Caelum landed at my back, his hand immediately coming down on my spine as he reassured himself I was okay. He took my hand, pulling me out of the way so the others could jump down.
Melian’s eyes landed on our hands clasped together, something like disdain filling her eyes for a moment before she turned her attention fully to Caelum when he spoke. “How far do these tunnels go?” he asked.
“They cover most of the Center Channel,” she said, referring to the mainland that extended from Mistfell to the Mountains of Rochpar on the other side of the Kingdom. “Each of the Four Auxiliary Lands has its own network of tunnels, as well.”
“That’s incredible,” I said, my voice conveying the awe I felt over something of this magnitude existing right beneath the noses of the Royal and Mist Guards for all this time. These people probably had an entire way of life, an entire history, that the Kings and Lords knew nothing about and had absolutely no control over.
Who would I have chosen to be, if my life hadn’t been dictated by societal expectations?
Melian guided us through the passage, our group walking in silence as I stared with fascination at the walls around me, imagining how long it took to dig and carve just one tunnel out of solid stone. Caelum held my hand clutched tightly in his, clinging to me as if the tunnels would sweep me away and force us to separate.
Nothing could have prepared me for the number of people that waited in the main cavern when we finally arrived. There were dozens of them. Some of them were well-equipped and armed, though their faces appeared relaxed as if they were completely at home.
Others were rougher in appearance, looking beaten and downtrodden as if they’d only just escaped the fate waiting for them above the surface. Not everyone was Fae Marked, I assumed the product of generations of living in those tunnels.
“I’ll take you to the women’s quarters so you can get settled in,” Melian said. “Introduce you to some of the younger girls.”
“I go with her,” Caelum interjected, refusing to release my hand when I nodded to follow her. As much as I hated to separate from him in someplace new, I understood that we were newcomers. We were guests in their way of life.
“The men and women bunk separately. You’re more than welcome to see her whenever you like,” Melian explained, gesturing around the main cavern that I understood must have been the common area of sorts.
“Then we’re leaving. Either we stay together, or we do not stay at all,” Caelum said, ignoring my look of exasperation.
“I think you’ve forgotten who needs who in this scenario,” Melian said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I have the safe haven you need. What do you have to offer?”
“A fighter who can help you stand against the Fae to protect these people, if it comes to it,” he said, raising an eyebrow at her in challenge. “We both know I am the best fighter you have now. You wouldn’t have gone up to the tunnels yourself without the best of your men at your disposal.”
Melian sighed, hanging her head. “Getting romantically attached now that you’ve been Marked is foolish,” she said, turning her attention to me as she issued the warning.
Too late, sister. I already knew it and my heart throbbed in response.
“But fine. We have a few private alcoves that are usually reserved for our higher-ranking officers. The two of you will make yourselves useful, or I will give it to the next person in line. If I need you with me for a retrieval? You’re with me,” she said, glaring at Caelum for a moment before she turned down one of the corridors. It was lined with doorways carved out of the stone, blankets draped to cover the ones where people apparently wanted their privacy.
The blanket was drawn open on the second to last doorway, the room empty except for a bedroll laid out on a low wood platform. “I’ll have a second bedroll brought in for you,” Melian said, shaking her head. “Take the rest of the day to get acclimated and introduce yourselves. Tomorrow I’ll put you both to work.”
She disappeared out the open doorway, leaving me to the fight I felt brewing with Caelum.
One of these days, I was going to stab him in his pretty face.
“You don’t think I’m capable of taking care of myself,” I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest as I glared at him. He removed the cloak from his shoulders for what seemed like the first time in days. The stained fabric of his tunic hugged his chest and broad shoulders, showcasing the breadth of the body that was too often concealed. He hung the cloak on a peg sticking out of the stone wall, stepping toward me to unclasp my own from under my chin. While his fingers brushed against the hollow of my throat, I shoved down the tingle of awareness that always came when he touched me.
My body was a traitorous bitch, but she needed to know when I meant business.
“Of course I think you can take care of yourself. I just watched you knock two men on their asses,” he said with a chuckle, turning away to hang my cloak on top of his. The tunnels were warmer, protected from the cold weather aboveground. I wondered briefly if there was some kind of heating system through them, because I hadn’t seen a single fire in the common area or any of the open alcoves.
“Then why is it that I am not allowed to sleep with the rest of the women?” I asked, glaring as he made his way around the small alcove that would be ours. The sleeping platform in the back corner of the room was tucked against the wall. It made me immensely grateful that Melian had said she would grab us a second bedroll.
Sleeping with Caelum had proven dangerous enough as it was; having a space of our own in any way seemed even more dangerous.
“We look after one another, Estrella. You promised me we would stay together no matter what. Are you already trying to renege on that promise? I’d hoped you were more loyal than that,” he said, a bitter grimace on his face, as shock claimed me.
“How is sleeping in a different room reneging on a promise to stick together? I’m not speaking of going our separate ways and never seeing one another again, Caelum,” I protested, shaking my head in disbelief. “There is a difference between loyalty and dependence.”
“Do not speak to me as if I know nothing of loyalty, my star. You cannot imagine how deep mine runs,” he warned, taking a few steps toward me until he closed the distance between us and stopped so close that his stomach brushed against my chest. His eyes gleamed as he stared down at me, something cold sharpening his features.
“If you put me in a cage at your side, then you’re no better than the man who tried to make spreading my legs for him my life’s purpose. I need to be more than that. I need to do more than that, Caelum,” I sighed, hoping I could break through to the rational, understanding version of him that I knew existed somewhere beneath this…brutal possessiveness.