Too late. Sinking to my knees, I wrapped my fingers around the rail, the aluminum rough and biting. The ladder tilted.
The elves watching gasped. Not helpful. My heart beat wildly, nearly leaping out of my chest. Gritting my teeth, I leaned in the other direction, snapping the shoddy, makeshift bridge back into place.
“Careful!” Olivia shouted.
Breathing in on a ten count, I held my chin high, and started again, avoiding eye contact with the wedge of shadows beneath me.
Wind blew through the pass, numbing my nose, my cheeks, my ears.
This was the worst, but at this point I’d do anything to leave this cursed mountain—this cursed place—behind.
Chapter 26
“Thank the gods you’re okay.” Eva wrapped her arms around me, giving me a squeeze. The air left my lungs as we tilted backwards, nothing but empty breeze to catch us as we teetered on the edge of the crevasse. “What were you doing over there? The mountain is no place to be after a slide.”
“Do you want to, um, maybe…” I gestured at the rift behind me, still way too close for comfort.
“Oh!” Eva inched us back towards solid ground. “My bad. You probably don’t want to be anywhere near that certain-death hole.”
“Preferably as far away from it as I can get,” I said with a tight smile as she finally let go and Olivia stepped in.
Linking our arms, she pulled me away from the precipice, from the gawking court.
Guards scurried by. More ladders bowed across the crevasse. The clang of metal on metal filled the blaring silence.
Olivia dropped her voice to a whisper. “Did the queen have you on cleanup duty?”
“Something like that,” I mumbled back. “I saw footprints in the snow. Fresh ones.”
“Footprints?” Her nose squinched in confusion.
“They led towards the mountain.” I looked over her shoulder, my gaze sweeping the fragile rock face. “I had to investigate.”
“Reckless River,” Freyja muttered, leaning against an unscathed part of the defensive wall.
Olivia shot her a glare. “Whoever was out there could have been the cause of all this.”
“Okay.” Freyja dropped her heel from the stone. “And did you find anyone on your little mission, angel?”
My brows furrowed together. “No.”
“That’s because it was just an avalanche.” The princess curled her fingers, like suddenly her nails were the most interesting thing in the world. “We get those from time to time, living on a glacier and all. It sucks, but it’s a part of our life.”
I loaded my chest with air, only to huff it out in a long breath. The dark veins, the shadows, the neon-blue eyes—there was nothing natural about any of it.
“What about the fog?” I challenged. “Suspended over the debris like that? And didn’t you see the shadows poking through?” Turning to Olivia, I asked, my tone pleading, “Did you?”
Guilt crinkled her forehead. “I got out here too late to get a glimpse of anything.”
“I know you’re only part mortal, but you’ve heard of clouds before, right?” Freyja threw back. “I’m sure it was a trick of the light.”
Royal blue flashed in the corner of my vision. “She’s over here!” a voice called.
Lips pulled in a thin line, Gunnar jogged over, decked in full uniform. An elf trailed after him, white coat flapping in the wind. The medic, I assumed. I was so frustrated with the situation that I had forgotten my head was bleeding.
“Perfect timing, G,” Freyja drawled.
His palm gently grazed my arm. “Hey. You okay?”
