We can’t snap our thread already!

My arms shot out, managing to catch him before he tumbled below our waists. Muscles screaming from the effort of supporting him, I gritted my teeth. Darrx smashed me between them again, reaching around and hauling Uzadaan upright. We remained locked like that as Uzadaan unstuck his other foot.

“Good to go,” he announced, though his voice held the slightest tremor. After a recovery beat, we stepped forward as one, this time fanning out to distribute our weight more evenly. I picked the remainder of our route carefully, avoiding the worst of the squelch. We slipped past two more groups, their ropes stretched taught as their members flailed in the mud.

The dead grass was a welcome reprieve. “Let’s jog. If we stay tight, we should be able to make up time.”

“Who knew you had a competitive streak?” Uzadaan teased, flashing his extra sharp teeth.

“An unfortunate consequence of being mated to the Halálhívó,” I quipped, and Darrx barked a laugh. I couldn’t help the grin that split my face as we ran forward. That familiar camaraderie was returning, blooming hope it could grow between males and females across the magic-wielding units.

A breeze drifted over the cliffs, bringing with it a fresh wave of briny air. I sucked it down greedily, despite the chilly sting in my lungs. Torches blazed ahead, and I focused on the shadowed shapes around them, trying to discern what our next challenge could be.

“It’s a lattice of some type,” I panted. “Let’s slow now.”

We did together, taking a moment to study the obstacle and the others scaling it. I peered beyond too, counting the groups ahead of us. But my attention was torn back to the net when a male slipped, a cry tearing from his lips. At the last second, the other snatched his arm and hauled him back onto the net. I held my breath, waiting for their thread to break with how tightly it was now stretched between the three. The faller scrambled up again, easing the tension. Izzenna was among them, her lips pressed in firm determination.

“We have to stick to the same level,” Darrx murmured, observing the rest of their ascent. “With our height differences, it might be tricky. Szélhámos, you should go first.”

We reached the base just as Izzenna’s team hit the earth on the opposite side. She shot me a grin, then spun and sprinted away.

“We can’t let them beat us,” I insisted, grasping the bottom of the net. The squares were tiny, barely large enough for me to gain a foothold, let alone the bigger males. It looked like they’d taken some fishing nets and strung them together before stretching them across these poles. The thin strands dug into my fingers as I climbed. Once I was several feet off the ground, Darrx and Uzadaan followed. We stuck close to one another, keeping as much of an eye on each other’s holds as our own.

One mistake, and our thread could snap.

Halfway up, the net slickened. Whether it was from the previous climbers’ sweat or if the officers had intentionally oiled it, I wasn’t sure. Either way, traversing it was proving difficult.

“Fuck,” Darrx swore, his foot slipping. His forearms flexed as he gripped the net tighter, which honestly wasn’t much better with how sharply the twine dug into the skin. With a grunt, he dug the toe of his boot into a warped section.

“You good?” Uzadaan asked from my other side.

Darrx nodded, and then we continued our ascent. At the top, however, my stomach leaped to my throat. Now we had to go down, and my shoulder muscles already trembled from exertion. Angry welts crisscrossed my palms, courtesy of the unforgiving net. I flexed my hands and rubbed them together, trying to ease the ache.

“How do we turn?” I asked, studying our positions.

“Within our own ropes. There’s no other way,” Darrx said, giving his a tug. Uzadaan and I loosened ours, then carefully swung our legs around so we faced the other direction. Once we were all draped to go down, we tightened them around our waists again.

“On three,” I wheezed. “One.”

The males’ grips changed.

“Two.” I shuffled my own.

“Three.” I eased myself down, boot slipping immediately.

That damn mud.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I found another hold, then grasped a lower section of net. Uzadaan and Darrx shimmied down on either side of me. We worked in silence, focused on our tasks. About halfway down, Darrx said, “We can drop from here if we’re careful.”

My lashed hands agreed immediately. “Let’s go.”

“Bend your knees to take the impact and lock hands so we don’t pitch to one side,” Darrx instructed. “Ready?”

I visualized what he was asking me to do. Uzadaan and I indicated we were prepared.

“On my mark,” Darrx said. My breath lodged in my throat. “Jump!”

I released my holds, careening toward the ground. Keeping my knees soft, I grasped Darrx’s hand. At the last second, he tugged me into him, and we hit the earth with a jarring thud. A wobble threatened to snap my rope, but as I pitched forward, the net caught me. The three of us righted ourselves, and a sigh of relief loosened my chest when I noted our thread was still intact.

“Fuck yes!” Darrx cheered.

Digging my sore hands into the bind around my waist, I loosened it again and spun. Once all of us faced forward again, my enthusiasm faded like the setting sun. There was still so much of the course to go, and I was so, so tired.

“Ready?” Uzadaan asked. Nodding and steeling my spine, I prepared to jog once again. On three, we took off, the grass flying beneath our feet. My lungs burned from the effort of keeping up with their long strides.

A brief thought of faking a sore knee rose, just so we could slow and I could suck down some much-needed air. But then we passed one group. And another.

“There should only be about seven groups ahead of us now!” Darrx shouted, somehow still able to breathe.

Embers blazed in my chest. We’d started not too far back, but with how many we’d passed already, we stood a good chance of placing in the top.

I would not give up.

Uzadaan whooped, and I let out a cry of my own. “Let’s overtake them all!”

OceanofPDF.com

35

The moon cast a haunting glow over the hills, and we were forced to slow as the terrain grew uneven. Ahead of us, one threesome stumbled, grasping each other’s arms to steady themselves. When a second did the same, it dawned on me that we likely approached our next obstacle.

“Can you see anything?” I asked Uzadaan, the tallest of our team.

“I think there’s a crack in the earth,” he said, peering into the distance. We slowed to a walk as we approached the crest of the closest hill. Sure enough, below, all seven groups ahead of us had halted and were gesticulating wildly as they discussed how to cross.

A moment later, a fuzziness entered my head, and I forgot what we were supposed to be doing. I glanced around, finding Olet standing off to one side, obsidian wisps disappearing from his form and into the abyss.

“Why is everyone standing around?” Darrx asked blearily.

My brows pinched as I tried to focus on the thread of thought that kept slipping through my fingers. Olet…

I stumbled toward the male. He was part of it. He had to be.

“Woah!” Uzadaan shouted like I was a horse, grabbing me by the arm.

“Olet,” I said out loud, pointing with my free hand toward the Parancsok.

“Fuck, he’s using his magic,” Uzadaan cursed, and I blinked, processing his words.

“Yes! He’s a Chaos.” That was what my mind had been trying to tell me. “What if the canyon isn’t really there? What if it’s his magic?” I called on my power, hoping that by bringing my shadows to the surface I’d be able to free myself from the grip of his. This time, they answered my call, but dissipated as quickly as they’d risen.