Eda looked at him, and a wide smile spread across her face. ‘Look how big the world is.’
Roul’s mouth turned up involuntarily. He was constantly surprised by how much pleasure he got from watching her experience things. He looked around. The sea was vast and infinite from where they stood. These were the reminders she craved so much. These were the moments that would sustain her through a lifetime of walls and confinement.
When she moved to climb, he stepped in front of her. ‘I’ll go next. The two of you will follow me.’
Eda tilted her head, opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again.
Roul turned and carefully lowered himself over the edge.
Everything appeared to be going smoothly until Hadewaye reached the halfway point down the cliff face. His foot slipped, sending a spray of rock over Alveye and Tatum.
Swearing, Tatum caught a piece and threw it at the youngest recruit, hitting the back of his head. ‘You’re supposed to warn people below you, you arse!’
Hadewaye peered down at him. ‘I was trying not to die!’
‘Take a second,’ Roul called. ‘Then keep moving.’
‘You’re halfway,’ Alveye said below him. ‘The biggest risk of death is behind you.’
Hadewaye resumed climbing, muttering, ‘But we still have to climb back up.’
Roul kept looking up to check on Eda, but there was no need. She climbed with confidence and grace. That was what came from spending most of one’s life in trees. She was not afraid of heights. In fact, the only fear Roul had discovered in her so far was a fear of losing the people she loved.
It was a fear they shared.
Roul was nearing the halfway point when he heard Tollere yelp above him. He looked up as a large piece of rock came away from beneath the recruit’s foot. ‘Heads!’ he shouted.
Eda pressed her cheek to the cliff face and held her breath.
The rock narrowly missed her, then passed a few inches from Roul’s head. He was relieved when it bounced off course and away from those below him.
‘Everyone all right?’ Roul asked, looking up.
Eda nodded, not moving. Tollere was clinging to the rocks, hyperventilating. As tempting as it was to reprimand him, Roul knew he had to get him safely on the ground first.
‘Eda, I want you to climb a few feet to the—’ He did not get to finish his sentence, because the edge that Tollere’s right foot was perched on crumbled beneath the weight of him. ‘Heads!’ Roul called again as rock and dust rained down on them.
Eda tucked her head beneath her arm as Tollere dangled above her, screaming.
‘Tollere,’ Roul said, his tone firm. ‘I need you to calm down and find a foothold.’
The recruit’s screams quietened to sharp, panicked breaths.
Eda spat dirt from her mouth and blinked. Then she pulled herself up the cliff face, reaching for his heel and guiding his toe to a foothold.
‘You’re all right,’ she reassured him.
Roul’s heart sped up. ‘Eda, move aside—now.’
She did not have time. Tollere’s foot slipped again, connecting with her face. Thankfully, she held tight. Roul began climbing up to them, but he was not fast enough. Tollere’s hands slid from the rock, and he fell, crashing into Eda on his descent. But instead of falling with him, she caught the recruit by the arm. The weight jolted her. How she managed to stick to that rock, Roul had no idea. She winced with the effort.
Tollere dangled there for a moment while Roul scurried up at lightning speed. Roul grabbed hold of Tollere’s ankle, taking as much of his weight as he could. He carefully guided Tollere’s foot to the cliff, then did the same with the other one.
‘Calm yourself before you kill us all,’ Roul growled, moving up next to him.
Tollere took hold of the cliff and tried to slow his breathing. Only then did Eda let go of him. She rested her forehead on the icy rock, eyes closing as she collected herself.
No one spoke for a moment.
