A cropping of rocks clings to the side of the cliff up ahead. If we are careful, we might be able to scale the stones and spend the night there.
“Do you see that ledge?”
She peers around me, squinting up at the cliff as rain pelts her face and streams like tears down her cheeks. “The one way up there?”
“Yes. That is where we will spend this night.”
“Oh, no. I can’t do that.”
“We do not have a choice.” Each moment that passes brings more darkness and more rain. We can stay there and reassess our journey after a good night’s sleep.
“I’m afraid of heights, Maddox.”
What is this fear of heights? She has not mentioned it before. “The bridge was very high, far higher than that ledge.”
“And I was terrified every step I took.”
“Why did you cross it if you were afraid?”
“Because I wanted to find you.”
The water begins to rise, climbing to my chest. I grit my teeth and trudge forward.
The closing darkness will be the least of our worries if we do not reach that ledge. I will blindfold her and carry her up if I must. “You could have waited until I returned to Rosehill.”
“I wasn’t sure you were ever coming back,” she roars over the crashing waves. Water sluices down her forehead. Her cheeks. “Can we keep going until we reach the shore?”
There is no telling how much longer this canyon will remain this thin. We should have stopped after the nettles. I swipe away the raindrops clinging to my face only to have more take their place. “I do not think I can go much farther. I have not slept and?—”
“Why haven’t you slept?”
Who would have protected us? The stones? “Someone needed to keep watch.”
Her expression hardens. “I could’ve done it.”
“You were tired.”
“So were you!”
There is no time for this argument. She can shout at me to her heart’s content once we are safe.
We continue in silence, the river creeping higher and higher. By the time we reach the stones leading to the ledge, the water is kissing Nia’s chin.
I slide my belt from around my arm and shift her in front of me to block the current so she can climb.
Suddenly, the ground beneath us begins to shake.
Nia’s gaze snaps to mine. “Do you feel that?”
This is not good. “Climb, Nia. Quickly.”
“I . . . I can’t.”
I take her by the shoulders, hating the way she trembles. That I am asking her to do something she fears so much. “Youcando this. I will not let anything happen to you. I swear this. Just keep climbing.”
She grips the rock, pulling herself out of the water. I follow, ready to catch her if she slips.
The ground shudders so hard, I lose my footing. My knee slams against the boulder; sharp pain shoots up my leg.
