[2018] Reign of Queens

by Melissa Wright

  I was still feeling peculiar so I climbed into the seat beside him, curling my feet up close. He watched me, his eyes lingering even after I had settled. It felt as if he yearned to say something.

  The tension became too much and I broke. “Ruby drugged me.”

  He smiled. “She told me. She was worried about your sanity.” The last word cracked. He appeared to regret saying it.

  “Did she tell you”—I wasn’t sure I should be admitting this—“I read her book?”

  “Yes.”

  He wasn’t offering any information. I would have to ask. The dust must have given me courage. “It talked about exchange.” Still nothing. “About energy… life… for magic.”

  He cleared his throat. “Yes.”

  “Can you tell me about it?”

  “Today, after Anvil sparred with Steed, you saw how the strike drained him. This is something you’ll need to know for a group conflict. The tactics are different than one on one.” He hadn’t answered my question at all. But he was talking and I would take it. I nodded for him to go on. “A single opponent allows you to use more energy, focus only on that and let yourself…”

  My thoughts were wandering. Cursed dust.

  “… but with a number of opponents, you have to conserve your energy so you don’t leave yourself too weak…”

  I was watching his mouth move as he spoke but losing the words. I couldn’t focus.

  “… tactics that do not drain your energy. Protect yourself…”

  I was leaning toward him. Cursed fool.

  “… even hand-to-hand combat or choose a weapon. Ruby’s whip, a staff…”

  Cursed Ruby. Grrr…

  “Frey.”

  “Hm?”

  He shook his head. “Never mind.”

  I was angled toward him, could feel myself moving. My mind was screaming stop but it was too late. I closed in on his lips. I was close enough my intent was unmistakable when he grabbed me, wrapping both arms around my biceps in a too-tight grip. “Freya—”

  A howl. A wolf.

  He let out a deep breath and it tickled my nose. Oh. Oh, no. No, no, no. My head cleared, but Chevelle still held me around the arms. My neck flushed, my eyes shooting to my lap. I couldn’t look at him. What am I doing?

  The door opened and Chevelle’s hands dropped as he stood to face the newcomer.

  “They are here.” It was Steed’s voice, but I didn’t raise my head, the blood still hot in my cheeks.

  “Take her to the ridge, I will meet you after…” Chevelle stopped midsentence. After what? Steed must have been concerned because Chevelle explained, “Ruby gave her a little dust… to relax.”

  “Frey,” Steed said from beside me. I glanced at the door. Chevelle was gone. “Are you well?”

  “Ugh.”

  He snickered. “Come on.” He swept me up, planning to carry me. My head spun.

  “No. Please let me walk.”

  “You do not tolerate that stuff well. You’re going to have to lay off the shimmer.”

  “It’s not like I chose to take it,” I complained. He laughed.

  The cold air helped a little. I was back in the circle, the group of us sitting around a small fire. Ruby was telling stories. She related the tale of Bonnie Bell, a blue fairy from the East. “He hunts the human children, luring them in with glitter and lights, and eats them, beginning with their tiny little toes. Though he gives no choice in the matter, in exchange, he allows the mother one wish.”

  I scoffed, “Humans aren’t real.”

  “Even so,” she continued, smiling wickedly, “you’d be surprised how many don’t think to wish for their children back.” Raucous laughter floated up around the ring. Fairy tales indeed.

  It felt good being there, surrounded by my new companions, a fire and stories, laughter. This was more of a home than Fannie’s had ever been. But I was also under the influence of a fairy.

  “Better yet?” Ruby asked. I grimaced.

  Grey approached. “Ruby dear, won’t you allow us to partake?”

  “Speak for yourself,” Anvil cracked from across the fire, “last time I lost a bit of tongue.” I cringed and remembered my dream. I thought I could still smell burning flesh.

  Ruby laughed. “Ah, well, I suppose just this once.”

  Grey sat, rough brown boots resting among the stone, and she leaned over him as if for a kiss. Her lips stopped just short of his, their eyes connecting as a glint of firelight caught the shimmer and Grey breathed it in. As she pulled away, his fingers trailed slowly off her arm and I felt I was intruding, so I averted my eyes.

  Steed, beside me, gave me a gentle smile. I like Steed. He’s a good guy. I shook my head to clear it. Cursed dust.

  Ruby joined us. “Do the effects last longer sometimes?” I asked.

  “It depends.”

  “On what?” Seemed like an obvious followup.

  “Your mood.”

  I was irritated all over again, but got distracted when she licked the point of an arrow. “What are you doing?”

  She grinned. “Look, Frey, I don’t know if you’re up for this story right now.” I didn’t think she was funny. She sighed. “Okay, but you’ll probably regret it.”

  “Just give her the short version, Ruby,” Steed interrupted. “No gory details.” His eyebrow cocked meaningfully.

  “Oh, well, yes, that would do.” She smiled at me as she licked another arrow, tongue sliding carefully along the blade. “You see, my dear, being a one of a kind—well, as far as I know—has its benefits. Though they weren’t always benefits. Ooh, in the beginning it was bad… but, well, that’s the long version, isn’t it? No gory details.” She winked at Steed. “I am, how should I put it… venomous.”

  I gasped. It was her expected response. “Yes, yes. I know.” She held her tongue out for me to examine. As she pressed another arrow against it, tiny slits opened up and released a translucent liquid. “Not really venom, per se, all fairies have it. A chemical to help break down their food. Just that mine is toxic to many. Not to worry though, I have pretty good control of it now. Nasty, poisonous stuff.” She laughed again, “You know, that’s what Chevelle thought I intended the first time I dusted you.” I recalled the panic in his voice before he whisked her away. As disastrous a night as that had been, this one hadn’t gone much better.

  “Ruby, please take Frey back to the house.” Chevelle was standing behind us. I was too exhausted to jump, but Ruby merely glanced back at him, not at all surprised he was there.

  Her face crinkled. “Didn’t go well?” He didn’t respond but was obviously frustrated. I couldn’t tell if it was with Ruby or whatever hadn’t gone well. Or the idiotic offspring of his parent’s murderer who tried to seduce him in a drunken stupor. It didn’t matter, I was being removed again.

  Ruby rambled about all of the difficulties of and uses for venom on our way back. She’d gotten so involved in her stories I thought she must have forgotten I was there. Her last words confirmed it. “No one knew to check. How would they? I mean, a new species. A new breed. And lethal. Poison to her mother. They couldn’t even know that was what had happened until the others. Until the pattern became patent and they found the source.”

  I stared at Ruby, imagining the nameless “others” who’d been taken by her venom before they discovered its root. But it was not the idea of those strangers that tightened my chest.

  Poison. To her mother.

  Unexpected Company

  My dreams were wicked that night, all venom and wolves, snakes and beasts, death and fire. I woke in my bed, light filtering in through the window. The door was open a crack and I could see Chevelle sitting in the front room. I was hesitant to face him.

  I lay there, running back through the events of the night, the stories. Embarrassment flooded me again and I turned my head to bury it in the blankets, but something strange on the side table caught my attention. I picked it up to examine. A small bird, carved of stone. A hawk. Of onyx.

&
nbsp; I knew at once it was what Chevelle had been working on, carving. And then I recognized the stone, the large black stone that had pummeled my face for days, and I couldn’t help but snicker. I remembered the tiny hawk he had made with magic and my disappointment when it had turned back to the dull gray rock. He had carved me this symbol with his own hands.

  Now I was completely ashamed of my actions the previous night.

  I closed my hand around it and noticed the painting on my wrist. A hawk. I knew I had to face him. This might be a peace offering. It might be my last chance. I stood and walked into the main room, clutching the figure in my fist for courage.

  Chevelle was not alone.

  A statuesque elf with pitch-black hair and eyes rose as I came into view. Not in the respectful ‘a lady entered the room’ way, but in a way that led me to believe he wasn’t happy to have me, or anyone, find him there. He held a long staff, gripped so tightly his knuckles whitened, and he was dressed in casual traveling clothes that didn’t seem to fit his posture.

  I found myself questioning whether it were a disguise, and then I chastised myself for wandering around in ridiculous thoughts so often. They were watching me. Cursed brain fog.

  I stood there for a moment, unsure if I should leave the room after I had so obviously interrupted or pretend I had a mission and make my way to Ruby’s room. I clearly wasn’t welcome there. Neither spoke, so I lowered my gaze to the floor, taking the shortest route to Ruby’s door and closing it hastily behind me.

  Chevelle spoke to his guest and I groaned internally, wishing I’d heard their low voices earlier. Asher, as Chevelle had called the man, was apparently leaving. It sounded as if Chevelle was trying to persuade him in some way, but the man was short and cold in his responses. Quiet, too. I imagined he didn’t want me to hear them. Paranoia, my mind accused.

  I heard the front door close as I flopped onto the bed, only to jolt upright when Ruby’s door opened a few seconds later. It was Chevelle.

  My courage was gone again. He seemed to be waiting for me to speak. I tried, “I’m sorry I interrupted…”

  He nodded, but I didn’t know if he was acknowledging my interruption or pardoning it.

  He walked slowly toward the bed, glancing at Ruby’s things on the shelves and walls, and then sat on the bed beside me. I forced myself to continue breathing and kept my gaze down, knowing a flush was coming.

  He reached out and placed a hand under my chin, bringing my face up to meet his. The flush that followed was not from embarrassment. Heat flooded my neck, and I felt it might engulf me as he spoke my name. “Frey.”

  “Yes.” It was all I could manage.

  His eyes held mine and I could swear he was searching for something. He opened his mouth to speak, but the door of the wardrobe flew open.

  “Oh.” Ruby giggled the tiniest bit. “Excuse me. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She seemed pleased she had.

  Chevelle’s hand dropped and I could see out of the corner of my eye his face was hard.

  Ruby continued, “Steed said you had a guest so I just used the back…” She trailed off when his stare didn’t soften, but she smiled. “You know, you do have your own room.”

  He stiffened and stood, not at all amused by her implication.

  Ruby began gathering things as she spoke, pretending she hadn’t noticed his attitude. “So how did it go?”

  He relaxed a little but his mood didn’t rise in the least. “We shall see.”

  “Indeed,” she purred. “Indeed.”

  He didn’t look back at me as he left the room, simply directing Ruby to take me with her when she’d finished. She seemed more than happy to comply and I was in no doubt we would be training again. I slid the hawk sculpture into my pocket.

  She hummed as she gathered, throwing a cloak at me in the process. I tied it on and drew the hood up. “Want me to carry anything?”

  She eyed me as if I was entirely absurd. “Well, if you would like to, I can find something for you.” I glared at her back and she turned to grab my arm beneath the cloak, yanking me behind her as we left the house through her closet. She replaced the cover that hid the entrance and snatched a quiver of arrows from the ground before pulling me forward again.

  “What are those for?” I asked, indicating the arrows, afraid they would somehow be used in my training.

  “They are arrows, Frey.” She was really on a roll today, a delightful mood. I shook my head, certain that didn’t bode well for me, and she laughed. “We are leaving them for Rhys and Rider to find.”

  “Are they poisoned?”

  “Yes.”

  I considered that. “Did they use all the ones you prepared last night?”

  “You’re silly, Freya. It’s fun.” The way she pronounced my name, like it was dear to her, made it harder to be angry with her. But I made the effort.

  “It’s not entirely my fault,” I huffed. And then I was sorry I’d said anything. I didn’t need to defend myself to her.

  “I know,” she said, “but it’s still fun.” I wondered if she did know. Like everyone before. I pushed the thought from my head.

  “I thought the dogs were their weapons of choice,” I said, cringing a bit as I remembered their demonstration.

  “Wolves, Frey. And they aren’t weapons.”

  “They don’t use them to attack?”

  She spoke like she was explaining to a child. “Yes, the wolves attack. But not as weapons. Not by command of the elves. The wolves attack who they want. Protect who they want.”

  “They don’t control them?”

  “No, silly. No one can control animals.” She cocked an eyebrow at me speculatively.

  “But—”

  “Okay, well, sure, you can lead an animal. You can turn your horse and guide him on the path, but that is simply pushing their heads and encouraging them with the click of your heels. You can’t make them choose to take you; it just doesn’t work that way. You can’t get into an animal’s mind and make them behave the way you want them to.”

  “But the dogs… wolves… follow them. They had them do a demonstration and—”

  “No, Frey. The wolves do not follow the elves. The wolves protect them by choice.”

  “By choice?”

  “Yes. And I have seen them tear an elf apart as quickly as defend them.” I shivered. “Rhys and Rider were saved by the wolves once. They think the animals understand. They follow the wolves, you see. That is why they are here.” We topped the ridge, jagged rock and loose dirt shifting beneath our feet, and Ruby dropped the quiver by the edge before climbing down with a deftness I had yet to master.

  Steed, Anvil, and Grey greeted us before we resumed training. I tried to keep my mind off the wolves, off the reason we were training, off the encounter with Chevelle, off all of the terrible things it kept returning to, and I was grateful for the fog that clouded my thoughts.

  Though I wasn’t exactly winning matches, I was getting better. The battering continued, and long days of constant fighting were making me tired. We took a break and I leaned back on a rock, staring at the sky as I rested.

  Chevelle walked me to the edge of a tall peak. The rock mountain ended in a sheer cliff, straight down into haze. He looked into my eyes like he saw something there, like he really knew me. We gazed out over the cliff, at the horizon… endless. I felt his hand on my back and closed my eyes, relaxing into the comfortable, familiar feel of it.

  He pushed me with full force. I flew off the cliff, falling straight down. I stared back at him as he stood, watching me fall, nothing but open sky above and below. I couldn’t imagine why he’d throw me from the cliff, couldn’t think of the magic to stop myself, couldn’t see when I would crash into the base, the rocks below.

  My arms flailed as I jerked awake. The group stared at me.

  “Frey?” Ruby asked.

  I grappled for breath. “Just a dream.” A few chuckles moved through the crowd.

  Ruby was more interested. “What about?” />
  I glanced at Chevelle, a few paces away. He had the same concerned expression as they waited for my answer. I only shook my head.

  My chest still ached from panic. I sat up and took a drink from the flagon. Wine. Didn’t anyone drink water anymore?

  When Grey sat beside me, I tried to mask my surprise.

  “Ruby a little hard on you?” he teased. I smiled. “She’s only trying to help, you know.” He spoke with tenderness and I recalled their touch nights ago.

  I made an effort not to be too obvious about my real curiosity. “You’ve known her long?”

  “Forever.” The way he gazed at her when he spoke left no doubt.

  She noticed us watching her. “Ready to get back to it, then?”

  I grimaced, struggling to my feet. “Ruby, how long will the effects of the dust last?”

  “Depends.”

  It was the same answer she’d given me before. I couldn’t decide if I was truly that out of it or if everyone thought it was funny to make me drag answers from them. “On?”

  She laughed. “Don’t worry. The dreams will get better.”

  “They will get better or they will go away?”

  She laughed again. “Depends.”

  We were facing each other once more, ready to begin another round. “Want to try a weapon?”

  I was pretty sure I didn’t, give how much the weaponless training hurt. I procrastinated. “Why use arrows if you have magic?”

  She had that ‘Frey, you’re an idiot’ look again. “Magic uses more energy the farther away you try to focus it. And it is less accurate. And you are more visible. And—”

  I held up a hand. “All right, I have it.”

  She smiled. “Any more questions or can we begin?”

  “Fine. What sort of weapon did you have in mind?”

  Her smile widened. Her hand stretched out to the side and a long, silver sword came from the pile of gear to land in her palm. She righted it, twisting the blade for me to see.