I woke startled to the sound of laughter. It took several minutes to gather my thoughts enough to know where I was. In bed… at Ruby’s. Ruby, the half-breed.
I was drenched in sweat. My head throbbed. Something had happened to me. Fairy dust, Steed had said. Steed. Yes, he had shown up last night. Voices echoed through the open door. He was in the main room. Chevelle was there, too. My mouth tasted sour. I tried to sit up but my head spun. Before I’d moved an inch I was back down. My pulse pounded in my temples as I struggled to recall what had happened the night before. I hissed out a low oath when I remembered Ruby leaning toward me, blowing her glitter in my face.
My eyes opened again to find Chevelle offering me a glass. I winced, unsure of what exactly I had said to him. I knew it was bad, but couldn’t quite piece it back together. I glanced up at him timidly. “Thank you,” I croaked as I took the cup, my hand trembling.
“Shouldn’t have left you alone,” he said quietly. There was a tinkling laugh in the front room and I groaned. She was here, too. The water helped. I was able to sit up with Chevelle’s assistance.
Ruby swirled into the room, dressed in a red frock of sorts. The color hurt my eyes. “Here, a bath will help. Come with me, dear.” Her hair was tied halfway back with a scarf, the tattered ends mingling with crimson curls. I felt dizzy again. She hauled me off the bed, supporting me as I stood. She was much smaller than I had thought, slipping easily under my arm. I kept my head down as we walked, mostly trying not to get ill, but also unable to look Steed in the eyes. I watched Ruby’s heeled boots as she led me through the main room and to the door to her bedroom.
“A bath?” I asked, confused.
She laughed. “Well, yes. A little cold for lake bathing here.” She led me to a large basin in the corner of her room. Water streamed in from the window and filled it halfway. “I’ve laid out some clothes for you and there are some lovely soaps on the table.” She spun and glided out of the room, closing the door behind her, and all I could think was, Lovely soaps.
I examined the room as I undressed. A large bed topped with decorated pillows and colorful blankets centered the opposite wall, twice the size of the one I’d been using. A tall rack in the corner was draped with materials—deep violet and emerald-green silks, dark wools, and a rainbow of patterned scarves. Shelves alongside were filled full with curiosities and a few books lay on the bedside table near a lantern.
I stepped into the tub, sinking down as lavender-scented steam rose to dampen my face and hair. I breathed deep. It seemed to be helping, so I closed my eyes and relaxed.
The water started to chill several times, but I was hesitant to get out. At the risk of boiling myself, I eased the magic I’d been using to reheat the bath.
Finally, I felt well enough to stand. I picked up one of the soaps and washed quickly, then pulled the water from the tub to rinse the suds away. I’d not had much opportunity to practice with water; I added it to the list of things to work on. It had been a long journey, and the bath was refreshing. The soap left a light fragrance in the air, smelling like morning and cold, and I wondered if the fairy dust was still affecting me.
I dried off and dressed in the clothes Ruby had put out for me. They were a little snug, but not enough to have been her castoffs. The room had its own full-length mirror and I giggled at my reflection. It was certainly not an outfit I’d choose for myself. I couldn’t say I looked bad though. I turned away, still painfully unaccustomed to my new appearance, and tugged down the hem of the short leather top.
Steed let out a whistle as I entered the main room. Ruby sat beside him, a warm smile on her face as if we were old friends. Chevelle was near a window on the front wall, leaning on one shoulder, his body turned toward me, expression impossible to read.
“Better?” Ruby asked.
“Yes, thank you.” I was polite, but it burned a little to thank her after what she’d done.
Steed smiled, shaking his head from side to side with exaggerated slowness. “Some night.” He looked like he was trying to keep a secret. Heat crawled up my neck as I remembered climbing into his lap, and then again the second time I’d gotten out of bed.
Ruby grinned at him conspiratorially. “Yes, so educational.”
Had I talked in my sleep? Could this get any worse?
Yes, it could. It came back to me then. I dropped into a chair, my head falling into my hands to cover my face.
Ruby started to say something, but Chevelle cut her off. “Won’t you offer your guest breakfast?”
She sniffed. “Lunch maybe.” A plate of food landed on the table in front of me with a slap.
“Thank you,” I managed. I was hungry, despite the embarrassment. I grabbed the plate and started eating.
Ruby and Steed were sitting across from me. She was reclined, her bare legs showing where the material of her skirt was pulled to the side. When I looked up, she resituated herself, leaning toward Steed and talking low about some nonsense. She walked her fingers up his chest as she talked, glancing at me for a reaction.
She was trying to make me jealous. I was suddenly furious. She’d poisoned me and now this. I wanted to burn her right then and there. I caught Chevelle’s expression as I glared at her. He had seen what she was doing, knew her motives most likely, but I could tell he thought it had worked. He thought I was jealous.
Perfect.
I smelled something odd and glanced down. The meat I was holding had burnt in my hand. I cursed, dropping it onto the plate.
When I looked back to them, Steed was watching me, smiling. I tossed the burned meat onto the table, considering going back to bed.
Ruby laughed and it made my hair stand on end. No, I’d stay. She might be our host now but I’d get my chance. I’d fix her. She shifted and the markings on her leg caught my attention. A thin painted vine trailed up to her thigh.
She noticed me looking. “Well, Frey, I feel like I know so much about you.” She smiled slyly at Chevelle. “But you know so little of me. Let me tell you a few things, since we will be traveling together.”
I felt my head jerk to find Chevelle, not believing what I had just heard.
Ruby continued without pause. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now I’m an amalgamation, a half-breed.” She said the last part with distaste and glanced at Steed. “I will give you a short version of events so when the subject comes up—and believe me, someone will ask—you are not overcome by curiosity and forced to seek less than honorable venues to discover the facts.”
I chose to ignore the jab about my eavesdropping.
“My mother was a power-hungry wench seeking notoriety. She was an elemental fairy and, like me, sported a fine head of red hair.” She ran a hand under the curls for emphasis. “She heard a story one day of a mixed-species birth and got it in her head she could breed a more powerful magic. Apparently she thought she could control her offspring and use the magic to her advantage… I suppose she thought she could rule the world.” Ruby smirked.
“She studied various species for a few moons and decided her best chance at conquest was a dark elf. She made her way to this very village and happened across my father, poor unsuspecting sap.” Ruby flitted her fingers, glasses and wine served before each of us as she continued. “So there he was and she, just a wisp of a woman, flew up to him and blew a little fairy dust… well, you know about that.”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
Ruby grinned. “He was putty in her hands. It was all over before he even knew her purpose. She kept him under her enchantments and lies as long as she could. She thought she was safe hiding here in the village but, as you know, an elf birth is a hefty event. Upon the hour of my birth, the entire village had gathered to see the new elf—at my father’s request, of course. Can you imagine the shock when they found my mother was his intended?”
She laughed, but her audience was quiet. Chevelle, expression uncomfortable, turned to watch out the front window.
“Needless to say, it did not go as she h
ad planned. At her death, my father was released from her bonds. He was horrified at what he had done, at what had been done to him. But he hadn’t the heart to destroy his crop. He simply left.”
I felt the tug in my chest at her story, but Ruby’s eyes were dry and clear. I wondered how many times she’d told it.
“I hear he wanders the mountain. Probably killing fairies.” Ruby laughed again. This time it sounded like genuine humor. The tension in the room eased a bit.
“Ruby.” Chevelle’s tone was respectful as he turned from the window.
“They’re here?” she asked. He nodded and she rose gracefully from her seat. “Well, looks like we have some gathering to do. We can finish this later.” She smiled at me as she followed Chevelle out the door.
Summit
Steed sat across from me, quiet.
“Seems so sad,” I said. I was thinking of Chevelle’s loss, of my own, and now of Ruby’s. How could we all be without family? “Your mother…” I trailed off.
He sighed. “My mother died years ago, with a large part of the northern clans.” I cringed. His mother had died because of my mother. The same as Chevelle.
I was almost afraid to ask. “And your father?”
He smiled. “My father wanders the mountain… killing fairies.”
My jaw dropped. “You mean Ruby is your sister?”
“Half-sister,” he emphasized. He let me roll that around for a while before he spoke again. “You know, Ruby told me she’d had dealings with the infamous Chevelle Vattier, but I didn’t believe her. One can never believe the tales of a fairy.”
Infamous?
“But imagine my surprise when he walked out of the trees, following a green-eyed beauty.” Steed smiled at the memory and then turned serious. “When I ran into the… trackers, I had hope Ruby had told the truth and might know where to find you.” He laughed. “She tried to hide you, but I recognized the horses out front.”
“She tried to hide us?”
“Ah, yes. Fairies are full of treacheries and wickedness. Always meddling in the affairs of others, causing trouble whenever possible. They have quite a time. At least Red’s only half wicked.”
His sister. I was having trouble wrapping my mind around it all.
“Don’t worry, she’s had her fun with you. She’ll be helpful now.” He grinned and I wasn’t sure if it was sarcastic. “Besides, sounds like you’re the biggest trouble going. She’d do well to stick around you.” I frowned. “I’ll keep an eye on her,” he promised.
“You?” I asked, remembering Ruby’s announcement. “You’re traveling with us?”
“You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, of course not,” I gushed. It was too eager, so I explained, “Chevelle’s been training me.”
“Well, we can certainly help with that.”
I grimaced at the thought of Ruby’s training methods.
“Don’t fret. She’s actually very talented.” His smile warmed. “An asset, you’ll see.” An asset?
Ruby came through the door, in a movement that could nearly have been classified as whirling. “Come on, Steed. We need to set you up outside of town. Chevelle is afraid we’re causing a scene in the village.” She laughed lightly. It seemed like she was having fun. I wondered if that meant she was causing trouble. “Don’t think he trusts you with the girl,” Ruby added, smiling playfully.
“I prefer the outdoors anyway.” Steed dipped toward me, his hand folding his waist in a bow as he stood to go. “Sunshine.”
My head was not up for this at all. His sister. Traveling with us. An asset. I leaned forward, resting my head on my knees.
“Are you ill?” Chevelle said from beside me. I hadn’t even heard him come in. He was sitting forward on the bench next to me and when I jerked up in surprise, it put us too close. I tottered and he steadied me, but didn’t move away.
He leaned closer. “You smell… like morning.” I bit my lip, heat rising up my neck, but he lingered, breathing in the scent.
“Ruby,” I said. He looked confused. “Soap.”
I had been reduced to one-word sentences.
“Oh.” He nodded, leaning back. “She does have a way with potions and such.”
“I enjoy the mixing,” Ruby said, startling me again as she entered the house. “But not to worry, I keep it contained to elements and minerals, no breeding. I leave that to Steed.” She laughed at her own words as she passed us on the way to her room. I found myself reevaluating her now that I knew she was Steed’s sister.
Chevelle noticed me watching her. “Do you mind staying with Ru—” My expression cut him off. “I have some business to take care of outside of town. She has given me her word she will behave.” He eyed her as he spoke, a warning.
She replied from the open door of her room, “Yes, yes. No naughtiness.” And then, under her breath, “On my part.”
“No qualifications, Ruby.”
“Just teasing. Now go, we have stuff to do.”
My stomach knotted. Stuff.
Chevelle appeared reluctant to get up. For a moment, I thought he might reach out to me, but he only stood and left without another word. It ached. I didn’t want him to hate me.
Ruby whirled into the room and grabbed me around the waist from behind, spinning me up, over the back of the seat, and through her door before I could process what was happening. She plopped me down in the center of her bed and swung around to sit in front of me. My head was reeling from the spin as she smiled at me, waving her hands and bringing a plethora of bottles and canisters flying toward us to drop on the bed. I thought with disappointment that I hadn’t responded to her attack as Chevelle had taught me and laughed at the image in my head.
Ruby gave me a genuine smile as she began twisting the lid on a small metal canister. “No mother to teach us the tricks of the trade,” she sighed as she leaned in.
I jerked away from her, wanting to be angry about the comment. But Ruby had just told me her own story, no less tragic.
She mistook my reaction. “Oh, don’t be silly. I wouldn’t play the same design twice.”
I relaxed, but only a little.
“Besides, I will let you in on a little secret… the fairy’s breath isn’t really breath. Can you imagine if it were? Why, everywhere we go we’d cause a terrible ruckus. It’s a blend, is all. We keep it in a tiny capsule in our cheek and when we need it…” She chomped her teeth together with a click, the look surprisingly feral. And then she smiled, her face melting back into something very near adorable as she held a finger to her lips, protecting the secret. “Old family recipe, you see. My mother left a diary.” She was thoughtful for a moment. “Ah, what a thing, a mother’s diary.”
Ruby went silent for too long and I wondered if she would be returning to this one-sided conversation any time soon.
Her eyes flicked back to me. “It was very fortunate for me she’d kept a journal, you see, for I would have no fairy knowledge without it.”
I felt my brows draw together and tried to smooth my face.
“No, don’t feel bad for me. With you in such a position.” I didn’t know what she meant exactly, but she continued, “And my dear brother has been there for me all along, helping me with the elf parts.”
She kept talking as she leaned forward, seemingly unaware I’d not spoken a word in response. Not that she’d given me much opportunity. I contemplated whether this was her usual behavior toward strangers or if she felt we had a special motherless bond.
She ran her finger through the substance in the canister and it came out coated in a deep, dark green that had the consistency of grease, which she smeared across the base of my eyelid. She continued rambling as she coated various parts of my body with lotions and powders, smoothed my hair with a sweet-scented cream, painted my lips with a soft balm that smelled of spice.
After she ran out of areas to work with, she opened a tall glass container with black liquid inside and dipped a cut braid of hair into the bottle. She drew i
t out, using the tip to brush an intricate design on the inside of my wrist. When she was finished, she leaned over and blew gently on the paint. Or ink? I was anxious to see the finished work. I waited impatiently for her to raise her head again and hoped whatever it was wasn’t permanent.
She finally glanced up at me, smiling an easy smile. I looked nervously at my wrist. It was magnificent. A simple outline of a bird with outstretched wings marked the delicate skin at the base of my palm. Unbelievably tiny runes surrounded the bottom of its wings, making a pattern appear.
I smiled as I praised her. “It’s beautiful.”
One eyebrow shot up and she jumped from the bed, grabbing my wrist and pulling me with her. I hoped she hadn’t smudged the design. I checked it as soon as she stopped in front of her mirror and let my arm go. “And this.” It wasn’t a question. She was proud of her work.
The eyes that stared back at me in the reflection grew large as they took in her mastery. Gone was the girl I’d been in the village. This woman, dressed in leather and dabbed with war paint, was striking, imposing even. Her dark gaze might have been fierce if it weren’t round with astonishment. Ruby was thrilled at my response. She bounced twice and clapped her hands at her success.
And then she was over it. “Let’s eat. I’m famished.” She fired a look back at me, her hair flipping in the process. “Hmm. I’m not supposed to take you outside. Not supposed to leave you.”
I stood, waiting.
“Food,” she decided. She yanked two cloaks from the corner and tied them on, covering our heads, and led me to the wardrobe by her bed. I couldn’t imagine how we could get any more clothes on as she opened the door and started to throw them onto her bed. But she leaned out of the wardrobe door to whisper, “Come on.” She stepped into the cabinet, dragging me with her.
We were standing outside the rear of her house. She slid the false wall back in place and grabbed my arm again, our heavy cloaks moving like shadows as we ran from the village.
[2018] Reign of Queens Page 41
