“Maybe I wanted to fall off,” I countered.
Silver eyes sharpened into steel. “Try it and see what happens.”
I gasped with fake outrage. “Are you threatening me?”
“Maybe I am.” Flames climbed up his head. “What are you going to do about it?”
I pointed at his chest. “Don’t you dare tempt me.”
“You’re all talk.” He smirked cruelly.
“Move it along,” Scorpius ordered as he grabbed Malum by the back of the neck and dragged him up the side of the mountain. Orion motioned for me to walk forward like a gentleman, and we resumed our hike.
Malum shot dirty glares back at me over his shoulder.
I mimed snapping his neck.
His eyes widened, and it was my turn to smirk.
“Watch out, baby girl,” I mouthed, and he shook his head like I disturbed him.
Mission accomplished. Slay (in the celebratory sense).
Thirty minutes later, huffing on thin air, I asked, “Why again do we have to go so far away to train?”
“For the tenth time,” Scorpius said impatiently, “so we don’t accidentally hypnotize our fellow soldiers and murder them. We don’t know exactly how far Orion’s voice projects, but in our experience, it travels much further than normal sound.”
I sighed and kept climbing. “Well, I’m willing to risk it.”
“We know,” Orion said loudly.
Scorpius and Malum stopped moving on the side of the mountain. They were entranced. Frozen. Eyes glazed over.
“That shut them up,” I snickered, and Orion narrowed his eyes like I was ridiculous, but I didn’t miss the way the corner of his mouth turned up.
We had a secret.
It was nice to have something over the other kings, something only the two of us knew.
Unfortunately, they reanimated a second later and resumed climbing up the mountainside, none the wiser that Orion had temporarily frozen them with his voice.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Malum stopped climbing and pointed at a low boulder. “Here will work.”
Sun god help whoever had to purchase property with him, if this was the extent of his judgment.
“Oh yes,” I said sarcastically. “Thank the sun god we’ve found this rock in particular.” I patted the top. “I like the poop-brown color.”
We were halfway up the side of the jagged cliff face surrounded by nothing but snow and icy wind.
The visibility was shit.
Malum snarled, “That is not funny.”
Scorpius snickered, and I pointed at him with satisfaction. Malum looked like he was having an aneurysm.
“You sure about that?” I asked as I kicked a rock, and it tumbled off the mountain’s sheer cliff face. I admired the steep incline; you could really do some damage if you fell off. All your bones would be easily broken.
“Oooh, I’m going to fall.” I flailed my arms and pretended to stumble.
