“One.”
I launch myself into open air.
For a split second, I’m weightless—flying through darkness, pine needles whipping past my face. Then my hands connect with the branch of the neighboring tree. The impact jolts through my shoulders, nearly knocking the brass knuckles loose. I swing, get my legs up, pull myself onto the branch
Below me, I hear Maksim laugh.
“Oh, Beda.”
I don’t stop. I scramble higher, branch to branch, moving as fast as I dare. My lungs are screaming now, demanding oxygen I can’t spare. The knife digs into my ribs with every movement.
I need a plan. Need something better than just climbing until I run out of tree.
That’s when I see it—a thick branch extending toward another tree, creating a natural bridge. Risky. Potentially stupid. But if I can cross it—
“Ayla.”
His voice is right below me now.
I look down without meaning to.
Maksim stands at the base of my tree, head tilted back, those blue eyes glowing in the moonlight.
“Come down,” he says. “Or I’m coming up.”
“Fuck you,” I breathe.
His smile widens. “Eventually.”
I turn and start moving across the branch-bridge. It sways under my weight, creaking ominously. I force myself to focus—one foot, then the other. Don’t look down. Don’t think about falling.
Halfway across, I hear him climbing.
Fast.
Too fast.
The branch shudders as his weight hits it. I’m still five feet from the next tree when I feel the wood shift beneath me
“Shit—”
The branch cracks.
Not completely. Just enough to drop a bit, throwing me off balance. I windmill my arms, try to catch myself, but gravity wins.
I fall.
My hand shoots out on instinct, catches a smaller branch. It bends but holds. I dangle there, feet kicking empty air, the brass knuckles weighing down my other hand.
Above me, Maksim appears on the branch I just abandoned.
He looks down at me.
“Need help?”
“Go to hell.”
“Been there.”
