he’d slammed into me at full speed. We came
to an abrupt stop as we smashed into the rock beside the path.
Chevelle rolled smoothly into a crouch as I lay there, staring at
the sky. The impact had knocked the wind out of me. A screaming
pain in my side accompanied the return of my breath, but instinct
kicked in and I was on my feet again, crouched beside Chevelle.

Our horses were gone, the clatter of their
hooves shifting rock fading as I listened. Rhys and Grey were
across the path, a few lengths ahead, eyes scanning the mountain. I
had a feeling I’d missed something, and it didn’t look good. Beside
me, Chevelle was searching as well. I sank to my knees and closed
my eyes.

A falcon nested in the branches of a thorn
tree not far from where we hunkered. I set it to flight, ignoring
the metallic tinge of blood in my mouth.

Nothing. Everything looked right, normal.
Nothing out of place, no danger. I released the bird and opened my
eyes. I glanced over to find Grey and Chevelle in the middle of an
exchange of silent gestures across the distance. I’d clearly missed
most of it, but they had lost my attacker.

My head snapped up to Chevelle’s face. His
grim expression confirmed what I thought I’d seen pass between
them. I’d been attacked. Again.

In further explanation, his head tilted
toward the ground behind us. Several yards away lay what looked to
be a shard of glass.

“
No,” I hissed.

Chevelle nodded. There was
only one thing that created weapons like that.
Ice fairy
.

We both stepped closer to the offending
splinter of ice. It was formed solid, nearly unbreakable, and
almost impossible to see coming at you. I shook my head. I hadn’t
even seen a fairy. I reached to pick up the icicle, disturbed by
how much it reminded me of the thin silver dagger that had all but
stabbed me, and Chevelle put a hand on my arm to stop me.

“
It’s not right,” he
whispered.

No shit
, I thought, and then I realized what he’d meant. It didn’t
smell right. There was a nasty, acidic tang to it.
Poison.

Rhys and Grey were behind us now.

“
Are you well?” Rhys
asked.

They all waited while I took stock.
“Yes.”

Chevelle eyed my side; I hadn’t been aware
that I was holding pressure against it. I dropped my hand, daring
him to question it. He didn’t, instead dealing with the most
pressing issue. “We should return to the castle.”

For a moment, I considered going ahead with
our agenda, but that would just be stupid. I nodded.

He stared at me for a
moment. I stared back. He raised his eyebrows. Mine met the
challenge. He sighed. “Frey, would you like to
ride
back?”

Oh. I bit my lip as I called the horses to
us.

I stood silently watching my guard. Angry
words flew through the study. Curses. Violent threats. No one had
seen my attacker, a whisper of sound the only warning. No evidence
remained but the sliver of ice. It lay on the table in a sealed
container, frozen even now, in hopes that Ruby could discern the
toxin. I couldn’t breathe. I pulled shallow puffs through my nose,
anything deeper was a knife to my side. The ride back had nearly
killed me. I was fairly positive something was broken.

Unexpectedly, they broke up and headed for
the door. Chevelle lingered; I guessed he must have dismissed them.
As the last noises faded in the corridor, he approached me.

“
You’ve gone
pale.”

I nodded.

He smiled a little, glad I’d finally given.
“Come, then.” He walked me to my room and sat on the bed beside me,
pulling my shirt aside to examine the injury. I raised my head to
see, but as he pressed the skin, I fell back against the pillow
with a gasp.

“
Broken rib, I think.” He
restored my shirt and patted my leg. “Hurts like a
beast.”

“
The good news,” I wheezed,
“is I’ve barely thought about being assaulted again.”

He looked as if he might be sick.

Someone cleared their throat at the open door
and Chevelle’s hand on my leg tightened. “I’ve asked Ruby to tend
to you.”

I glared at him.

He smiled and stood, leaving me to a special
kind of torture.

Ruby had talked while she worked, trying to
distract me to ease the pain. I’d refused her concoctions and she’d
eventually left me to rest. But sleep wasn’t coming. I lay staring
at the canopy of the bed, building more and more anger as time
passed.

Council had killed my mother. Murdered her in
an attempt to suppress northern rule. Protection had been her blood
right. My blood right. They had intended to take me, had only
settled for my mind because of their own fear. No other threat
would have been strong enough. Junnie had stepped in and used their
superstition, their regard for the beast to quell their desire for
domination. They had trapped me, held me prisoner, and when I’d
finally been returned, I had been attacked again. In my own
castle.

I couldn’t know if that was
council as well, but the silver boy’s hair was too light, his eyes
too dull. He wasn’t of the north. And if council had never
displaced us, none of this would have happened. I wouldn’t have
been riding out to control uprisings, and I wouldn’t have been
attacked yet again.
By
fairies
. I bit down a growl.

“
I’ve brought you some tea,”
Ruby announced from the door. I sighed, and the movement brought
pain again.

She sat the cup on my table and took a chair
beside the bed. I continued staring at the ceiling, because it hurt
less to lie still. She didn’t ask how I felt.

“
While you were gone, I
arranged some of your things,” she said.

I didn’t take time to speculate whether she’d
been trying to annoy me, teach me a lesson for shutting her in the
castle with a babysitter, or if she was simply attempting to
distract me.

“
I’ve been wondering about
something I found. The scroll.”

I could see the words as
plain as if they were before me now.
Fellon
Strago Dreg
.

“
I’ve looked everywhere,”
she explained, “they are in no book that I have
discovered.”

My mother’s script. A warning.

“
I thought that
maybe–”

Her words cut off as I stood, holding my
breath to control the pain.

She stared at me.

“
Ruby, gather the guard. We
are going on a trip.”

Her face was blank for a moment, but as I
moved toward the closet, she walked swiftly from the room. I bit
down hard as I pulled the shirt over my head and then replaced it
with another, lacing a vest tight against my ribcage. I struggled
into my boots and grabbed a cloak before heading to the study.

Ruby was fast, they were all there waiting
for me. By the way they watched me, I thought she might have told
them I’d lost it, but they were there.

“
Prepare the
horses.”

They stared at me.

“
We ride out for
Junnie.”

The stillness of the room erupted into
disorder. I raised a hand and they settled again.

“
This is no
coincidence.”

“
You think she would employ
the fey?” Chevelle asked incredulously.

I shook my head. “I cannot be certain any of
this is her doing. But we will find out.”

“
She has the most to gain,”
Ruby said.

“
Junnie has done nothing but
assist in Frey’s return,” Grey replied.

“
As such, she would have
aided herself,” Rhys said.

“
She wouldn’t be able to
raise a new council with a lord who stood against her,” Rider
agreed.

I couldn’t dispute that. Junnie might have
merely seen me as the lesser of two evils. But I couldn’t say I
didn’t feel the same way about her and this supposed new council
compared with the old.

“
Did she not risk all when
she saved Frey from the massacre?” Steed asked. “Was she not
honoring her family? Defending their birthright? Why else would she
have rescued Francine from the same fate?”

“
Fannie could never have
been truly saved,” Chevelle answered.

It was true. She had approached council for
protection, the only place left for her to turn. It started
something that she could not have anticipated, but none of that
would have changed her outcome.

She had reaped her revenge on council. But
she had gone back to Asher, and she had paid for that with her
life.

They continued the exchange, but it was
nothing but useless speculation. The only one who hadn’t voiced an
opinion was Anvil. When the conversation died down, I looked to
him.

He sighed, his large chest rising before
falling in a kind of defeated gesture. Anvil had been around for as
long as I could remember, strong and solid. But as I watched him
now, I could see the first signs of age on his face, the smallest
creases around his eyes and mouth. He didn’t want to tell me the
last of my family could be my greatest adversary. But he was loyal.
“Power can turn any.”

It was the only answer I needed. “Mount
up.”

Chapter Nine

Journey

We rode through Camber on our way, making no
secret of our travels. The guard took formation, which would have
been intimidation enough, but as we came through the southern
encampments, we took the time to enforce our rule, make a show of
our presence.

By nightfall, the ache in my side had become
unrelenting. When the vague outline of a structure came into view,
I realized I’d stopped paying attention to my surroundings, simply
riding along with the others. I was grateful to see the fort,
downright rapturous when the horses came to rest. Chevelle was at
my side, gingerly lifting me down, and the sense of relief was
overwhelming.

We settled inside the walls, under an open
sky, where Ruby had lit a nice fire. The warmth eased my muscles,
tired from working to hold myself still against the jostling of the
ride, and having a purpose improved my mood, regardless of the
possible outcome.

I finally glanced around the camp. Rhys and
Rider had taken watch outside. They had informed me the wolves
would remain at the castle, though I was unsure whether they’d not
wanted to confront Junnie or they’d had some other purpose. The
others relaxed around the fire. I was finally able to grasp that
peculiar feeling that had been plaguing me all day. It was so like
those odd memories from when I was bound. Days of riding, nights by
the fire, these same faces watching me warily.

Chevelle saw the smile playing at the corner
of my mouth from where he sat beside me. “Are we amusing?”

I laughed with a kind of huff. “Just
remembering.”

My eyes met his and he understood, but he
didn’t appear to find it humorous.

Ruby, however, picked up the conversation.
“You were so funny, Frey.” She tilted her head, deciding, and then,
“But I still like you better now.”

Grey snorted.

“
I don’t know,” Steed said,
“I think she was remarkably entertaining.” He winked and I glanced
down to hide my smile. He wasn’t genuinely flirting now, he was
only being Steed. But I was fairly positive his mere presence
irritated the crap out of Chevelle.

“
That was probably the
abundance of fairy dust,” I said pointedly to Ruby.

Her eyes narrowed on me. “I was trying to
help you. I thought it would make it easier to find your memories.
Or at least give you some relief.” I felt a little guilty for a
second, until she smiled and added, “But it was fun to watch.”

Grey made a comment about some ruckus she’d
created by dusting an imp, but I wasn’t listening. My gaze had
fallen on Chevelle. He and Anvil were the only ones who had known
me before, who had understood how truly lost I was, who had felt
the full impact. Gone, Chevelle had said.

He saw my expression and met it with a sad
sort of smile. “There were so many times we thought you were back.”
He shook his head. “I knew it wasn’t possible, but still...” His
brows pulled together, as if he were even now trying to work it
out. “It was you.”

I thought of the first day I’d seen him,
outside Junnie’s door. “I’m surprised you even recognized me under
the blur of glamour.”

He chuckled. “I heard you, stealing around
the back of the house. You were about as stealthy as a bull elk in
a boar’s nest. Junnie tried to stop me, I wasn’t to be seen.” But
he was there, still and solid as a statue, and I’d nearly tumbled
into him. “I suppose it was fortunate you were masked.”