If he was here, she’d find him.
And if he wasn’t…
She climbed faster.
Moving quickly, her eyes scanned for signs—a half-scuffed footprint in the dust, a broken sprig of underbrush where none should’ve been, the faintest whiff of resin and sweat clinging to a trail only she could follow.
“Slow.” She crouched beside a warped set of prints at the edge of a moss-covered ledge. “The injury’s still messing with him…”
But then the trail veered, split, and disappeared. She froze, nostrils flaring.
“Shit,” she hissed, doubling back the way she came.
It shouldn't have taken this much effort. Her sight alone could spot a dropped needle in twilight. Her nose could track a deer through rain.
He’s good, she thought, lips spreading into a grin.But I’m better.
Branches scraped her shoulders as she darted through the thinning trees above the highest tier of the village. The path narrowed again. It was only uneven stone ledges now, half-swallowed by overgrowth. Her heart beat faster.
There!
Kaelith stood just ahead, his back to her, framed in mountain shadow.
A boulder taller than both of them combined blocked the mouth of a narrow cave. Etched symbols pulsed across the stone face—some carved deep, others scratched shallow like they were added later, newer.
He didn’t turn, though he must have known she was close. He always knew.
Slowing, her spine straightened even as her boots remained near-silent over the loose rock.
“Took you long enough,” he said, continuing to face forward.
“As if provoking a giant snake wasn’t enough,” Rynna muttered. “You mind telling me what this latest attempt at suicide is all about?”
Kaelith scoffed, looking toward the mountain’s ridge where the last edge of sunlight bled out behind stone.
“They’ll be busy for at least another hour.” The hood slipped from his head, dark hair falling neatly down his back.
He wasn’t wrong.
“You know they’ll kill me too if you’re found someplace off-limits.” She jerked her chin toward the boulder. “And this”—she swept a hand toward the carved rock face—“definitely qualifies.”
“I’m only caught if you tell on me.” He turned, facing her fully now. “And you won’t.”
Her eyes closed as she struggled not to strangle him.
But. Again. He wasn’t wrong.
It’s just self-preservation, she told herself. If he went down, she went down with him.
“Fine.” Her arms dropped, boots crunching as she stepped forward to join him.
His scent threaded into her lungs, earthy, like dew on leaves at dawn, thick with shadows and something harder to name.
“What is all this, anyway?” She looked at the strange markings etched across the boulder’s surface.
Her fingertips reached for one of the symbols. But the moment her skin met stone, a bite of cold leapt into her fingers. Jerking back, she rubbed her palms together.
Beside her, Kaelith tapped two fingers against his chin, eyes never leaving the symbols.“I haven’t the faintest,” he said softly, then bumped his hip lightly against hers. “But if I had to guess…maybe don’t touch the ancient mystery rock.” A sliver of a smirk tugged at his mouth.
