I shrug. “Roughly a mile.”
“You want us to hop amilethrough open air?” he asks, baffled. “We can’t float in the shadows for that long. We need solid ground. This is going to get us killed.”
“Maybe we could speed it along,” Neve offers, holding up her hands. There’s a tired gleam in her eyes, and I feel it, too. We need to save the rest of our magic until we absolutely have to use it. “Sometimes I can create little bursts of wind, not like someone with air magic but it would push us forward. Can’t you do something similar, Ban?”
I hesitate, and Zarev almost smirks. He knowsexactlywhat I’m thinking. “You would need to travel over with Zarev, then.”
And Ialmostwant to break his neck for it. When I crafted this idiotic plan, Neve stayed with me. I didn’t have to trust my Hell Brother to get her safely across the void.
“That’s fine,” Neve says, lifting her chin. “We’ve already traveled that way.”
“And if we stay here any longer, arguing, something's going to find us,” Odette points out. “If we’re going with the cliff diving plan, let’s make that happennow.”
The others nod, looking toward me again. I grit my teeth because the idea of using our ice magic to speed up the process is a good idea, even if I hate having to place my trust in Zarev when I desperately want to cling to Neve. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“We need to run up the rest of the mountain,” Zarev points out, and I nod. “Save our magic and all. Is there coverage at the top?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Of course there isn’t.” He sighs, and Odette takes off up the path. Neve follows closely, and despite the Swan Princess struggling with the elements she’s gotten much better the longer we are here. She doesn’t slide on the powder much as they run, the snow boots helping her, and I move to follow.
Zarev stops me, his grip tight on my shoulder. The two move ahead of us, and he waits a moment before speaking. “This is risky, Ban. Why are you playing with our lives?”
I shoot him a glare. “I’m not. If I didn’t believe we could manage it, we wouldn’t be going this route. Trying to get across the Frostlands to Icicle Pass could be treacherous if Davina left behind all these Flowerborne. I haven’t evenseenone of the butterflies, so this was all done by her hand.”
“And you think crossing into the Red Woods and the Butterfly Garden uninvited is safer?”
“I think Odette can use her magic over there. And we’ll be off Davina’s radar at least for a little while until we can figure things out. Besides, the two of you weren’t supposed to be gone this long. It’s time you get back to Ray and Rapunzel.”
He narrows his eyes. “And you?”
My gaze follows Neve, who turns back curiously. “My path is wherever hers goes.”
~~
Getting to the top of the mountain doesn’t take long. These are more or less large hills with a low incline, and none of us has worked up much of a sweat when we crest the top. But Neve gazes back toward her kingdom with a strangled gasp.
It’s creepy how the Flowerborne look against the snow. The creatures already moved unnaturally on dirt, but the snow seems to fluff up every time they move on those vine feet, and even from this distance, we can see white puffs of snow forming everywhere.
The few Icebound that Ronnie had are impossible to see, and there doesn’t appear to be anyone following behind us. Even if the creatures saw us, aside from the Icebound, most of them move rather slowly. We should have enough time to get out of here now that we aren’t being attackedandfighting things from the shadows.
“This is a bad idea,” Zarev says again, crossing his arms. “That isnota mile. We can’t stay endlessly in the shadows, carrying a person. I was right. We’re going to die.”
“It’ll be fine,” Odette argues, peering at me. “We have the wind idea–”
“Icy wind,” Neve agrees, but she sounds less confident than before.
“Right,” she replies. “We have that and the shadows. Surely we can get over there.”
“Maybe we should make wings out of ice,” Neve says thoughtfully, going down the same weird thought path Odette is as she tries to measure the distance with her hands. “I’ve never tried that before.”
“The shadows will allow us to move faster,” I say, glaring at Z. “Just stay within them, and everything will be fine. Push him across the abyss as quickly as you can, Neve.”
Zarev groans before offering her his hand. “On my back, Neve. It’ll be easier if I also don’t need to worry about dropping you.”
Odette copies the movement, her winter clothes almost getting in the way. It’s a little restrictive, but better than losingmy grip and having to chase her down the chasm. When I glance toward Zarev, he sighs and nods toward the pass.
Behind us, I can hear something approaching. It could be the Flowerborne, or anyone else from Wonderland or Camelot.
