Page 7 of Beneath Hoof and Hollow
Leed tends to the fire. The flames chase away the darkness, but not my guilt. The accusatory voices move from the shadows of the room and into the darkness of my own mind.Stupid girl.Blind girl.Careless with the truth.
“Em?” I’m still standing in the entryway. Leed’s hand is firm against my back as he moves me to the couch.
I was introduced to Leed by Reverend Statton. Most of the town’s matches are made at church. Leed is handsome and strong with long chestnut hair that’s always neatly tied at the nape of his neck. A respected hunter. The embodiment of masculinity. We’ve always been told, “A woman without aprotector is a woman at risk of sin.” So of course, when the relationship was suggested, I agreed.
Leed has a great many hobbies. His hunting trips can take him away for days at a time. He spends most evenings with friends at the meadery in town. I have many hours a day to myself.
Would I prefer to have someone who spent more time with me? My loneliness in the quiet moments in our home makes me think I would. But I don’t have anything to compare to. Leed was my first boyfriend, now-fiancé. Maybe I’mjust feeling sorry for myself.
Some months ago, all the town’s pairings were encouraged to move in together. Even those who were not married. God told Reverend Statton that our town had special permission to protect its people by allowing couples to live together before marriage. Was that Itrimort’s doing?
“Dry those tears, sweet Em.” Leed gives me a smile.
“Sorry.” I do my best to wipe away the tears that won’t seem to stop flowing.
His fingers brush against my chin. “Would you like a cup of tea?”
Tea is a small comfort, but anything that can chase away the cold dread infiltrating my chest is welcome right now. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”
“I’ll start the kettle before I leave.”
I look up, suddenly snapped from my stupor. “Leave? But?—”
“The boys are waiting. After much excitement tonight, they’ll be eager to share discussion.”
I am at a loss for words yet again. Leed puts the kettle on. It hasn’t reached a boil before he’s left. I sit here, unable to move even after the first shrill whistle indicating the water is ready. I let it whine, the sound fighting against my thoughts until they’re near to spilling from my ears.
When I’m unable to take it anymore, I move the kettle off the heat, but don’t bother to pour tea. Tea feels like a luxury, a comfort I don’t deserve right now.
As soon as it’s quiet, my thoughts are consumed by Alesia.
He’s a demon.
She told me and I doubted her. Even with his marks visible upon her skin. Ichosenot to believe her. It was too much to bear the thought that what she spoke could be the truth.Haven’t you ever caught the moment his eyes shift? The yellow gleam in those once-trusted eyes has shaken me to my core.He found that book and everything changed.Alesia said he’d been studying it. Trying different spells until he found one that worked.
What if everything she told me was true? It would mean our most trusted leader, the highest ranking and most influential person in Sleepy Hollow, is a demon. He’s claiming it’s an angel who has visited him. But those markings on Alesia were no angel’s touch.
I’m still awake, staring at the ceiling of our bedroom and pondering the disturbing events of the evening, when Leed stumbles in. I can tell from his heavy, unsteady footsteps thathe’sdrunk. He bumps into the dresser on his way into our room, knocking off the small carving he gifted me when he asked me to be his wife. The wooden songbird clatters loudly to the floor. He doesn’t bother to retrieve it.
Kicking his boots off, he crawls into bed. “Beautiful, Em.” His words are slurred. He slides beneath the covers and rolls on top of me.
“I am not in the mood.” Sex outside of marriage is usually a sin. But Sleepy Hollow was granted that special permission after Reverend Statton received his divine message. When the acts are done with the intention of strengthening the future marriage, it does not fall under the same sinful category.
Now that I’ve thought on it, that does not feel like the decree an angel would make. It’s taken me an awfully longtime to notice all the special accommodations Sleepy Hollow has received from the “Lord Himself”.
Itrimort’s name claws at my thoughts.
“It will do us both good.” Leed’s breath is hot against my ear. He smells of sour mead and roasted meat.
We women aren’t supposed to say no. We’re barely allowed to move during the act. “Fine.”
Leed shifts my knees so that they’re just wide enough to accommodate his hips. My arms stay pinned to my sides, my body remaining still in the way I’ve been instructed to lay each time. Why do people even bother doing this if not to make children? Sex sounded mysterious and exciting to me before. I’d witnessed drunken couples taking to the act in the woods or against the meadery’s outer wall. Of course, I’d quickly looked away. But I couldn’t block out what I heard. They’d been making sounds of great revelry. Perhaps they were doing something different than what Leed does with me.
I’m barely present as we join in body. My eyes are turned to the window. Even as Leed grunts above me, the sounds of Alesia’s cries replay in my mind.
I feel so detached from my body. How will I ever sleep again? Alesia’s face as the noose pulled taut is burned behind my eyelids.
In a matter of hours, everything about my life and beliefs has been turned upside down. We’ve always been taught not to question things.
