What Lies Beyond the Veil (Of Flesh & Bone, #1)(75)
“What happens if they find us?” I asked, glancing back to the men behind me.
Jensen met my gaze, a sly smile transforming his face. “We fight. You aren’t scared, are you, pretty? I’m happy to protect you, but you should know there are much scarier things in the woods now with the Veil down. Cave beasts are the least of your concerns.” His hand came down on my shoulder, making me glance down at the intrusion in disdain.
“If you value that hand, you will remove it immediately,” Caelum growled, his voice echoing through the narrow tunnel as Melian stopped in her tracks and stared back at the altercation behind her.
“Or what, pretty boy?” Jensen asked, raising an eyebrow at Caelum in challenge.
“Or I will sever it from your wrist and give it to her as a token of my affection,” Caelum responded, his lips peeling back from his teeth ever so slightly even as the tunnel seemed to cool with the rising tension between the two men.
“That’s enough, Jensen,” Melian said. “You know the rules. You can only touch her if she gives you permission.” She resumed her trek down the tunnel that narrowed as we continued forward, so we could only walk two by two. The reason for the torches quickly became obvious as the tunnel grew darker, until all traces of natural light disappeared and only the light of the fire enabled us to see at all.
Melian stopped suddenly, the man next to her dropping to his knees at her feet and lifting a slab of rock away from the ground. He shoved it to the side, revealing a hole carved into the ground beneath it. A manmade tunnel ran perpendicular to the natural cave tunnel, disappearing into the darkness below as the first of the men jumped down.
“Tunnels?” Caelum asked, turning his attention to Melian. “How could you have had time to do all of this?”
“My ancestors were the first members of the Resistance. They were the Fae Marked saved by the Veil all those centuries ago. They knew it was only a matter of time before the Fae returned to this land and came for them again in their future lives, or in their children’s lives. We’ve been here since the Veil was erected hundreds of years ago, preparing for the day that those chosen by the Fae would need a safe place to land,” she explained, watching as another of her men dropped into the tunnel below.
“I thought the Fae could track their Marked somehow. Was that not true?” I asked as she stepped toward the hole as if to jump in.
“They can,” she agreed. “Which is why it is even more important to have a safe haven that has been warded by a witch. So long as we keep our safe havens a secret, no one ever needs to find us.” A small smile graced her face as she plunged into the darkness, calling up for me to follow next.
“Go,” Caelum ordered, glancing sideways at Jensen and the other men who remained on the top level. He clearly trusted Melian with my safety more than them. I nodded, shoving my dagger into his sheathe once again, not trusting my coordination enough not to stab myself with it.
I jumped into the hole, falling through air for only a moment before I landed and bent my knees to absorb the shock. My ankle gave a little twinge on impact, but it was nothing compared to the pain of the day before and almost forgotten by the time I straightened. The tunnels were carved into the rock of the mountain itself, making for a much harder landing than it might have been.
Caelum landed at my back, his hand immediately coming down on my spine as he reassured himself I was okay. He took my hand, pulling me out of the way so the others could jump down.
Melian’s eyes landed on our hands clasped together, something like disdain filling her eyes for a moment before she turned her attention fully to Caelum when he spoke. “How far do these tunnels go?” he asked.
“They cover most of the Center Channel,” she said, referring to the mainland that extended from Mistfell to the Mountains of Rochpar on the other side of the Kingdom. “Each of the Four Auxiliary Lands has its own network of tunnels, as well.”
“That’s incredible,” I said, my voice conveying the awe I felt over something of this magnitude existing right beneath the noses of the Royal and Mist Guards for all this time. These people probably had an entire way of life, an entire history, that the Kings and Lords knew nothing about and had absolutely no control over.
Who would I have chosen to be, if my life hadn’t been dictated by societal expectations?
Melian guided us through the passage, our group walking in silence as I stared with fascination at the walls around me, imagining how long it took to dig and carve just one tunnel out of solid stone. Caelum held my hand clutched tightly in his, clinging to me as if the tunnels would sweep me away and force us to separate.
Nothing could have prepared me for the number of people that waited in the main cavern when we finally arrived. There were dozens of them. Some of them were well-equipped and armed, though their faces appeared relaxed as if they were completely at home.
Others were rougher in appearance, looking beaten and downtrodden as if they’d only just escaped the fate waiting for them above the surface. Not everyone was Fae Marked, I assumed the product of generations of living in those tunnels.
“I’ll take you to the women’s quarters so you can get settled in,” Melian said. “Introduce you to some of the younger girls.”
“I go with her,” Caelum interjected, refusing to release my hand when I nodded to follow her. As much as I hated to separate from him in someplace new, I understood that we were newcomers. We were guests in their way of life.