“He could be working with the Mist Guard,” she said, eyeing the swords strapped across his shoulders.
“He would have killed me long before we reached the Hollows if that was the case,” I said, my disbelieving chuckle hanging between us. “I’ve had the misfortune of encountering them a few times. They don’t generally let the Fae Marked just walk away.”
“What if the Mist Guard somehow heard of our existence? They would know that we wouldn’t turn away a Fae Marked person in need of refuge, or at least they’d suspect it. He could have bargained for his own life, promising to help them find more of us. People will do anything to save their own skin, Estrella,” she said, the words such an echo of Brann’s concerns about Caelum that my heart stalled in my chest.
“He’s not working with the Mist Guard,” I said, feeling the truth of my words in my soul, despite the pain that lanced through me at the thought.
“So stubborn. I just hope it isn’t the death of us all,” she said, shaking her head to signal the conversation was over as Caelum glanced back over his shoulder at us. He leveled a look that did nothing to ease her distrust, something in his eyes twinkling knowingly.
He was far enough away that it was impossible he’d heard her.
Right?
In the dark of night, Jensen dropped down from the thick branch of the tree, landing on the snow-covered ground and bending at the knees to absorb the shock. “The meadow is crawling with members of the Mist Guard,” he said, rising to full height. He only spared a moment to glare at me before turning his attention to Melian. She raised her brow at him, conveying that she would deal with him personally if he didn’t pretend I no longer existed.
“We’ll have to go through the city to get to the tunnel in the tree line on the other side, so we can make our way to Calfalls,” she said, her chest heaving with a disgruntled sigh. “This was far easier before the Veil fell, when we were just raiding the deliveries sent from the Royal Guard.”
“What do you mean we’ll have to go through the city?” Caelum asked, glaring at the stronghold on the other side of the strait. “It has to be crawling with Mist Guard.”
“We can’t take the bridges across the strait for obvious reasons. That leaves us with no choice but to cross here, because the flow of water isn’t so strong that we’ll be swept away with the current. With the Mist Guard surrounding the city walls, we won’t make it around the perimeter. What else would you propose we do in this situation?” she asked, returning his glare with one of her own.
The two of them would be the death of me.
“Turn back. We are of no good to anyone if we’re dead ourselves,” Caelum answered, earning a sharp gasp from me. He was always so focused on our safety and protecting us from the things hunting us down, sometimes it was easy to forget that he did not extend that kindness to others.
“You would leave half a dozen Fae Marked to die, in order to save yourself?” Jensen asked, the steel of his voice putting me on edge.
“No,” Caelum said, turning to the man he wanted to bleed with a fierce glower that made even me wither on the spot. “But I would do it to save her.” All eyes turned to me, waiting for my response. I wanted to condemn Caelum for being willing to sacrifice so many for my sake, but there was something about being the most important person in his world that rendered me unable to voice the words.
His willingness to leave them to die was wrong. It spoke of something lacking within him, that he didn’t care enough to save them, but he didn’t do it out of heartlessness.
He did it because he loved me. Because my life was all that mattered.
“I don’t want to leave them,” I murmured, keeping my face gentle as I stared back at Caelum and silently begged for him to understand. Those people were like me. They were what might have become of me, if he hadn’t found me and saved me.
They needed a Caelum to protect them, and for once in my life, I wanted to be a part of something bigger. I wanted to be one of the ones helping instead of the person who needed rescued.
Caelum clenched his jaw tight, the frustration bringing out his chiseled square jawline. “If you get hurt…” His narrowed gaze and the fury rolling off of him were just as threatening as any words he could have uttered.
He would blame any and everyone involved, whether it was Melian or the Mist Guard. I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of that wrath. He closed the distance between us, laying a hand on the side of my neck. His thumb tipped my head up, uncaring of the audience of four, who watched us intently.
“You will not do anything foolish or put yourself at risk. Do you understand me?” I narrowed my eyes, attempting to tear my neck away from his grip, but he followed.
His eyes flashed with warning, as if pushing him too hard on this would be a fatal mistake. “Caelum,” I said, my voice dropping into a low warning of my own in response.
“You will do as I tell you to do, or I will drag you back to the tunnels, even if I have to carry you,” he said, crowding his body into mine as he towered over me. “And if you growl at me again, I can tell you exactly what we’ll be doing the moment we get there.”
I swallowed past the desire his low threat created, my throat dry as I forced myself to concede. “Fine.” In addition to the Fae Marked hiding in Calfalls, my curiosity about the legendary Ruined City itself served to drive me forward. The destruction caused by the God of the Dead during the war had been the perfect cautionary tale to make us fear the Fae.
“I don’t have good feelings about his resolve to get the lot of us through Tradesholde alive,” Jensen said with a grimace, turning away from us as if he couldn’t stand to watch the display any longer. Melian’s personal guards, Beck and Duncan, followed after him in stoic silence, grabbing the pile of brush that disguised a boat tied to a tree by the shoreline.
“Get in if you’re coming; turn back if you’re not, but stay out of my way,” Melian barked at Caelum as the three men turned it around and held it steady at the shore. She climbed into the large rowboat, taking the front seat and looking out over the strait.
“Shouldn’t we at least wait for daylight?” I asked.
“Until we have the cover of trees, moving at night is better. We’ll find a place to sleep for the night on the other side of Tradesholde,” Beck answered, climbing in after Melian. I followed after him, moving to the middle seat with Caelum at my side. Jensen and Duncan took up the rear, pushing the boat off the shoreline as they hurried to scramble inside. Melian passed back oars, handing one to Caelum and Jensen respectively so the two men could paddle on opposite sides.