“Okay.” Keen claps his hands together, causing me to jump. “See you guys soon.”
He starts walking away, and I grab my pack. Slinging it on my back, I speed walk to catch up with him.
“What’s Steelwind?” I ask around a mouth full of the brick bar.
“It’s a little town in the middle of nowhere.” Keen chuckles, “We are going to cause trouble.” He says gleefully, rubbing his hands together.
My feet stumble. Butterflies start-up in my stomach, then come to a screeching halt. Did he say cause trouble?
“Trouble?”
Keen grabs my hand, laces our fingers together and starts swinging our arms back and forth as we walk. A blush lights up my face, and my hand tingles where it touches his.
“Yes, trouble.” Keen laughs again, still swinging our arms. “My little brother went and got himself thrown in the dungeons, so now we have to save the poor soul.” He clicks his tongue.
“Dungeons? Break him out? Won’t we just end up in there with him?” I question. My body was full of jumbled nerves. This is a terrible idea.
“It’s a slight possibility,” Keen says cheekily.
I smile. He's in a mischievous mood, and it makes me feel giddy.
“Sure.” I smile bemusedly at him.
“Have no fear, Basil. This won’t be my first time breaking someone out.”
I laugh at his smug grin. It might not be his first, but it will definitely be mine. How hard can it be to break someone out of a dungeon?
◆◆◆
"I can't do this," I state for the fifth time.
My heart pounds painfully in my chest as fear eats me alive.
The suns are starting their descent in the sky, casting pink light over the valley.
"It's just a bridge." Keen sighs, standing next to said bridge.
"No, it's not," I mumble, taking a step back again.
"How is it even hanging there?"
Keen shakes his head. "Magic."
I don't say anything as I stare at my death.
The bridge is a two-inch-wide piece of wood spaced out, stretching into the thick fog. There are no ropes. There are no sides, and the damn thing is swinging through the air. It's high up. Way, way too high. Too high for this gal. I can't even see into the bottom of the space it's stretched across.
"I really can't do this," I mumble again, staring at Keen as tears start to fall.
He runs his hands through his thick hair, turning to look at me. His eyes widened. "Are you afraid?"
I nod, studying at the swaying bridge and the open space. I feel dizzy, and my stomach is churning.
"Is it the bridge or the height?"
"Both," I mumble, wiping tears from my face.
Keen's eyes become softer, and he wraps me in his muscular arms.
My head rests on his chest. I’m soaking in his warmth and smell. His hands slide up and down my back, and some of the stress I'm experiencing melts away.
My eyes pop open as he turns me in his arms, facing the bridge. My pulse flutters, and my breath catches.
Keen settles his arms on my hips and squeezes slightly. My own hands grip his, and I curl my fingers into them.
He gently places his chin on my shoulder and his breath fans across my neck. "We're going to do this together. One step at a time."
I shake my head and dig my fingernails deeper into him.
He kisses my cheek, "Yes, we are. Close your eyes, Basil." He murmurs gently.
My eyes close with a shaky exhale. My limbs are quivering as he takes that first step with me moving with him.
He gently prods me forward, and with every step we take, I know we’re getting closer to that damn bridge. My eyes tear, and they drip down my face.
Five more steps, and I squeak. The once solid ground gives a little bit, and I know we’re no longer on land but floating in the air. The rickety bridge is the only thing keeping us from falling to our deaths.
My limbs tighten, and my fingers go deeper into Keen’s skin. I feel something warm and wet around my fingertips and cringe, knowing I’m making Keen bleed, but I can’t seem to pull my fingers from him.
“You’re doing great. Let’s keep moving.” He whispers and slowly moves me forward.
A knot forms in my throat as we advance. I’m stiff as a board, moving like a tin man. The further out we go, the more the bridge sways, and the air becomes damp.
I keep putting one foot in front of the other. A very tiny step, mind you, hanging onto Keen for dear life. It seemed like years have passed me by when I finally feel solid ground beneath my feet.
My tear-filled eyes open, and I see the base of a gray mountain.
“You did terrific,” Keen says, kissing my cheek.
I slowly let off my grip on him, and his arms leave my waist, and I promptly fell to the ground. My limbs are like jello.
“That.” I shudder, “Was horrible.” I state, staring at Keen as he walks in front of me.
He turns his head to look at me, “Yeah, but you did it.” He smiles.
I climb back to my feet. Sweat falls down my spine, “With your help.” I mumble, rubbing my hands along my arms.
“Nothing wrong with needing help.” He smirks and holds out his hand to me.
I grip it in mine and fold our fingers together as we start walking towards the mountain.
I didn’t even think about it. I just held his hand. What does that say about me? Am I starting to really like Keen? I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. Yeah, I am. I gulp. I am terrified of what this might mean for me. For us. For the others who are supposed to bond with me. Another problem for another day. Don’t think about it, Basil.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I’m dying. Dramatic, maybe so. But who in the world would build a freaking town on top of an enormous mountain? Royals. That’s who.
These stairs are not really stairs; it’s more like a ladder. The slim steps carved into the side of the rock face are mostly vertical.
My hands are chapped and scraped from the rough stone, and my legs are like jello.
I raise my arm, wiping sweat from my forehead and looking up just in time to see the bottom of Keen’s feet disappear in the cloud bank. I make an unladylike face and keep climbing.
Clouds. I’m climbing up into clouds to a place I've never been to or heard of before because I don’t want to take my birthright.
Does that make me stupid or strong? Probably both. If mom could see me now. I whence, shaking my head. I forgot. She wasn’t my mom. She’s my Custo. My Guardian.
I whimper and pull my hands from the stone step. I dig my fingers into it, causing a nail to chip and bleed. Fabulous.
I huff and shake it off. I keep moving up and up. My head is disappearing into the clouds.
Why would an Air Gen build their seat of power on top of a Mountain? Couldn’t the Terra Gen simply blow the mountain out from under them? You would think they could, right? What am I to know, though? I’m an invader and haven’t yet been able to touch this so-called power I have—a bunch of nonsense.
“You made it.”
I scream and jerk backwards. Keen grabs a hold of my wrists at the last second and pulls me up.
I collapsed at the top of the mountain. My gods, I just about died. Tears of frustration fall from my eyes, and my chest moves too quickly.