Fuck.
Fuck.
The bridge sways back toward the right. Skaia fights to keep her balance, Venna tilting precariously from atop her back. Noemi’s face turns white from the strain.
I can’t move. My blood is hot panic.
The moment stretches on indefinitely.
Noemi shoves her palms into the ground and staggers back to her feet. A resolved look comes over her, and with a snarl, she releases more power.
The bridge straightens, and the moment it does, Skaia leaps across the rest of it.
Finally, I can breathe again. Venna buries her face in Skaia’s gray fur, and Noemi sits down hard on the ground.
“Take a break, Noemi,” I order.
Anassa paces along the ledge. Her anxiety spikes, but I don’t let it get to me. I have faith in Noemi. She’s stronger than even she knows.
“I’m… I’mgettingyou across, Meryn,” Noemi growls out. She takes a shuddering breath, and her eyes blaze. “I swear.”
I smile at her. “I know.”
Because I trust her to keep me safe. I trust her to provide the same protection she never got. It’s all the hurt she’s endured that makes her such a powerful Phylax. She knows what it is to be vulnerable.
She won’t let me fall.
Noemi nods at us when she’s ready, clambering back to a stand. Anassa steps out onto the bridge. We move steadily. The bridge creaks and crackles, and Noemi lets out an angry sob. I keep my eyes on Noemi the entire time, willing myself closer and closer.
Halfway through, she starts to falter again, just as she did with Venna.
Anassa and I still. The bridge isn’t moving much, but the slight tremble makes my stomach tumble.
Where does that pit end?
If we fell, would our death be quick? Or would we be injured but alive, doomed to slowly starve in this cavern where no one could rescue us?
Would Anassa turn on me if I was the only thing left to eat?
“Pull it together,” Anassa snaps, hearing her name in my mind.“The wolves can sense your disturbance, and it is making everyone weak.”
She’s right. Straightening, I look across to Noemi, trying to project confidence. “You can do this.”
She nods, sweaty face reddening. With an agonizing scream, she floods the bridge with power one last time.
We bolt swiftly across.
And then I’m suddenly at the opposite ledge, and Stark’s hand snaps out in a bruising grip. He’s breathing nearly as hard as Noemi is. Cratos’s teeth are in Anassa’s fur.
I reach for Noemi’s hand and take it, still letting Stark hold on to me.
“That was incredible,” I tell her. The weight of four people, sure. But four direwolves, as well, two of which are massive.
Noemi’s crying. “I’m… sorry. I—I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, Noemi,” I tell her.
I don’t know what she’s apologizing for. Everything with Lucien, maybe. But it doesn’t matter. She’s one of us. “You’re done. Sit back and watch the show now.”
