His low chuckle vibrated through me as he put my hands into small crevices in the rock I hadn’t noticed until now. “Unfortunately, that’s not an option, Red. So let’s get up there before they decide to come down for us.”
I thought about my options. I thought about my mother who had made difficult decisions for me since the moment I was born. I thought about what could be happening to her up there, things I couldn’t imagine.
I had lots of choices, but I only had one worthy choice.
I dug my sandaled foot into a small space and grabbed hold of the rock with the tips of my fingers. I had just watched Ryder finish the god of the Underworld; why not take on the Fates?
Chapter Twenty
The wind pummeled my body, pushing and pulling me in every direction. I had never felt it so strong before, so vicious.
It felt like the hand of a god playing with my frail body as it tried to knock me from the cliffs. And maybe it was.
Ryder hung on just a few feet below me. He let me take the lead and I had the suspicious feeling it was because he thought, at some point, I would fall and he would have to catch me. I appreciated his care, but I didn’t know how much good it would do if I really slipped.
The ground was a terrifying distance beneath us. We had been climbing for what felt like hours. My muscles shook and trembled; my stomach ached with nausea and muscle pain. My fingers were numb from their effort to hold on. I had scrapes and bruises all over my skin from the unforgiving rock. If we made it to the top, I had decided that I would need to move in with the Fates. I sure as hell wasn’t going to try to climb down after all of this.
“We’re almost there,” Ryder grunted. “Let’s go, Red.”
I looked up. The distance seemed impossible. I was so tired.
I reached up, stretching on my tiptoes to find the next handhold. The rock I stood on gave way, crumbling to dust and disappearing beneath me. A scream of terror ripped from my throat. I clawed at the rock façade, but I couldn’t find a hold. My body slammed against the sharp edges of the cliff, my dress tore and my skin scraped painfully as I started to fall.
I had a moment of sheer panic, where my heart leapt to my throat and my mind blanked from all conscious thought. Then Ryder’s impossibly capable arm slammed against my back, pushing me into the cliff first, then his body next. He held me against him, his entire body shaking with the effort to keep us both from falling.
I moved quickly, burying my brand new, debilitating fear of heights and my rush of adrenaline. I shifted carefully in his arms and dug my fingers back into the rock wall, then found a place for my toes.
When I was as secure as could be, I turned to share a wide-eyed look with him.
“Thank you,” I shouted over the gush of air in my ears.
He jerked his head, dismissing me. “Let’s just get to the top, okay?”
I started climbing right away. “Okay.”
I hugged the wall as tightly as I could and tried not to slow down or stop. I moved from crevice to crevice, slowly gaining ground. I forced my brain to stop thinking about what could happen if I slipped again or what was likely to happen when I reached the top. I just needed to get there. I just needed to get off this wall and then I would face the consequences.
My entire life had been a reflection of my movement now. One small step at a time. One frame of consciousness to the next. I moved carefully and with intent, but I moved in a way that would protect me.
And now my calculated steps and drive to stay alive included Ryder. From this day on, they would always include Ryder.
Finally,finally, we reached the top. I clawed at the smooth dirt ground until my fingertips were bloodied and my fingernails broken and jagged. Slowly, with every ounce of remaining strength and all of the determination I could grasp, I pulled myself over the edge.
Ryder joined me a second later and we lay together on the hard ground, with the fierce wind whipping all around us. Ryder’s hand landed heavily on mine and squeezed. We just lay there for a few minutes, catching our breath and staring at each other.
My stomach flipped with panic. I knew we needed to move, that we were completely vulnerable like this. But I had nothing left. My muscles ached and my bones hurt. What a stupid place to live.
“We should move,” Ryder suggested.
“I can’t,” I whimpered.
His lips twitched and under different circumstances he might have smiled. “We need to-”
“You need to stand up and address us properly,” the cold voice of the eldest Fate addressed us.
A chill snaked down my spine. So much for the element of surprise.
I lifted my head, ignoring the heaviness of it and stared into the milky white eyes of Isadora. Her ankle-length white hair tossed wildly in the ferocious wind but always stayed out of her face. She looked down at us with one eyebrow raised and full lips turned down into a haughty frown.
