What Lies Beyond the Veil (Of Flesh & Bone, #1)(58)

Without the light of the moon and stars above my head, the only hint of light came through the tunnel at my back and from the glowing rocks down the tunnel on the opposite side of me. I couldn’t see anything aside from those two spaces, feeling the vast size of the mouth of the cave more than I saw it.

Anything could be lurking down there, waiting for us to walk right into a trap. I counted the seconds as they passed, waiting with bated breath for Caelum to return.

What if he left me?

I couldn’t stand the thought of being on my own, completely alone as I tried to evade the Wild Hunt. I didn’t stand a chance without him, and we both knew it.

“Caelum?” I hissed, my voice echoing down the silence in the tunnel.

“Miss me, my star?” he asked, the shadow of his broad form finally reappearing at the entrance of the cave. He hurried through it, wood piled in his arms as he passed me and dropped down into the large space without hesitation.

“What if it isn’t safe?” I asked, staying in my little enclosed tunnel.

“Nothing has been here for a long while,” he said, striding toward the wall between the two tunnels. He dropped the wood on the ground, the clatter of pieces striking against the stone beneath his feet echoing through the space.

Nothing moved in the moments that followed the noise, nothing struck him or ate him while I waited.

I dropped down, bending my knees to absorb the impact as my boots slapped against the rock. I stumbled toward him, squinting to see through the darkness, until I felt him at my side. The sound of metal scraping against metal erupted through the room, the sparks from his flint glowing against the wood as he tried to get a fire going.

“Where did you manage to find dry wood?” I asked, thinking of the snow outside. The thought of an entire cold season without a store of fire wood made me shiver, knowing that even though we’d been lucky tonight, the nights in our future probably wouldn’t be so fortunate.

“The snow hasn’t had time to soak into the ground or the fallen trees just yet. We’ll be warm tonight, at least,” he answered as the sparks caught on the wood. Light filled the space, giving me my first glance at the cave we would call our home for the night.

Whatever Caelum had felt about this cave, he was right. There were no signs of life or any indication that anything had so much as twitched within it recently. He nurtured the fire until it was crackling happily in front of us, the tunnels providing an escape for the smoke.

As soon as that was finished, he leaned back against the cave wall and sighed as the warmth sank into his chilled frame. I moved to sit near him, letting the flames chase away the worst of the chill. Hunger made my stomach pang, but it was far too dark and the weather too cold for us to do anything about it until the morning.

Caelum heard my stomach growl, chuckling as he let his eyes drift closed. “I’ll set some traps first thing in the morning and see if we can catch some breakfast before we get moving for the day.”

“Okay,” I murmured, watching as he readjusted his frame to try to get more comfortable.

“Get some sleep, Estrella,” Caelum murmured, laying on his back on the cave floor. He tossed his arms over his head, forming a pillow with his forearms. I lay on my side and huddled in on myself, facing the cave opening with the fire between me and whatever might come for me.

There wasn’t much that had frightened me in my life—I knew that was a lie as soon as I thought it. There wasn’t much that frightened me enough that I didn’t do exactly what I wanted anyway. There were perks to being stubborn, advantages to digging my boots into the ground at my feet and risking everything for a single moment of freedom.

But survival was different. The image of death at the jowls of a beast three times my size would torment me to the point that I couldn’t sleep.

“I can hear your thoughts from here, Little One,” Caelum murmured, his lips tipping up into a smile as I rolled over to look at him. He opened his eyes slowly, peering at me as I sighed.

“Do tell,” I said, using the distraction as I snuggled deeper into his cloak. “I would absolutely love to hear how you think my mind is filled with thoughts of you yet again.” The sarcasm dripped from my words with mocking condescension.

“Come here, and I can distract you from such wasteful thoughts. Why think of things that you could have if you only reached out a hand?” he asked, the playful smirk at his lips drawing my attention down to the vivid white of his teeth.

“We’re supposed to be sleeping,” I argued, turning my head way from the striking features of his face to look at the cave ceiling. He was so disarming, so unrealistically handsome. None of the men in Mistfell had such perfect features. His eyes were darker than I’d ever seen, like shadows painted into his lightly tanned, even golden, skin. His nose was straight and the perfect size over his generous lips. His jaw was square, and his brow strong and stern, despite the playful expression he so often wore.

“So why aren’t we?” he asked, drawing my attention back to him. He leaned forward, grasping one of my hands in his. His thumbs ran over my palm, caressing it lightly. “Talk to me.”

I sighed, letting my head thump against the stone as shame heated my face. He seemed so fearless, so unconcerned with any of the dangers around us. “I’m afraid,” I mumbled, keeping my eyes off of his purposefully.

“What could a star be afraid of?” he asked, the teasing lilt to his voice reassuring me slightly. He squeezed my hand tighter in his, encouraging me to continue.