What Lies Beyond the Veil (Of Flesh & Bone, #1)(65)

“I would rather die on my feet than live in service to something I don’t believe in,” he said, shrugging his shoulders as he pressed his ear to the door. When there was no sound, he pressed the latch down and pushed it open slowly.

Empty.

He moved inside quickly, tugging me to follow and closing the door behind him. “Boots,” he ordered me, gesturing to the few pairs of shoes at the side of the door. I slipped mine off, wincing at the stains of blood that soaked the heel on my socks and leaked down to cover the soles of my feet.

Caelum froze in place where he’d started to move to one of the bedrooms, his gaze snagging on the blood. “The next time you try to downplay your injuries, I’ll toss you over my shoulder and carry you whether you like it or not. Is that understood, Little One?” he snapped, retreating into the bedroom as I peeled the ruined socks off my feet, as well.

Caelum emerged, clutching a pair of women’s trousers and a pair of socks. “Put these on,” he ordered, and I took the pants from him. The fabric was heavy, warmer than I’d ever felt.

“What are these?” I asked, having never seen a woman in pants in my life.

I hiked up my dress, slipping a leg through each of the holes and sighing contentedly the moment the warm fabric wrapped around my legs. “Wealthy women wear them under their dresses when it’s cold. They’re called leggings,” he said, turning his attention away briefly when my undergarments would have come into view. He’d seen it all, but I still appreciated the moment of privacy as the leggings settled around my waist and covered my ass.

I wiped the excess blood from my feet with a rag I found in the kitchen, doing my best not to ruin the new, thick socks that I pulled on before I stepped into the women’s boots that I’d chosen. They weren’t a perfect fit, but they were far, far better than the ones I’d had before.

“I think you underestimate the power of being raised to believe in something so deeply that you truly fear the consequences of disobedience that will come after death,” I said, thinking of all the times Bernice had tormented me with what would be waiting for me in the arms of The Mother if I continued to prove a disappointment.

The agony. The abuse. The retribution that I could only pay in blood.

“And yet you do not seem compelled now to attend Temple. You lived your life according to their rules, and what did that get you?” Caelum asked, a shadow passing over his face in a furious expression before he shoved it down. “They don’t deserve your loyalty.”

“They don’t have my loyalty. They never did, despite their desperate attempts to mold me into a Lady,” I said, accepting the hand he offered. He guided me out of the house cautiously, taking me to the edge of the woods where he found an axe stuck into the tree stump the owner used to chop wood. He pulled the heavy thing free as we passed, not even pausing in his steps as he wrenched it from the wood.

“Is that why you were so quick to run? You must have been, in order to escape in one piece,” Caelum said, glancing back toward the village as we ducked into the trees once more.

“Let’s just say the only thing waiting for me in Mistfell was death, even before the Veil fell,” I said. His brow furrowed, his jaw tensing for a moment before he grimaced and turned away.

“Stay here,” he ordered, ducking back into the village. I nodded, even though he’d already turned his back on me, watching as he darted around the outskirts and gathered supplies from outside of people’s homes.

I turned my stare to the sky and studied the position of the sun, readying myself for Temple to end. By the time he returned to my side, there was a pack slung across his shoulders, filled with supplies he’d gathered from the fringes of the village while I observed him from the corner of my eye. He’d snuck in and out of barns and houses, shoving in rope and blankets, more flint, and an extra canteen.

The axe he’d found was strapped to the sheath that crossed his back beneath his cloak. Between his two swords, the axe, and the dagger strapped to his thigh, he cut a formidable figure.

I held out a hand for the pack he’d loaded with the supplies, knowing that all the weapons he carried must have been heavy; not to mention, the pack would only hinder his ability to get to them if we needed them.

It seemed safe to say that day would come eventually.

“Hey! Thief!” a woman’s voice yelled as she stepped out of the temple and glanced toward her empty clothesline where her cloak had hung. She turned to the woods, finding us and seeing her forest green cloak wrapped snugly around my shoulders.

Guilt consumed me, knowing that there was every chance she couldn’t afford another one for the season, but she had a roof over her head. A fire in her home.

I had the promise of a cold cave and walking through blizzards.

“Run,” Caelum instructed, as people started to emerge from the temple to join with her shouts. I turned, running back toward the mountain range hidden behind the trees. I had to hope I was going in the right direction, with Caelum’s reminder of my useless navigating skills hanging over my head.

“They went that way!” the woman yelled behind us as I tore through the leaf-covered underbrush. Caelum didn’t speak as he followed me, his hand coming down on my spine every now and then to coax me to run faster. To hurry. I knew without a doubt he’d slowed his pace to stay with me, though his long legs were able to eat up the distance far faster than mine could ever hope to do.