Owen exhaled sharply, his jaw tightening as he studied the cliffs. None of them had the strength left for this, but they had no choice. If they wanted answers, they had to climb.
Overhead, the thick, brooding clouds broke. A wall of rain crashed down with a vengeance, soaking them instantly, transforming the already hazardous path into a slick nightmare.
Lewis threw up his arms. “Oh, fantastic! Just when I was wondering how scaling a death trap could be any worse—the gods decide to drown us.”
Owen ignored him, scanning the rain-slicked rocks with narrowed eyes. His bronze skin had lost its usual warmth, his features pale with a quiet tension. “Unfortunately, we don’t have another option.”
Vivienne pressed her lips together. He was right. There was no turning back. No easier path. No peace waiting in the rainforest below. The waterfalls—the answers—were above them. The only way forward was up.
“How far?” she asked, shielding her eyes against the downpour.
Cirrus followed the snaking path with his eyes, his soaked white-blond hair clinging to his jaw. “Hard to say,” he admitted. “It won’t be quick. We’ll need to find a place to stop before nightfall.”
Vivienne’s stomach twisted. Spending the night halfway up a mountain, exposed to the elements, to whatever else lurked on this island? Her hands clenched at her sides. The constant battle to keep moving, to stay ahead of the dangers snapping at their heels, had left her drained. Every time they gained ground, something clawed it away.
Lewis sighed, rubbing his temple. “And we’re running low on food,” he reminded them. “If we don’t reach the waterfalls soon, we’ll have bigger problems.”
A hand brushed her arm. Cirrus. His expression softened as he searched her face. “Are you alright?”
Vivienne hesitated before nodding, though the answer was a resounding no. “I’m exhausted,” she admitted, her voice barely audible over the rain. “Every time we push forward, something else tries to kill us. I’m starting to think the island itself wants us dead.”
Cirrus squeezed her shoulder, his warmth cutting through the cold, soaking chill of the storm. “We’ve made it this far,” he said, his voice low and steady. “We can finish this.”
She wanted to believe him. But what if they couldn’t? What if they died on this mountain? What if she never learned what happened to her parents?
Owen, ever practical, motioned to the incline ahead. “We climb as long as we can,” he declared. “Then we find shelter.”
No one argued. There was no point. There was no alternative.
They ascended into the storm.
* * *
The climb was brutal.Each step a test of endurance, each hold a gamble. The slick rock crumbled beneath their boots, loose stones tumbling into the abyss below. Vivienne’s fingers ached as she clung to the rough stone, her arms trembling from the strain. The rain was relentless, cold knives against her skin, making every movement more treacherous.
Halfway up, Owen slipped. His foot lost purchase on a slick edge, and he pitched backward, his balance stolen in an instant.
“THORNE!” Cirrus lunged, his hand snapping around Owen’s wrist just as he tumbled.
For a second, everything froze. Owen dangled over the void, his fingers grasping at empty air, Cirrus’ grip the only thing anchoring him to the mountain.
“Hold on!” Cirrus gritted his teeth, straining against the weight.
Vivienne scrambled forward, hands shaking, and grabbed Owen’s other arm, noting a pained grimace overtaking his face. Together, she and Cirrus hauled him back onto solid ground.
Owen let out a ragged breath, his face paler than before. “That,” he muttered, chest heaving, “was unpleasant.”
Cirrus smirked, though his grip on Owen lingered, steadying him. “Try not to do it again.”
The sun had all but vanished when Cirrus pointed ahead. “There,” he said, breathless. “Shelter.”
A narrow crevice in the rock face yawned open before them, dark and uninviting but dry. It was hardly ideal, but after everything, it might as well have been a palace. Vivienne exhaled, relief flooding her chest.
Inside, the cave widened into a spacious chamber, its walls worn smooth by time. The stone beneath them was hard, but for the first time in what felt like forever, it was safe. Within minutes, bedrolls were unfurled. Owen and Lewis, too exhausted for further conversation, collapsed into sleep. Vivienne lay down, tucking her knees to her chest, her eyelids growing heavy.
Footsteps. Then, the sound of someone settling beside her.
“Hey, Banns,” Cirrus whispered.
