Rise of the Seven (22 page)

“
No,” I moaned.

“
Blood,” Junnie answered
levelly. “She is of blood, Frey. Half human and Asher’s own
child.”

Half human.
Like me
.

Rowan had burned these woods to find Asher’s
baby. Junnie had risked her own life to save it.

And now Junnie’s bright blue eyes peered into
mine. Beseeching, daring me, I didn’t know. But I could feel the
child, the slightest brush of its mind, and I knew it would
live.

When she saw the change in me, Junnie’s
posture relaxed, and it was only then I realized she’d not wanted
to fight either. She’d not wanted it to be me any more than I’d not
wanted it to be her.

“
Ah, Junnie,” I sighed,
“there’s more.”

Once I’d explained my bargain with Veil,
Junnie and I said our goodbyes to go our separate ways. She, with
the child, would set the new council into power and restructure the
south. And I, with my guard, would rule the north.

“
Are you well?” Chevelle
asked as he helped me onto my horse.

My brows furrowed. “Yes, I guess I am.”

He shook his head before climbing onto his
own mount, and we kicked them up to where the others waited.

It was a long ride home, underneath the
graying skies. Finn had been secured atop a horse, Keaton running
beside them. Anvil’s previously injured shoulder had been sliced
through and patched up so that he tilted in the saddle. Ruby looked
tired, but refused to give in, and Chevelle had received more cuts
than he’d let on.

I simply had too much time to think.

When we finally made it home, it was late the
following afternoon. The eight of us slid stiff and wobbly off the
horses, staggering numbly through the stable-side entry. There were
a few reports, a couple of called-out orders, and one angry
mountain lion before I at last found a bath. I soaked for an
endless hour, possibly dozing off near the end, and then slid into
a clean, fresh dressing gown.

After tying a loose robe over that, I
stretched my arms to test the movement. Junnie had been right. It
was tender, but there didn’t seem to be any real damage done.

When I opened my door, I glanced down the
hallways to be certain the corridor was empty.

My bare feet slapped lightly against the cool
stone as I ran, heading to my favorite perch. I passed two doorways
and then turned, suddenly abandoning the plan to stand atop the
roof.

I stood before his door for a long moment,
staring at the wooded planks. When I finally pushed it open, I saw
his silhouette against the filigreed window. I slid the door shut
behind me, and walked slowly across the room. My arms wrapped
around his chest, cheek pressed firmly against his back as he
stared out the window.

He took a deep breath and rested his hand
over mine.

As we stood together, my eye caught the glint
of a chipped basin on the corner table, and I smiled.

At first, his room appeared sparse, as if
he’d never intended to stay. But now I realized everything had a
memory attached to it. The basin I’d broken as a child. The blanket
he’d hidden when I’d accidentally caught my room on fire and
scorched it. The sword his mother had given him when we’d snuck out
to meet her.

“
What is it?” Chevelle asked
as he turned to hold me in his arms.

“
I was just thinking,” I
lied, “that we should move into the main suites. Now that we are
bound.” My head tilted briefly to the side. “If you can give up
this view, that is.”

He stared down at me, the corner of his mouth
pulling up in a sexy smile, and answered, “I quite prefer another
view.”

I laid my hand on his chest, over the beat of
his heart, and he leaned down. His lips brushed softly over
mine.

The kiss was sweet, slow. It said we had
time.

It said we had forever.

The next day, I sat kneeling in front of my
bureau. It had been my first real night with Chevelle, and I’d
woken refreshed, my dreams no longer haunted by flame. My issues,
if temporarily, had been laid to rest.

The fey had been watching us for a long time,
maybe guiding things to their own advantage. But for now, I felt
safe. We had the north, and Junnie’s new council the south. We had
balanced the power, so there was no need for war. But if Veil were
pushed, if the fey would strike, together we could overcome
them.

“
You have almost nothing of
interest in here,” Ruby complained from the wardrobe behind
me.

“
Well,” I answered, not
looking away from my task, “then it should be fairly easy to
move.”

Ruby laughed, but I did, in truth, have
plenty of interest here. I thought of the box, hidden beneath the
stone floor below the bed.

It was time to start a new life, new
memories. The others were buried within the box, as they should
be.

“
I still have some things to
work out,” Ruby murmured. “But at least I know where the wolves
were all that time.”

I slid the bureau drawer shut and stacked the
filled box with the others.

“
Like these,” Ruby
continued, walking over to hand me a small slip of
paper.

I turned, taking one last, long look out my
window.

Fellon Strago
Dreg
.

Even Chevelle had not known the meaning when
he’d used the message so long ago. He’d simply seen the opportunity
and taken it.

“
So,” Ruby reminded me,
“What’s it mean?”

I glanced down at the message, written in my
mother’s hand.

The warning had followed me, questioned my
every move. And it was still here now, in the midst of so much
rightness. As I had accepted my place under the weight of the
throne.

I couldn’t help the sardonic smile that
crossed my lips before I answered her question.

“
Nothing as it seems, Ruby.
Nothing as it seems.”

###

Please look for more
by
Melissa
Wright