“Yes,” Mari countered. “Duck means different things to those of varying heights.”
Sebastian’s breath drifted across my neck as we crept along the passageway. With his tall body doubled over, I could feel him moving close to me.
Then, suddenly, I could see. We rounded a corner, and the exit shone like a beacon. Sebastian let go of my belt, and I released Matt’s tail.
Moments later, we were back outside. I was never so happy to see the sun. We untied ourselves and resumed our jog along the path.
Two more obstacles to go. My wrist ached, although I could wiggle my fingers now. I was covered in flaking, half-dry muck, and I had bruises everywhere. But we’d made it through six obstacles, and the feeling of accomplishment was heady.
The trees closed in as the path dropped. We rounded a curve and saw obstacle seven.
23
Anna
The second-to-last obstacle was a metal and wood ladder straddling a pit of what looked like thick mud. The rungs were not evenly spaced—a few were quite wide apart.
Ryan stood off to one side with crossed arms, watching us.
“Do you have a report?” Sebastian asked.
The Sabre grinned. “Of twelve teams, only four have successfully completed the obstacles, and they’ve piled up at the gorge. We’ve let the others continue, just for the experience.”
“Excellent,” Sebastian said. I wasn’t sure if he was pleased, or not. Impossible to tell.
I glanced at him. He raised a brow and gestured to the obstacle. “Assessment?”
This was a familiar drill now. I turned to Matt. His beast paws wouldn’t be able to grip the bars. “Can you jump it?”
Matt contemplated the mud. It looked farther than the river had been wide, and he seemed to agree. “Doon’t think soo. Hoow deep is the mud?”
Mari broke off a branch from a nearby tree and leaned over the edge to sink it in. She had to heave to pull it out—it was that thick.
I gave it a guess. “About four and a half feet.”
“It’s more like tar than mud,” Mari said, her forehead wrinkling. “Don’t think I can wade through that.”
“Hoow’s yoour moonkey impersoonation?” Matt asked her.
Mari regarded him cautiously. “Depends, I think, on just what a monkey is.”
I enlightened her. “It’s an animal that can swing through trees.”
Her orange eyes rose to the ladder. “I don’t know. I might be able to do it.”
“Can you carry me across?” Matt asked.
That was a lot of weight to dangle from those arms, strong as they may be. “I have an issue too,” I said, raising my bandaged wrist. “It’s much better, but don’t think swinging from it is in the cards just yet.” I stared at the ladder. Was this as far as our team could go?
“The worst that can happen,” Mari theorized, “Is that I get muddier than I am already. I say I try to get Matt across. If it works, I can come back for you.”
“Spooken like soomeone whoo dooesn’t have fur,” Matt complained.
Sebastian hadn’t said a single word through our planning, but now he gestured impatiently with one hand. “I will carry Anna.”
The thought had crossed my mind, but I’d dismissed it as ridiculous. And to be honest, his expression wasn’t encouraging.
I cleared my throat. “You can carry me while swinging from those.” It was a statement rather than a question.
