Pieces of Eight (The Frey Saga, #2)(32)

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-"