A ripping sound drew my attention to Mari, who was detaching a strip off the bottom of her tunic. I hoped she wore underwear. I didn’t particularly want to witness any bare ogre butt as we navigated the obstacles.
I pulled my sweatshirt sleeve back, and Sebastian deigned to expertly wrap the cloth around it. I winced as he pulled it tight with each revolution and then ripped the end in two to tie it off. Although I shivered when the tips of his fingers touched my skin, he didn’t even look up at me.
It annoyed me. “I see bedside manner is something only the females of your species achieve.”
“They are healers,” he replied, but not without heat. “I am a warrior.”
You’re an arrogant bastard.The words slipped through my mind just as he snatched his hands away.
I wiggled my fingers. It did feel better, although I wasn’t about to admit it. “I don’t think it will take much abuse for the next bit. But I do heal fast.”
The Bellati nodded. “Your limitations will feed into the team effort. We will be forced to compensate for it.”
I glared. He was right, but the last thing I wanted to be was any more of a liability than I was already.
Matt butted me in the ribs with his big head. “S’okay, Angel. I don’t even have mitts at the moment. We all have limitations.”
I drifted fingers through his fur, and he leaned into the caress. The luminous green gaze met my own, and for just that moment, only he existed in the world.
“We need to keep moving,” Sebastian barked at us.
We set the poles into a waiting receptacle and continued on. The path wound upward, and the ground grew rocky. It ended on a plateau that had a rift through the center. But the river that caused it wasn’t that far away—it tumbled and swirled about twenty feet down.
The gap was about fifty feet across. My gut twisted as I examined the rope bridge that was suspended across it—it could only loosely be termed such. It was three ropes. The center one was thick, almost eight inches in diameter, with two smaller ones for handholds to each side of it.
It would take two good hands to cross it. And I didn’t have them.
22
Anna
Matt eyed the bridge, and then—the river.
“Think I can pop over that,” he said. “Better to jump than try that thing.”
Mari had her doubts about the bridge, too. She examined the rushing river and declared, “I can cross that.”
I looked from her to the river. “That’s one hell of a current, Mari. Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I don’t topple easily.”
I glanced at Matt. “You’re sure you can clear that?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Take one end of the rope with you. We can tie the other to Mari. If you fasten it to one of those big trees on the other side, she can use it to pull herself across.”
Matt’s eyes lit up. “Great idea, Angel.”
Sebastian stared at the river, and then at the bridge. He gestured to Matt.
“What be your range? Be honest.”
Matt stiffened, but then he answered. “The other bank is higher than this one. That makes it more a sixty-footer than fifty. That’ll be as far as I’ve hopped.”
The Bellati looked at Mari. “That current be extreme. Are you sure you can cross it?”
Mari looked uneasy. “Sure, no. Depends on how deep it is. It will likely be a challenge.”
