The smell of food cooking tickled my senses, pulling me from the depths of a dream clouded in nothing but darkness all around me.
The threat of the Fae, the loss of my brother: all of it had led me to the darkest place I could ever imagine being.
My eyes fluttered open, landing on where Caelum squatted between me and the fire. He clutched a stick in each hand, a fish speared onto the end of it and roasting over the flames. I covered my mouth as I yawned, wincing at the metallic taste and wishing for a way to brush my teeth.
I shifted, lifting my head off the arm I’d used as a pillow and wiggling my stiff body to test the soreness in my limbs. Caelum turned, sensing my movement and giving me a cursory glance before he turned back to the fire and inspected the fish.
“It will be ready in just a few more minutes,” he said, his voice louder than the rumbling in my stomach.
I sat up, my brow furrowing when my body didn’t hurt. There was a distinct tightness to it, a reminder of all the places I’d been injured in my attempted escape from the Wild Hunt, but my shoulder no longer throbbed with pain. My ribs didn’t feel like they would crush my guts at any moment. The fabric of my dress was still damp from digging through the water for Brann’s body, lending a distinctive chill to my skin that even the fire couldn’t seem to chase away.
“How are you feeling?” Caelum asked, maneuvering himself back away from the fire. He took a seat next to me, his legs touching mine as his body
heat spread through my thighs.
“Cold, but okay otherwise,” I said, evading the hidden question. We both knew the physical trauma of the night before would never compare to the loss of my brother and the scars I’d wear for the rest of my life, knowing I’d been the cause of his death.
Caelum nodded, allowing me privacy for the moment. I swallowed past the tears burning my throat, watching as Caelum set the fish down on an enormous leaf he must have gathered while I slept. Using a freshly cleaned dagger that showed no signs of the fight the night before, he removed the head and tail and then cut from the backbone to the cavity so that he could peel off a filet. He moved with sure hands, with a muscle memory that spoke to his experience with fish. “Is it safe?” I asked, watching as he picked up a chunk of the flaked meat between two fingers and held it out near my mouth.
“Why wouldn’t it be safe?” he asked, the words grumbled like he couldn’t quite believe the question.
“We weren’t allowed to eat fish in Mistfell,” I explained. “The Mist Guard said there was too great a risk the magic of Faerie would touch us if we consumed it.”
Caelum smiled, touching the fish to my lips. His smile shifted into something darker the moment my stomach rumbled in response. “I hardly think it matters now,” he said, his eyes dropping to the Mark that seemed to pulse in response to the attention of another like me. “Eat, Estrella,” he growled, the command clenching something low in my belly.
I opened my mouth, letting him set the chunk of fish on my tongue, and his fingers brushed against it before he withdrew them, letting me chew while he gathered another bite for me. I wrinkled my nose as the unusual flavor touched my tongue. “It probably takes some getting used to,” Caelum said with a chuckle.
I paused my chewing when he lifted another bite to my mouth, swallowing the fish down and holding up a hand. “You need to eat too.”
“I will after I feed you. The faster you eat, the sooner I will,” he said, smiling as he stared down at my mouth. Choosing the path of least resistance, I opened again, even though I wasn’t sure I liked it, having trained my entire life for eating meals however they came. In the back of my mind, part of me wanted to protest that I could feed myself, but a quick
glance down at the mud and filth covering my hands compared to his sparkling clean ones made that impossible.
Beneath the mud was the clear tinge of red staining my skin, blood from the Huntsman I’d stabbed. Caelum’s gaze followed mine, landing on the gore with an amused smirk. “I suspect not many humans can claim they’ve stabbed a member of the Wild Hunt, Little One,” he said, feeding more bites of the fish until the last of mine was gone. It was the only food I’d had aside from the bread Brann had brought the night before and a handful of berries we’d picked as we walked.
I’d never fished, and hunting was forbidden for a woman. I had absolutely no skills that would keep food in my belly. Nothing that could help with my survival. What value did my skills as a harvester have when I had no crops to tend to? The wild plants through the kingdom were vastly different from the those grown in the gardens at Mistfell, and every step further from my home meant exposure to plants I didn’t know.
But at least I could stab a Fae male without feeling a hint of remorse. That would do.
“I imagine not,” I agreed, watching as he prepped the second fish and held up another bite for me. Shaking my head, I touched my content belly and told him to eat it.
He did, eating quickly and neatly until all that remained were the carcasses left behind. My guilt scratched at the back of my mind, a tingling reminder that I should be dead with my brother, not eating fish with the very man he’d warned me to stay far away from. But in the wake of my loss, with the grief threatening to consume me, I wasn’t strong enough to stand on my own, and I wasn’t sure I ever would be. The thought of navigating the kingdom I’d never seen and evading both humans and Fae alike was something that now terrified me. It seemed easier with someone at my side, for better or worse.
“There’s a tide pool just below the cave,” Caelum said, pushing to his feet with fluid grace. He held out a hand, staring down at me where I sat huddled on the floor. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
There was no concern for the dirt and grime as he held that hand out to me, waiting for me to reach up and take it, with something dancing behind his eyes. The challenge in them made me want to shove to my feet on my own, ignore the help he offered, and prove I could do this alone.
Instead, I placed my hand in his, accepting the help even though it pained the proudest part of me to admit I needed it. The unfortunate fact was, I no longer thought I could continue on my own. Without someone to push me, I felt like I might lie down in the cave and wait for death to come.
Caelum reached out with his other hand to adjust his cloak, which was draped over my shoulders. He pulled the hood up to cover my still-damp hair, fastening the clasp at the front. The earthy green of the fabric blended into the natural landscape above the cliff.
His trousers were black, his shirt a dark gray that would serve him well in the night if his ash-blond hair didn’t shine like a beacon. “You’ll be cold,” I said, protesting the cloak settled around my shoulders even as it provided heat I desperately needed.
“I quite like the cold, actually. We’ll see if we can find you a warm change of clothes at the next village,” he said, tightening his grip on my hand as he led me from the cave. The dim light of early morning shone in through the entrance, lighting the way as he guided me down toward the tide pool at the base of the bluff below the little ledge where the cave protected us.
Caelum stepped down first, releasing my hand to traverse the slippery rocks. I gathered my dress up in my hands to follow, lifting it so that I could see where my feet fell.
Once Caelum had navigated down, he reached up his long arms to place his hands at my waist. Lifting me up off the ground, he lowered me to where he stood, so that my body slid down the front of his. I felt every hard ridge of muscle as he maneuvered me, until the moment when my feet touched the ground in front of him.
I stared up at him for a moment, lost in the deep glint of his eyes as he looked down at me. The tide lapping against the rocky base of the incline finally drew my attention away, and I automatically scanned the shore for any trace of my brother.
There was none to be found, and Caelum seemed oblivious to my search as he took my hand and guided me to the tide pool. I lifted my dress as I squatted down, tucking it between my legs to keep the fabric from getting even more stained by the mix of mud and sand at my feet.
Plunging my hands into the freezing water, I felt a moment of shock as I realized my entire body had been submerged in it the night before. In my
desperation to find Brann, I hadn’t felt the truth of how cold I was, or realized how close to freezing to death I’d come.
“Don’t even think about it, Little One,” Caelum ordered, snapping my attention back to him. I realized I’d been staring at the surface of the channel and the way the mist touched it. “It’s too dangerous. We’ve already spent too much time in one place. We need to move if we want to avoid another run-in with the Wild Hunt.”
I scrubbed the blood from my hands, and as soon as I finished, Caelum grabbed my hand and led me up the small incline to the cliff face. “How did you manage to get down, anyway?” he asked, heading straight for the cliff face. He eyed it, undoubtedly scanning the steep wall for the best way to climb back up.
“I jumped,” I answered, meeting his stunned expression when he stared down at me. It felt like stating the obvious when he’d watched me go over the edge and begin to fall; I’d seen the shock in his expression as I disappeared from view.
“You jumped? Are you out of your fucking mind? I thought you’d found some way down that I didn’t see when I came after you.”
“I scaled the wall. I didn’t just plummet to my death, though that was the initial plan,” I said, shrugging my shoulders when he clenched his jaw.
“So you are out of your fucking mind,” he said, rolling his eyes skyward as if the Gods would save him from having to deal with a reckless woman as his traveling companion.
“It’s highly probable, yes,” I snapped, shrugging off his touch when he reached over and grabbed me. Tugging me toward him, he pressed his chest into my spine, sliding his hands over the sleeve of my dress until he covered the bare skin of mine with his palms.
He guided them to a spot where there was a notch in the stone, curling my fingers around it as I stretched up onto my toes. “Alright then, Little One. Let’s see if you can manage to get yourself back up or if I’m going to have to carry you.” I turned to glare at him over my shoulder, finding his mouth twisted in a smirk.
A pounding in my ears nearly distracted me from the task at hand, leaving me twitchy with the need to smack the arrogant look off his face. “Fine,” I huffed, releasing the spot where he’d placed my hand. I bent down, gathering the fabric of my dress in my hands and twisting it up around my knees.
Cold air touched my legs, dancing over the bare skin, and I shivered in spite of myself. I twisted the worn, mangled fabric into a knot, letting it hang at my thighs so that I’d have full range of motion.
“Look up my dress, and you may find you wake up without any eyeballs one morning,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him as I raised my hand up to that notch he’d shown me before. I reached with my other hand, searching for a spot to place it as I put all the energy I had into pulling myself up.
My feet fought for purchase, looking for a place to take some of my weight. Coming down had been easier; I’d been so filled with adrenaline and desperation that nothing could have kept me away.
My fingers trembled as I gripped the rock, taking it one reach at a time, one step at a time. Caelum waited until I was halfway up the cliff and turned to look down at him, my vision swimming with nausea as I stared down at the sheer drop.
In the middle of the night, it had been so easy to underestimate just how far that fall was. So easy to convince myself Brann might have survived. But in the light of day, I knew the fall into the sand or water below would have broken every bone in his body.
Even if he hadn’t been stabbed first.
Caelum scaled the wall at my side, moving much quicker than I could, with an agility that seemed impossible. His arms and legs were so much longer than mine, letting him cover more ground with every precious movement.
He paused at my side, staring at the way that I fought for my grip. I tilted my face forward, letting the cold of the stone touch my forehead as I drew in a deep breath. “I can still carry you.”
“Fuck you,” I snapped, turning to pierce him with a glare. The thought of anyone carrying me up this steep embankment was ridiculous, but there was no doubt on his face as he moved up with ease at my side. He stayed with me, offering guidance when I needed it but otherwise leaving me untouched, when I needed to prove I wasn’t a complete waste of breath— even if only to myself.
My lungs heaved with the effort of shoving my body up the cliff I’d jumped over in a moment of impulse, which had turned out to be pointless. By the time we reached the top, I was half-tempted to throw myself to the ground and kiss it.
I grabbed the ground at the top, trying to pull myself up as my arms shook with exertion. Caelum scaled it at my side, pulling himself over the ledge and holding out a hand for me to take. I grunted as I placed mine in his, hating the moment of weakness but accepting the help anyway. At that moment, I was too tired to care beyond a fleeting thought, even knowing it would nag at me the next time I tried to fall asleep.
I sprawled out on the ground, trying to catch my breath as Caelum spun in the clearing at the top of the cliff, with his hand on his sword. There was no sign of the Wild Hunt that had sent Brann and I over the ledge the night before; they were gone without a trace as they sought out more of the Fae Marked.
“How did you escape the Wild Hunt, anyway?” I asked. The signs of the scuffle of the night before could be seen in the boot marks in the dirt, in the torn grass and disturbed foliage at the edge of the woods and the hoof prints all over the clearing.
In the spots of blood staining the ground.
Caelum paused, turning to look at me with his brow raised in question. “They were far more interested in getting to you than they were winning the fight against me. After you went over the edge, they mounted their horses and tried to find another way down the cliff,” he said, his stare intensifying as he gave me a cursory look-over. “So tell me, Little One. What’s so special about you?”
My thoughts froze as I blinked up at him, turning his words over in his head. The Wild Hunt had seemed interested in my Mark, as had the Mist Guard back in Mistfell. “I don’t know,” I mumbled, my mouth feeling filled with sand with the dryness in my throat.
Being hunted was bad enough, believing I was just one of the masses the Wild Hunt needed to collect. The idea of being singled out was inconceivable.
I shook my head slightly, waiting for him to push the questions, but he only nodded as if he understood that I couldn’t give him answers. I knew nothing about why they had chosen to go after me while abandoning him. What I did know was that I would never be able to fight them off on my own. I hadn’t fared well the first time, but Caelum had held his own. He’d have lost eventually, if they hadn’t given up, but I’d need someone at my side to help me fight if and when the time came again.
I needed him far more than he needed me. The pang of guilt within me was an echo of the knowledge that I’d probably get him killed, just as I had Brann. “What do we do now?” I asked, feeling awkward in the face of the attitude I’d given him at the bottom of the cliff. I should have been more appreciative of the fact that he’d come to save me, but something about him just brought out my impulsiveness.
“We stick together. Head inland toward The Hollows. We’ll follow those as far as we can, and eventually we should make our way to the Mountains at Rochpar,” he explained.
“That’s on the other side of the Kingdom,” I protested, trying not to think about how many weeks a journey like that would take on foot.
“That’s the point. The more distance we put between us and the Fae, the better it will be for both of us,” he said, his voice dejected as he said the words. “But first, we both need a change of dry clothes.”
“Okay,” I said, fighting back the nagging voice in my head that I shouldn’t leave this cliff alive. Brann’s words rang in my memory, his urgency that the Fae never take me. He’d been so desperate that he’d tried to kill me himself, nearly plunging a dagger into my heart.
I wished we’d had more time, more chances for him to open up about what he knew about what waited for me beyond the Veil.
“Promise me, Estrella,” Caelum said, stepping closer to me. Those dark, glittering eyes stared down at me intently, his body tilting forward over me until his forehead touched mine and he sighed contentedly.
“Promise you what?” I asked, swallowing back the nerves I felt around him. Something about him put me on edge, as if he could hear my thoughts and knew just when I was doubting I was making the right choice by going with him.
“Promise me we’ll stay together. Everything will be okay, and we’ll find a safe place to settle. But we have to do it together; do you understand?” he asked, that same compulsion in his voice that I’d felt with Brann’s.
I nodded, sealing my fate with three little words, while utterly failing to understand their impact. “I swear it.”
