Commotion brought me back. I sat up, startled, and my head spun. Ruby caught my arm to steady me. Her smile was strained as she handed me a drink of water.
I looked around, Chevelle was near the entrance of the stone room with Anvil and Grey. They appeared to be preparing to leave. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“Nothing to worry about,” Ruby assured me. “Just a hunting trip.”
I was still fuzzy but I knew it wouldn’t take three of them to hunt. And then I remembered the bits of conversation I’d heard when I woke. “Someone’s missing?” I took stock, I’d seen everyone but Rhys and Rider now. And the wolves. The silver and white wolves. “The wolves are out there.”
Each person in the room turned to me in synchronization, matching astonishment on their faces as they silently stared at me.
Ruby finally spoke. “What do you know about the wolves, Frey?”
“Are they hurt?”
“We don’t know. They did not return.”
“Rhys and Rider?”
“They are attempting to locate them. They will not rejoin us until they do.”
I started to draw a map for them and then cursed when I realized I was no longer able. Bound from magic. Ruby had been right to drug me; I didn’t think I could have handled it otherwise. They were watching me, unsure what I was doing as I sat helpless and cursing. “I need something to draw with.”
Ruby pulled a piece of charcoal and scrap of paper from her bags. I rushed to draw the path I remembered from my dream, focusing on the ring of trees with the most detail. “They are there.”
The men stood, motionless and staring until Anvil crossed the room to retrieve the sketch. He bowed a little as he took the paper from my hands and then hurried out, Grey following. Chevelle stayed.
Ruby turned to him and breathed a deep sigh but he didn’t respond.
My head throbbed and I groaned as I reached up to rub my temples. He was beside me in a flash, unspeaking. Ruby handed me another drink. It helped.
But I was still irritated about the binding. “Does this mean we’ll have to train again?”
Ruby snickered a little.
Chevelle answered slowly, “There has to be a way. You broke them before.”
I tried to remember how. The first magic I could recall was the thistle in the back room at Junnie’s. It seemed so far away now.
Ruby was speaking to him. “Maybe it was just the length of time…”
What did she know about how long I was bound?
“If we can find a way to test without endangering–” He stopped. “Don’t worry about it, Frey.” I wondered if I'd looked frightened. “We will figure it out.”
Great, that’s reassuring, figure it out. I meant to smile at him but only succeeded in a nod.
“Rest now. There is plenty of time for tr–” He’d started to say training but thought better of it. “… to test the bindings.” He smiled at me and, once again, I thought for just a moment he would reach out to me. But he did not. He simply stood and walked from the room.
Ruby saw me watching after him. “He’s right, Freya. Rest now. Plenty of time to get you straightened back out.” She stood and walked to the front wall. I hadn’t noticed before, probably because it was so small, but there was a narrow window, almost a peephole there. Ruby positioned herself in front of it, watching whatever was outside.
I sighed. Plenty of time. I fiddled with the blankets for a few minutes, tried a couple of times (futilely) to move tiny specks of loose rock on the floor, and then gave up and decided to read the journal again. I rolled away from Ruby and pulled my pack into the curve of my body, settling the book open but able to be quickly hidden away if needed.
This morning, I extended my spell, giving Rune an extra day of sleep. It was a good thing, too. I found the camp right off and followed the tracks easily. They initially must have ran in panic but then gathered back together and walked in a line, some two by two, some dragging sleds. They made temporary shelter in a cave, likely for just one night, and continued again. They must have moved slowly, and I could see they stopped often to rest. It didn’t take long before I’d found their new camp. I slipped into a tall tree to watch them. To my absolute shock, I found something I had never seen before. I watched for hours before I was sure, too stunned to believe it possible. I had heard stories, the fairies were always blowing off, but I never actually believed it to be true. Was I really watching humans?
I stopped reading, confused. Humans weren’t real. What kind of book was this? She had mentioned fairies’ stories. I wondered if this was fiction, a fairy ruse, given to Chevelle by Ruby. Or maybe the dust was still playing havoc on me. I glanced over my shoulder at Ruby, still watching anxiously out the front window. I shook my head as I continued…