Page 62 of What Lies Beyond the Veil

“Thank you for showing us the way,” I said, turning my attention to Jensen quickly.

“Melian has asked that Caelum report to the commons at first light for training exercises. You’ll need to consider what skill set you might have that could be useful here,” he said, turning his attention back to the baths, as if he wanted to convey something meaningful.

“I was a harvester,” I said, knowing that my skills with plants could come in handy.

“That will be very useful—when the warmer months come. As of now there is nothing left to harvest and the ground is too frozen to plant. You’ll need to find something you can contribute until then.” He glanced over his shoulder again. “Melian wouldn’t like me mentioning this so soon, but some ladies find the pleasures of the flesh to be a very worthwhile way to make themselves useful. With numbers uneven and more men being here than women, we have to consider things most groups of people don’t. Having a bunch of men locked up without something to fuck doesn’t benefit anyone. You’d be treated well.”

“I think it best that you shut your mouth before I break your jaw,” Caelum snapped, and for once I couldn’t force myself to protest the threat of violence. I had nothing against women using their bodies in such a way if it was what they truly wanted. I didn’t even begrudge the Resistance for needing such a service in the first place.

But that didn’t mean that I had to become a Lady of the Night myself.

“I can fight,” I said, interjecting myself into the conversation that centered around me. “I’d be much more useful at that than…. I wouldn’t even know how to begin with being a Lady of the Night.”

“I think you would find that our men are very capable of guiding you through exactly what they expect of you. You’re beautiful. It would be a shame to waste that face on fighting, where it’s likely to take a beating. Just think about it. If my choice was a life of pain and war or a life of pleasure and fucking, I know which one I would choose.”

“Stop,” I demanded, my face twisting into a glare. While I appreciated Caelum standing aside during the exchange of words, having now made my desires known, I didnotappreciate the attempt to bully me into something I wasn’t comfortable with. With the way Jensen looked at me, I had no doubt he intended to be my first customer. “Caelum and I are monogamous. I’ll not be entertaining any other men.”

“Perhaps when he’s done with you then,” the rebel said, huffing a laugh as he turned on his heel and strode off, leaving me with a very pissed off companion at my side.

“One of these days, I will enjoy watching him bleed to death.”

26

We hadn’t lingered near the baths, instead choosing to wander through the tunnels and explore what we could for the rest of the day. We found an armory that made Caelum’s eyes gleam with satisfaction at the room stuffed with all manner of weaponry. The training rooms where he would need to report the next day weren’t far, just a few steps away down the labyrinth of tunnels they’d carved over time.

We’d grabbed food from the kitchen again, sitting at Skye’s table in relative privacy and avoiding the public area where the others dined together. Given my rather jarring introduction to the people of the Resistance, I wasn’t entirely certain that I felt up to dealing with more new faces in one day.

The privacy of our little bedroom felt like a welcome reprieve I didn’t want to admit, out loud, I’d needed. Not after fighting for the ability to bunk with the other women earlier in the day. Still, as Caelum drew the curtain closed, I dropped down onto one of our bedrolls with a contented sigh.

“You look tired,” Caelum said, moving to the other bedroll on the low, wood platform. I’d gotten used to sleeping wrapped up in his arms, but without the need for body heat, it felt even more intimate to choose to sleep that way.

There was no excuse that we were doing it purely for survival any longer, the only cause for us to sleep entwined being that we wanted to. Having stunned myself with the realization of the depths of my feelings for him as they grew, I didn’t know what to expect from myself in this situation.

I was fairly certain I knew what to expect from Caelum, and that didn’t help matters.

He laid himself out on his bedroll, stretching his arms over his head as I turned to face him. He looked as relaxed as could be, as if there was no place else he could possibly belong but at my side. I wished I could have his self-assurance.

“I am. I want to sleep for a year,” I said with an awkward chuckle, lying on my back on the bedroll. His arm was angled above my head, leaving me to fill the space at his side. As tired as I was, my eyes stayed open to stare at the roof of the cave, feeling the weight of his presence beside me.

My ghosts lingered in the room, riding the waves of grief threatening to crash over me. In the previous nights since the Veil had shattered, my body had been all but broken by the time I closed my eyes for the night, exhaustion dragging me into sleep, accompanied by the sound of Caelum’s voice weaving the words of whatever story he told me.

Tonight felt different, the bone deep exhaustion not quite enough to pull me under on its own. All I could see was Brann’s judgmental stare, his warnings not to trust anyone echoing in my head and feeling as if I’d disappointed him with the choices I’d made after his death.

Caelum hummed thoughtfully, watching me as I twisted my lips. “Did they ever teach you about the Seelie and Unseelie Courts of Faerie?” he asked, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. I turned my attention his way. The sympathy in his gaze was too knowing, too aware of my emotions as they clogged my throat.

Brann’s judgment had been too quick, because how could it ever be wrong to have someone look at me as if I hung the moon from the night sky?

“They didn’t teach us anything about the Fae aside from them being evil and tales of the destruction they caused in the war,” I answered. I’d spent many evenings hunting for any hint of information in Lord Byron’s library, anything forbidden I might find, but there’d been nothing to further my knowledge about the beings, who would now drag me back to Alfheimr if they found me.

“Alfheimr has two main Courts: the Seelie and the Unseelie Fae. Each of those has their own ruler and a ruling system beneath them. The Seelie Court claims the Fae of the Spring and Summer Courts, while the Unseelie has Autumn, Winter, and the Shadow Courts,” he said, rolling onto his side. His fingers trailed over the fabric covering my arm, sending a shiver through me in spite of the barrier between our flesh.

His obsidian eyes glimmered intently, watching my face for any hint of a reaction. “From what I know, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts have been at odds with one another for most of history, but very rarely do they engage in outright battle. They’re more likely to undermine one another through subterfuge and trickery than they are to fight in pointless wars. The curse the witches placed on the Fae has made them value life above all else.”

“The same curse that created the Mate Bonds?” I asked, recalling his story about the way the Fae had their souls splintered to share with another being.

“That one. According to the books, it also rendered the Fae unable to reproduce unless it is with their mate. It stunted the population, and with the Veil separating most of the Fae from their mates…” He shrugged his shoulders as the meaning of the statement hung between us.

“There haven’t been any children?” I asked, unable to imagine how quiet the world must have become with the lack of offspring to run around and terrorize their parents.

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