He laughed. "They didn't seem to bother you so much at the castle. They are practically sleeping in our beds as we speak."
"That's different," I protested. He raised an eyebrow at me and I was shocked at his inference. "No."
"Yes," he said, unruffled. "Does it seem so far off that she could have gotten the idea from you?"
"Ugh!" I was disgusted at the thought. Surely he was only trying to aggravate me.
"I'm certain your cats are the tale of the North by now."
My eyes narrowed but I had no defense so I shrugged it off. Except it did bother me. Tremendously.
And then, suddenly, the atmosphere completely changed. Grey stiffened and before I could process the difference, he was gone. In his place, Ruby stood, ready in her protective stance. Her fight stance.
I tried to stay calm, remember to breathe. Was this it, what we'd been waiting for, looking for? Grand Council, or was this Fannie, the new threat? I realized I was hoping it was her. I was standing now, ready to face her. I wanted to tear her apart.
It was shocking.
Ruby straightened slightly, relaxing her shoulders and adjusting her belt. But she was still watching. I followed her eyes. Junnie.
I relaxed then. I didn't know what to do with Junnie, where to categorize her, but I didn't think she intended to hurt me. Not kill me as Fannie planned, not burn me as council. But then I hesitated, because now Junnie was council. My ears were ringing slightly but I tried to concentrate. Not on the memory of her chasing Asher, not of the endless days we'd spent in her study, not of her story in my mother's diary, not the limp body of the human girl. I tried to focus on what she was saying to Chevelle.
As they came closer, the ringing got louder. It was only a moment before I understood why. I didn't waste time being angry with him, I just closed my eyes and moved straight to the mind of my horse.
No ringing.
"No, he is helping her... She's forgotten everything, or maybe she's just using him as well."
I could hear Junnie clearly but Chevelle was harder to understand; he was speaking so low the conversation sounded one-sided.
"Well apparently she's decided this was the better path. I doubt she trusts him completely, but for now, they are assisting each other."
Chevelle's face was furious. For a moment, I thought he must have realized what I'd done, found me out, but he turned away, facing Junnie as he answered, fury bringing out a growl in his muffled voice.
"I don't think he sees it that way. He may not even know that she's found a side occupation. But, regardless, he's not to be trusted." Chevelle's hand was clenched in a fist at his side, but I still could not hear him as they spoke, merely Junnie. "He's just using her to eliminate as many of us as possible without risk to him."
Us. I was back in my own head, spots swirling in blackness. Junnie was Grand Council, and not only was she after Asher, he was after her. And Fannie... Fannie was after everyone. I tried to stop it, fought to stay afloat, but I was drowning.
When I woke, it was daylight and Junnie was gone. Ruby sat ever faithful at my side, offering me water as soon as I stirred. I was quiet, though, unsure what to say. My dreams had been so disturbing. I was flying overhead, in the mind of a great hawk, peering through the trees, and I'd seen the human girl. Not her dead, limp body, but her previous self, the happy, laughing girl they had called Molly. And her puppy, large and fluffy, frolicked in the grass beside her. And then there were the dreams of Asher's voice again, as he plotted the use of the humans. The sense of betrayal as he compared them to animals. But there was more this time, something that hadn't been in the previous dreams. I was running to my mother, because I knew then, she had been right. They were attempting to stop me from entering her room, they had the nerve to command me to leave. My eyes narrowed and, my jaw clenched tight, I pulled a deep breath through my nose as I drew my sword and...
Both. With one swing.
I shuddered.
"Are you alright, Frey?" Ruby's voice was gentle. I tried to give her a convincing nod. She pulled the blanket up tighter to me. I wasn't cold; it was actually too warm. I had an irrational urge to throw the covers off, tear everything away.
I decided to speak instead. "Ruby?"
She smiled. "Yes?"
"How do they find us?"
She looked back at me, confused.
"Junnie... Fannie."
"Oh," she answered, and then hesitated. "Frey, I know you're worried about Fannie, but don't be. We have you covered."
I tried to look assured. "I know. I only mean, Junnie just pops up sometimes."
She didn't answer right away so I waited, working to seem patient. She saw I wasn't giving up. "I suppose the same way you found the wolves... and the girl."