“Aldora.”
She turned back to Vedikus, snapping out of her fugue. He stood central beneath a stone archway, a black figure that stopped the light from casting through from behind. Already, she could hear the near and distant sounds of the creatures out of her view. Wiping her hands on her pants, she moved toward him, anxious for the silence once again.
He remained motionless, watching her as she reached for his hip and tugged the rope from where it was hooked, letting the coarse threads run across her palms. The mist licked at the stone wreckage and overgrown moss at their sides, shielding them even while out in the open, hiding them from the world’s view.
For a moment, it made her feel safe, protected.
The curse hides me, hides us.The murk of this place gave her a freedom she had never known. Aldora hooped the rope around his waist and tied it together, leaving the excess out for her to hold. He remained still as she tugged and tried her knot.
“I don’t want us to get separated,” she said, refusing to meet his eyes. “If something should happen.” The thought left her mouth dry. Part of her wanted to backtrack into the ruins and find their camp again, to sit by the fire and hide.
I’m always hiding.Vedikus turned around and walked out into the open without a word.I was good at hiding.The rope grew taut in her grip and she followed it—him—away from the shadows.
Before him.
The view that met her was different from the night before.
Her eyes remained on his scarred back as they made their descent.
Chapter Eleven
***
Aldora licked her lips, lifting the back of her hand to swipe her tongue across her skin. She stayed a step behind Vedikus and well within his shadow as the path narrowed halfway down the cliff. His shoulder scrapped across the rocky ledge, dislodging dirt, moss, and shriveled, long-dead overgrowth with each step.
She refused to look out over the foggy ocean as they made their way deeper within the gorge and squeezed the rope tighter in her fist. It became her lifeline.
Don’t let go.Even though the mist had cleared around her, she was still afraid it would envelophimwhenever the rope tightened. She accepted it for what it was: survival. Nothing else mattered.
She turned her wrist and tasted her palm.
Vedikus grunted and stopped as part of the ledge crumbled and broke away under his hooves. Aldora slapped her hand against the wall and clutched the roots hanging from it. They wiggled against her palm and into her cut. She jerked her hand back. The rocks fell quickly out of sight and into the white void below. Her stomach roiled.
The rope tugged and they continued on.
“When will it end?” she asked after a while. Her voice seemed louder than usual.
