Page 129 of On Brutal Thrones

I follow him around a loose patch of stone.

“Careful.”

My boot slips anyway, but Fenric catches my elbow before I go down.

“Got you.”

“Thanks.”

He gives my arm a quick squeeze before letting go, and we keep moving.

The wind tears strands from the braid I made with shaking hands this morning and whips them across my face. Every part of me feels used up, but I remind myself that this stretch isn’t endless. We aren’t wandering anymore. We know exactly where we’re going.

Up.

Toward the Spire.

I glance toward the Vultures despite Thorian’s warning and catch sight of them moving along a distant ridge. Then they disappear behind a massive formation of rock.

My shoulders loosen.

I know I should hate not knowing where they are. Instead, I’m relieved. Let them disappear. For the next few minutes, I can pretend there isn’t another team. That this is only us, moving toward the last climb of the Trials.

Eventually, the trail ends at a massive tumble of boulders blocking the way forward.

Talon stares up at them. “Naturally.”

Fenric gives a tired laugh. “Were you expecting stairs?”

“At this point, yes. Nice stairs. Maybe a railing.”

Thorian is already climbing.

“Of course,” Talon mutters.

Despite myself, I smile.

Thorian reaches the first ledge, braces himself, then grabs Talon’s forearm and hauls him up. Talon immediately drops onto his stomach and reaches back for me.

“Come on, Lady Nocturne.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

He’s right, which is irritating.

I grab his hand. Fenric boosts me from below while Talon pulls, and between them I scramble onto the ledge, my knees scraping painfully against the stone. Then we turn and help Fenric.

Again and again, we repeat the process. Thorian climbs and reaches back. Talon pulls. Fenric boosts. I squeeze into narrow spaces and find footholds the others miss. No one has to tell us what to do anymore.

It should be miserable. It is miserable. My palms sting, my legs shake, and more than once I have to stop long enough to drag air into my lungs. But there’s a strange comfort in the rhythm of it too. We know how to do this now. Not just climb mountains, but survive together.

At last, Thorian disappears over the top of the final boulder.

For several seconds, I hear nothing but the wind. Then his face appears above me.

“Come up.”