Rise of the Seven

by Melissa Wright

  I started to speak but faltered. Their tale was too reminiscent of raw memories.

  Rhys finished out Rider’s explanation. “The irony is their attack gave us the ability they feared. Forced it upon us. Our response to that action not only revealed to us our full strength, but turned it against them.”

  The room was silent for a long moment.

  “The danger?” Chevelle finally asked.

  “Yes,” Rhys answered, coming back to himself. It was clearly an emotional memory for him as well. “I doubt there would be issue with an attempt to borrow from Frey. But we have found it is impossible to give the power without injuring the non-connected receiving party.”

  “They take it as a strike,” Rider explained. With a hint of chagrin, he added, “We also learned such by accident. As children.”

  “Didn’t help our cause either,” Rhys said.

  I had my doubts, but I was positive the wolves had not brought these men from the ice lands without good reason. “I will try.” Several of the others immediately bristled at the idea, but before they had a chance to voice their arguments I held up a hand. “Not today. I have a few things to check on first.”

  “I will research the archives of the twins,” Ruby said.

  “Thank you,” I replied, though I was fairly certain she’d have no luck there. When I had a free moment, I would have to find the wolves, and hope they would give me some indication if we were on the right track.

  “I think we should break for now,” I suggested. “I don’t feel I can overcome this in one day and I’m confident you all have other tasks before this evening’s event.”

  The group split into small sets, obviously agitated by the new plan. I glanced at Chevelle, unable to remove the painful image Rhys’ story brought to mind. His eyes met mine and I could see that he understood, knew that it had affected me. As he stood speaking with Anvil, his hand rose to his collar and he slid the material between his thumb and forefinger. I smiled and did the same. Funny how the small gesture meant more now, with Asher gone, than when we’d conceived it to subvert him.

  Ruby grabbed my elbow and pulled me from the room, chattering about her ideas on the new theory. I let her.

  When we reached the hall, Grey and Steed were standing together, deep in conversation. Ruby released her grip on me and immediately started a new discussion with Grey, drawing him down the hall with her.

  Steed shrugged and laughed, apparently resigned to finishing his exchange with Grey later. “Hungry?” he asked.

  “Ravenous.” I smiled and walked with him toward the dining room.

  When we were alone in the corridor, he slowed his pace. “I’ve been meaning to apologize.”

  I glanced at him curiously.

  “If I had known... Frey, I never would have...”

  “Oh,” I stopped him. “No, I cannot blame you for that.”

  He smirked. I smacked his arm.

  “What I mean is,” I explained, “I can’t charge you for what neither of us knew.”

  “Still,” he said, “I do express my regret.” And then he smiled. “To you anyway.”

  I tried to bite down on my grin. I couldn’t expect him to be sorry for the irritation he’d caused Chevelle by his advances. Besides, Chevelle had thrown him across the room and into a wall. I was pretty sure they were even.

  “It was Asher,” I said. Our slow pace came to a halt as Steed turned to me. I wasn’t sure why I’d said it, probably because of the fresh memories brought up earlier. All that had come back to me the last few weeks. But once I’d started, I couldn’t seem to stop. “He found out.”

  Steed placed his hands on my arms in a comforting gesture.

  “I’d hidden it from him. I knew I must. But he figured it out.” I drew a quick breath. “He used it against me. He decided to take Chevelle for his own purposes. It would keep me in line.” A harsh laugh escaped. If he’d only known. “I hadn’t realized he’d caught on. I thought it was a banquet, a show of power, just like any other. But the room was crowded and he had me in a gown, not the clothes of a warrior. I stood beside him, his second.” I could still see Asher as he moved to silence the crowd. I shook my head. “When he announced the arranged marriage, all my training vanished and I couldn’t stop myself from finding Chevelle across the room. You should have seen his face.”

  I looked into Steed’s dark eyes. “I couldn’t let him. I stepped forward and refused.” I took another shallow breath. “I denied him. For everyone.”

  He was speechless. I had meant for him to be released of guilt. There was no one who knew the truth of it but us, Steed couldn’t have but believed it to be fact. But I could see my explanation had only made it worse.

  “Later,” Steed asked, “when Sapphire was taken?”

  “Yes, I decided to run with him. And they killed his mother.” I tried to keep the shame from my voice.

  Steed pulled me against him and we stood in silence. My cheek against his chest, I finally breathed deep. I had never spoken of it. I couldn’t have. But Asher was gone now.

  I was so wrapped up in thought, I didn’t realize the sound was advancing footsteps until I saw Chevelle step around the corner. And then, when I felt Steed shift, was struck by the fact that we were locked in embrace.

  Apparently, he’d shifted to see who was approaching, because his arms dropped from my back and his chest slid away in a decidedly abrupt movement. I kind of just hung there for a moment, watching Chevelle’s frozen form at the end of the corridor.

  Steed cleared his throat. I straightened. Both of us resisted the urge to explain it was not what it looked like.

  I wasn’t positive how long the three of us stood so, but it seemed like an incredibly long moment before I saw Steed’s mouth quirk out of the corner of my eye.

  “Well,” he said, “I’ll see you in a bit, Sunshine.”

  I turned just in time to catch him wink at me and casually continue down the corridor in the direction we’d been heading. He began whistling a tune and I could only be thankful it was the opposite direction from Chevelle.

  We stayed frozen for an eternity, and then I picked up Steed’s cue and smiled at Chevelle, as if everything were completely normal. “Hungry?”

  He finally opened his mouth to answer but the clatter of metal on stone caused us both to pause. When no other sound followed, I waited for Chevelle to respond, his hearing superior to mine. I held my breath until he rushed toward me, and then I spun to catch him on his way past. He was heading for the noise, and he didn’t look happy.

  Chapter Five

  Pretender

  As we ran, it occurred to me Chevelle was holding back. I was far from able to keep up with him when he was at full speed. What I didn’t know was whether he was setting the pace to stay with me, as my guard, or if whatever he’d heard wasn’t such an immediate threat. We met Rhys and Rider in the corridor and the four of us turned into the dining area to find Steed, sword to the neck of a small male elf on the stones before him.

  The scene made me pause, as I’d not seen Steed use a sword, and then I realized the clanking metal would have been this elf’s sword hitting the stone floor where he now lay, arms bent behind him as if he planned to crawl backward, away from the very intimidating form of an angry dark elf. I was a little proud of my guard, he looked quite impressive at the moment.

  Steed had heard us enter, was aware of who we were and that we were not a threat, so he didn’t take his glare off his captive. “Bind him.”

  “Done,” Chevelle answered.

  Without turning, Steed tossed the sword back for Chevelle, who caught it by the base of the blade and did a cursory examination of the handle. Steed grabbed the prisoner by his arm and hefted him up to walk beside us as we crossed to a more secure location.

  Two doors down, Rhys and Rider were posted outside while Steed tossed the elf into a chair and bound him to it while Chevelle sealed the room. They did quick work and I simply stood in the center of the room to stare at th
is strange character. He wore particularly nondescript clothing, no markers of any kind. His hair was muted brown. He definitely did not have the look of a light elf, not that inner glow or glistening eye, but he didn’t appear to be of the northern clans either. He was young. He looked scared.

  “What’s this?” Chevelle asked, suddenly beside me.

  “I am not exactly clear on that,” Steed answered. “But it seems he has some business with our lord.”

  Chevelle threw the sword at the elf’s feet. I could feel the anger roll off of him, but his tone was smooth. “Business?”

  Arms bound, stuck in a chair, the prisoner lifted his chin defiantly. Both Steed and Chevelle took a step forward. He swallowed as he gathered his courage. “Bring me to her,” he demanded. Neither man glanced back at me.

  So, he didn’t know who I was. Then what was he doing here?

  “What do you want with her?” Chevelle’s voice was abruptly deadly and I could only imagine the glare that accompanied it.

  “I will see the pretender,” he hissed.

  Well, that was telling. I elbowed past my guard and leaned toward him, showing him my eyes.

  The green was significant and my approach was pretty effective. He was speechless. I was confident we would break him, so the small silver blade that materialized in an instant and shot toward me caught me completely off guard. Instinct caused me to turn, but as I rolled away from the dagger, it sliced the meat of my shoulder.

  I spun, landing in a defensive crouch, just in time to see the blow Chevelle landed on the young man. Danger thwarted, both men turned to me.

  “What the fuck was that?” I yelled. They stared at me. “No. What the fuck was that?” Neither appeared to fully comprehend my agitation. “Did he just pull silver out of the air?”

  They reacted to my words then, eyes landing first on my arm, which was now wet with blood, and then to the floor behind them.

  A flat shard of metal lay on the stone. Chevelle’s gaze returned to me, but Steed’s went back to the chair. Rhys and Rider were suddenly there, struggling to take in whatever had happened.

  Chevelle moved toward me and I became aware I was near panting. I straightened and slowed my breathing, hands and thighs still tingling with adrenaline. He examined my arm as I watched Steed pick up the sword at the feet of the corpse. He appeared thoroughly confused and his gaze returned to the blade on the floor behind him.

  Feeling returned swiftly to my arm and I jerked, but Chevelle had a tight grip. “It is a clean wound,” he informed me. He bound a strip of fabric around it to stop the bleeding and instructed Rhys to find Ruby.

  Chevelle turned. “Rider, this was an attempt on Elfreda.” No one missed that he’d used my official name and each in the room tensed at the severity, myself included. “We know nothing, but can assume he did not travel alone.” Chevelle’s tone deepened to something resembling an animal. “Find them.”

  Rider disappeared from the room without another word and then Ruby was in the doorway. She had some choice words for the scene, but hurriedly attended my injury.

  Steed was standing over the offending blade and now that I was taken care of, Chevelle joined him. They didn’t seem to want to touch it. Ruby was pestering me with questions and poking at the gash in my arm, so I didn’t catch what they were saying. I stood and walked over to join them. My head spun a little and Ruby protested like a wild monkey, but she followed me, working as we went.

  Steed glanced at me. “It doesn’t seem to be of the same metal.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “He didn’t pull the element from anything on him. I checked his person myself. If it wasn’t the sword...” He trailed off.

  “How is that possible?” Ruby asked.

  No one answered. There was no answer.

  Chevelle straightened to face me. “What did it look like?”

  I was confused for a moment, but realized neither he nor Steed would have been able to see it from from their vantage point. I had a feeling neither was happy that I’d pushed past them and stuck my nose in the attacker’s face. “It was quick. Smooth but not liquid. His eyes were connected with mine and he never lost focus. There was nothing, and then silver.” I sighed. “I’m not even sure I realized it was a blade until I was moving.”

  Ruby glanced at the chair. “Who bashed his skull?”

  Steed and I gave Chevelle matching accusatory glares. He didn’t budge.

  “Well, we’ll never find anything out now,” she complained. “What do you suppose he wanted?” Her gaze flicked to my shoulder. “Aside from Frey.”

  Chevelle really didn’t like fairies. I answered to save her. “He must have been put up to it.”

  “He snuck through the kitchens,” Steed put in. “There’s no way anyone with knowledge of the castle would have sent him that route.”

  “Did he say anything else?” I asked. “When you found him, what did we miss?”

  Steed shrugged. “He immediately demanded to see you, sword drawn.” He met my gaze with a kind of apology. “I had no idea he was a threat. He seemed so weak.”

  I waved it off and looked back at his lifeless form. It didn’t seem possible. “He’s just a boy.”

  “No one of note helped him,” Chevelle said.

  “You seem sure,” I answered.

  “They would have waited.”

  The banquet. Why hadn’t he attacked tonight, when I would have been vulnerable? He could have walked right up to me and had done with it in front of every clan leader. “Was he a warning?” Unease filtered through the group. “Maybe he was never meant to succeed?”

  “But the silver,” Steed said, shaking his head.

  “Maybe he thought he was strong enough to do it. The talent made him special where he was from so he decided he would just raid the castle,” Ruby suggested. “Where is he from, by the way? He doesn’t look right.”

  “We didn’t find out,” I answered, and we all looked at Chevelle again.

  Still nothing.

  Grey came in, a wild energy lighting his face. I’d seen him quick before, but never on task. It made a difference. “Witnesses saw a similar youth matching the description come in with the deliveries. He seems to have been working alone, as he was unaware of a few customs and didn’t appear to have a defined purpose. No one accosted him, they presumed it was merely due to inexperience,” he reported. “We would like to confirm the identity with the witnesses.”

  Chevelle nodded. “Very well, but keep him from anyone else’s sight. Resume the search within the castle and surrounding the gates but only until the guests begin to arrive. I want no one to know what has happened here.”

  Chapter Six

  Banquet

  As I lay back in the tub, letting the warm water ease the strain caused by the morning’s events, my mind kept returning to the dull eyes of the boy who’d nearly killed me.

  It had been so close. I’d been exceptionally stupid, so confident. In a matter of hours, I would be facing every figurehead in the north. I could not make the same mistake. I would have to make my position clear, leave no doubt. The banquet might be my last chance.

  I sank lower into the tub, allowing the water to soak my patched-up wound. It burned horribly and I closed my eyes, letting the pain sear my memory, keeping it as a reminder of what my slip could have cost me.

  A muffled click came from the door but I didn’t bother looking. “Ruby, get your fairy ass out of my wash room.”

  She huffed. “How do you always know it’s me?”

  I turned to glare at her over the rim of the tub. “Because no one else would hassle me when I’m naked and meditating.”

  “Hmm.” She dropped something on the counter and turned to go. “I was simply bringing some things you’ll need for this evening. I have to prepare myself as it is.”

  When the door shut behind her, I tilted my head back again, contemplating a display of power that would cement my place. I recalled a few of Asher’s triumphs,
but most of those disgusted me. He considered his banquets a success if each of his guests left in fear, or some form of it. He used his power as a threat, constantly reminding those around him of the damage he could do. He’d explained to me privately that he had to, it was the only way to secure our rule. But I knew better. I knew because he used it against me, and I’d had no desire for reign.

  Asher had known me better than I’d known myself. No matter how I played along with his games, he’d kept me under his power, showed me what he could do. When I’d strayed, he’d found ways to remind me. I could see Chevelle again, his tortured form writhing in pain. At the hand of his own father. No matter his end, I still hated Rune. He had smiled as Chevelle lay before him. Chevelle had refused to call out, but his body reacted against his will, his jaw clamped tight, muscles bucking against the stone floor.

  Anvil had stepped in to save us that day, but I vowed it would happen no more. I made a show of my own. But Asher was always one step ahead of me. What happened to Sapphire wasn’t punishment for my defiance, it was a device to keep me. And it had worked. When I saw her lifeless body, getting out was no longer an option. I had to stay and overcome him, I could not have done otherwise.

  My mother had known that. She had seen, even from her prison, that it was reaching a boiling point. She had thought to save me. And she had burned for it.

  I sighed and rose from the tub. A trail of water ran from my feet, tracing the seams of the stone floor. I pushed it with magic, testing the new powers once more. It moved as if a gentle wind blew. I was pleased, but not quite confident enough to dry myself, so I used a towel, just in case.

  Since returning to the castle, I’d moved into one of the suites. From the washroom, there was a wardrobe closet through the first door, and a bedchamber beyond the second. As I walked through, I picked up the small bag of items Ruby had left me and glanced inside. She was incorrigible. I sat it aside and sifted through the various costumes hung along the back wall. I pushed aside a dark cloak and faltered when the long white gown came into view. My mother’s wedding dress. I ran a hand over the beading, exploring the fabric, the detail.