“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.