I was still trying to wrap my head around what she'd implied when her call to action took me by surprise.
There had been no countdown, no further instruction—just a sharp command that sent everyone but me surging forward toward the trail.
Thank Elu for Shovia giving me a push to get me going.
I fell in step beside her, trying to keep up as we began the ascent. The path started out reasonably wide, but I could see it narrowing further up, twisting between jagged outcroppings and along precarious ledges.
Even after all the training I had done and the three-day pilgrimage, my lungs started burning almost immediately, the thin air insufficient for the demands I was placing on my body.
Each breath felt like inhaling fire, and we'd barely begun.
"Pace yourself," Alar said beside me. Despite the exertion, his breathing was controlled, his stride measured.
I should listen to him and let Shovia go ahead with her long legs and resilient lungs.
"Easy for you to say," I gasped. "You seem to have recovered from your altitude sickness," I teased.
He ignored my teasing. "Just focus on putting one foot in front of the other. You made it up Mount Hope, and you can make it up this little hill."
"Little hill?" I wheezed, casting a glance at the imposing peak looming above us. "Has the altitude affected your vision?"
He chuckled, the sound delighting me more than it should have. "Stop talking and save your breath."
"Yeah, you too."
The trail steepened, and we all struggled to keep moving. Codric and Morek had surged ahead, their longer legs eating up the distance. Shovia, unsurprisingly, kept pace with them, and I would have felt left behind if not for Alar, who stayed with me, though I could tell he was deliberately slowing his pace to match mine.
Part of me appreciated the gesture, but another bristled with foolish pride.
"Go ahead," I managed between labored breaths. "Don't slow down for me."
Instead of answering, he shook his head, a stubborn expression on his handsome face.
I didn't have the lung capacity to argue with him, but I planned to give him a piece of my mind over breakfast. He shouldn't jeopardize his position in the Force on my account. I would be fine with whatever position I got, but I knew he had loftier aspirations.
The altitude continued to take its toll as we climbed higher. The thin air made each breath a struggle, and dark spots danced at the edges of my vision. I'd grown up in these mountains, but even my slow pace was brutal after everything we'd been through.
Around me, other cadets were struggling as well. Some had slowed to a walk, others leaned against rocks, gasping for air. Afew had stopped entirely, bent double as they tried to recover. The instructors stationed along the route watched impassively.
"Keep moving, cadets!" one shouted as we passed. "If you can't run, walk, but don't stop. You can rest when you reach the summit!"
The summit.
It seemed impossibly distant, my legs felt like lead, and my lungs felt like they were filled with shards of glass, but something stubborn in me refused to stop. I would keep moving even if I had to crawl to the top.
Thankfully, there were no steep drop-offs on the sides of the trail, so my fear of heights didn't kick in. If I'd had to battle that as well, I'm not sure I would have been able to.
That didn't last long, though, and at the next bend the trail grew steeper still, narrowing until we were forced to proceed in single file. The drop to our right was dizzying, but I kept my eyes fixed on the path ahead.
After riding a dragon, this seemed almost manageable.
Almost.
My heart stuttered whenever a loose stone skittered over the edge, disappearing into the void below, but I kept moving, my determination fueled by nothing but pride.
When we finally reached the summit, I was ready to collapse. My lungs heaved, desperate for oxygen that wasn't there, and my legs trembled with exhaustion. But I'd made it, and I wasn't the last one to do so either.
"Water," an instructor said, thrusting a flask into my hands as I staggered to a stop. "Drink slowly. You have five minutes to rest before heading back down."
