“You think the creatures will come back?”
He shrugs. “Hopefully, we did enough to deter a new den of them from taking up residence in that particular tunnel. But monsters thrive in the dark. So long as there are shadows, there’ll be things to stalk around in them.”
The heat of the fire blasts down the passage at our backs. It must be a massive blaze. I wonder how he’s managed it. Except for the sparse pile of kindling beside the campfire, there was no extra wood in the cave anywhere I’d seen. No accelerant to spread flames so quickly—unless the vile green venom is highly flammable.
I could ask Jac. There’s a chance he might even tell me. But I’m too tired to indulge my curiosity with more questions. I stay silent, focused on keeping my steps measured all the way down the passage, lifting one foot after the other, my gaze pointedly averted from the decapitated body of the queen when we reach the fork. I need no more memories of her burned into my mind. The ones I already possess will haunt me well enough.
Waves of exhaustion flood my system as the surge of adrenaline subsides. In the aftermath of the fight, my entire body aches. My arm muscles scream in protest at the simplest of movements. I am covered in grime and dried goo, my skirts stiff with it. Just lifting them to climb the steps takes monumental effort. Only the promise of fresh air and freedom keeps me from collapsing in a heap.
Jac soon outpaces me, climbing steadily after his unit, seeming no worse for wear despite the battle he’s just fought. I have to stop periodically to catch my breath. I might lean against one ofthe walls for support if I weren’t so scared something will burst through it at any given moment and devour me.
Who can say what else nests down here?
My progress upward is so slow, Scythe eventually catches up to me. He smells of ashes and smoke and the acidic afterburn of insectile corpses. I can hear him breathing one step behind, his body heat immense enough to warm the air between us.
“Any slower, we’ll be going backward,” comes his wry greeting after a few moments.
I glower. “I do wish the centipedes had eaten you.”
He barks out a laugh. It sounds rusty coming from his throat, like he hasn’t found occasion to use it in quite some time. I am so startled by the sound, I trip over my skirts and nearly face-plant. But he moves like lightning, grabbing me before I can fall and hauling me back upright.
“Almost there.” His voice is low. I can feel the strength of his chest against my back. The bandolier of blades presses tight to my spine. “Ten more steps and this place is a memory.”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak, and he releases me. Somehow, I manage to ascend the final stretch without falling again. When I step into the light, squinting at the blinding flare of the sun, I could weep for joy. If I never again find myself back in the bowels of the earth, it will be too soon. I have never been so thrilled to see the barren tundra of the Cimmerian Mountains; have never been so deliriously happy to feel the sharp lash of arctic wind on my cheeks. I resist the urge to spin in circles like a child, acutely aware of five sets of male eyes resting heavily upon me.
They’ve somehow gotten Farley up into Onyx’s saddle. He looks even paler than he did down in the caves, his complexion peaked. His shattered leg is lashed to the stirrup. Someone hasremoved his boots. Despite his obvious pain, he attempts a smile when our gazes meet.
“Don’t look at me like that, Ace. I’m not dead yet. You’ll wound my ego.”
“He needs a healer,” I say bluntly, looking at Scythe.
“I thought you were one,” he returns.
“I have some skills, but not out here.” I sweep an arm around the sparse landscape. “Not without proper tools, not without herbs. That bone needs to be set, and all weight kept off it for at least two months.”
Farley looks aghast at this news. “Twomonths? Did she say two bloody months?”
“If you ever expect to walk again.” I plant my hands on my hips—a move I regret instantly, seeing as the fabric is coated with all manner of foul fluids. “Where is the nearest town? There must be an inn somewhere on this summit. Even those crazy enough to travel at this altitude need a place to sleep and suck down ale.”
Scythe and Jac look at each other for a long moment, a wordless exchange unfolding between them. When their gazes break, there is an unhappy tightness to Scythe’s jaw. But his voice is level as ever.
“We’ll make for Vintare. It’s not far—just on the other side of this valley. We can spend the night at the inn, set off in the morning.”
“Penn…” Jac shakes his head, frowning. “We can’t delay your journey. The Apex Portal is in the opposite direction.”
“And?”
“Go.You’ll be in Caeldera by nightfall. Leave us. We’ll manage.”
“The rest of your unit is more than a day’s ride from here.How do you expect to rejoin them with no mounts? And what of Farley?”
“Don’t worry about me,” the redhead interjects. “I’ll not be a burden.”
Scythe shakes his head, the metal of his helmet catching the weak, mist-shrouded sun. “It’ll be dark in an hour. You plan to carry an injured man across this ice plain?”
There is a heavy pause.
“I thought not,” Scythe mutters.