A shriek echoed around us, punctuating his words.
Shivers wracked my frame.
We were being hunted by thatthing. We had been from the moment we’d entered this cursed jungle. I sensed the creature was just the beginning, a test to see how we’d react when faced with immediate death.
Now came the real trial. Not the quick violence of predators, but the slow grind of attrition. Hunger. Thirst. The gradual erosion of hope as this place took everything from us piece by piece.
How long would it take before the Rite decided to stop playing and devoured us whole?
I tightened my grip on the stick, squaring my shoulders.
It could try. It would fail. Because I was going to make sure we survived.
17
ISI
As the sun set, we followed Bryson through the jungle until he stopped in front of a tree shaped like a living tower, its trunk broad enough to carve out a house. Bark textured like scales caught the fading light, and thick branches spiraled upward in natural steps—natural if you were the size of a horse. Moss draped from the lower limbs in velvet curtains.
“This one?” I asked Bryson, and he nodded. Turning, I studied each face, all looking as exhausted as I felt. My arm had been screaming at me for what felt like forever. It throbbed, and the skin felt too tight. I was almost afraid to look at it once we’d settled.
Perspective was everything; now I barely felt the wounds on my back.
“We climb,” I said, shoving aside the pain as best I could.
Everyone stared up at the canopy disappearing into shadows. Silence stretched until Bryson hefted his stick and approached the lowest branch. Turning, he gestured for us to climb ahead of him, his gaze scanning the surrounding vegetation.
I took the lead.
Reaching the lowest branches was the hardest part. Rain slickedthe bark, and pain arced through my injured arm with each pull upward. And once I reached the branches, I had to wrap my good arm around each one and haul myself onto the next, sweat beading on my forehead and trickling down my spine.
Maddox surprised me by moving to Jaxon’s side, cupping his hands to boost his brother up. “Here you go.”
“I’ve got it,” Jaxon snapped, jerking away. His face flushed, embarrassment and wounded pride warring in his expression.
Maddox’s hands dropped. The critical, overbearing look he gave Jaxon didn’t hide the fact that he was deeply worried. Watching his brother step away had to be torture. He wouldn’t know how to stop it.
“Careful,” Derren called out from below me. “Some of these branches have thorns on the underside.”
We climbed in slow stages, pausing to help each other navigate tricky sections. The tree seemed designed for ascent, with branches thick enough to support our weight. As we rose higher, the air grew cooler and strange scents swirled around us. Sweet flower nectar, earthy moss, and something sharp and green I couldn’t identify.
Jaxon climbed behind me, offering his hand to Kerralyn on every branch where he paused. “Need help?”
Each time, she took it with a shy smile, and once, they stumbled together as she pulled herself up, both quickly looking away.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
He shrugged, but grinned. “Happy to assist.”
“Show off,” Maddox muttered, but there was no real heat in it.
Lexie climbed with easy grace, her compact frame perfect for navigating the branches. Derren followed close behind her, one hand hovering near her lower back in case she slipped.
Bryson brought up the rear, moving with the fluid confidence of someone who’d spent years learning physical discipline. “Keep going,” he kept saying. “We can stop high in the canopy.”
A third of the way up, the world transformed.
“Look at this,” Kerralyn breathed, running her fingers over asection of bark that glowed faintly blue. Patches of it bloomed here and there on the trunk and branches. This place might be horrifying, but it also offered beauty.
