My dreams were confusing. They were almost all about Chevelle, but some were horrifying and some were not. I dreamt of the touch but instead of the memory, which was not at all romantic, only personal, the dream included the kiss. And I dreamt of things that were not tainted with memory, only fantastic and impossible. I had some of the old dreams as well, clinging to him as we rode away from the flames, tears and ash smearing my cheeks. There was the dream of the cliff, too. I stood looking out, across the horizon and he stepped beside me, placing his hand gently at the small of my back. But this time, when he shoved me off, instead of flailing the entire way down, wings popped out and caught the air as I took flight, soaring in the empty expanse.
I woke to the sound of quiet laughter and was irritated to find them surrounding her again. I rode in silence through the day, relishing a couple of the better dreams.
Once we had reached the base of the mountain, the terrain had turned almost immediately to level ground. The trees were wiry and jagged-looking but they were trees. And there was grass. But instead of feeling relief at the more familiar landscape, I wondered how big a mistake I’d made by leaving the castle.
We stopped for the evening under the sparse shelter of a patch of those trees. It was warmer so I excused myself to change out of the heavy leather boots and wool pants into something a little more suitable. I opened my bag to find that Ruby had packed me only black with leather or silver accents. So much for something light. At least it wasn’t all wool. I threw on the first pants I found, switched my shirt, and laced the lightest corset over it. I threw my cloak over my arm and walked back to the camp, muttering about my red-headed wardrober.
When I saw them, I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from cursing. Steed was sitting opposite the human, so close that it was almost indecent. I focused on walking to my bags, across the camp from them, and putting my cloak and pack away. I took as long as I could but, eventually, I had to join the group. I thought I tasted blood.
I tried not to look at them, I really did. But I saw him touch her cheek with the back of his hand. She flushed and he grinned at her wickedly. That was the last thing I was sure of.
What happened next didn’t make any sense. I was across the camp, looking at him. But I wasn’t. I could see myself in the periphery. And my head screamed with pain. Steed moved across my line of sight as I swayed, and then blackness came as my eyes closed.
When they opened again, my head throbbed. Not the knife point, only a duller version. I tried to focus and found I was back in my spot once more, staring at Steed and the girl… but something was wrong. She had fainted? I concentrated harder and discovered Ruby staring at me accusingly.
“What?” I was on the defense again. Her eyes narrowed. She suspected I’d done something to the girl? I should. But then I looked back at them, Steed and the girl, and suddenly I knew, I had done something to her. But not what Ruby thought, not magic from where I sat. I had been in her head. Like the birds.
But ugh, the pain was horrible! Not like the birds, like the cats. Only worse. Harder, more exhausting, more painful. She was coming to now; they helped her sit up. She looked weak, tired. I lay back down and covered my head to think. Or maybe not think.
I was asleep so fast I might have blacked out. My dreams were darkness but not still. Swirling blackness surrounded me, enveloping. And then there were voices. None of them I recognized, but one of them I knew. It was familiar, though I couldn’t place exactly who it belonged to. “… they are like dumb animals… weak… she could get through to them… think of the possibilities…” I knew he was talking about me. He was talking about me and them. Was he comparing me to a dumb animal? Anger flooded me and the darkness turned to water as I struggled to reach the surface, unable to breathe.
I woke gasping and expected to find Ruby there, watching me. What I saw instead was almost as shocking as the dreams.
“There, there.” Steed was trying to comfort me, brush my bangs from my face. I jerked a little at his touch. “Rough one, was it?”
Was he teasing me? I might have glared at him. He laughed. I looked for Ruby and Chevelle. They were several yards away, watching me, pretending not to. I wanted to groan when I saw Chevelle’s tight jaw.
I sat up, wrapping my arms around my knees to bury my head. As I became fully awake, I wondered if Steed had been teasing me all along, trying to irritate me for fun. Surely he had no real interest in that human girl (curse the thought trying to surface that I was part human). I wondered how I could have such distaste for someone who was so like me. I lifted my eyes just enough to peer over my forearms. I looked for the girl and found her, sitting as far away as possible without being considered outside of the camp, with her puppy.
No, she was not like me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Steed’s grin as he watched me scrutinize her. I glared at him full force in response. All I received in reply was a light laugh as he got up and trotted across the camp to play with the puppy. I vowed not to give him the satisfaction of watching them.
But, apparently, I wasn’t one to hold to my word. Because when I saw him close to her, talking low and calling her my sunny nicknames, I found myself acting without regard to anything like dignity.
Everyone in the camp turned to stare in astonishment as the small blonde girl smacked Steed with all her might across the face. Everyone but me… because I had already been focused on them. I only had a moment to enjoy it before the pain and blackness came again.