I squeeze his narrow waist. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” We continue our slow descent. It should be terrifying to fall into nothing, six inches from a cliffside, but Tovian’s slow feeding of the rope was almost hypnotic.
“Whoa, Sunshine.” His arm tightens hard around my ribs, jerking me upright. “You’re that tired?”
“Guess so.” I shake myself alert, feeling drugged. “I walked all night.”
“How long do you think we have before they attack?”
“A day or two. Three at the most.”
We land in a dusty canyon. Tovian ties off the rope and takes my hand, leading me down a trail. “It’s not far now. Just so you’re not surprised, you should know the Ansi have a ritual. A rule, if you want to call it that.”
“Oh?” I was too fatigued to summon much interest.
“Anyone who leaves the village and returns must bathe and be painted. It’s how we know you’re one of us, and it helps keep Big Eater away by washing away the scent of prey.”
“A bath sounds terrific, Tovian. As does food and a nap.”
“We can get you those things.”
The world had taken on a hazy glow that was entirely in my mind. Or not. I’ve never been here before. Was the mistiness of the canyon evaporating fog, and I was too tired to make sense of it? Possibly. Probably. I stumbled.
“You’re dead on your feet, Sunshine,” Tovian said, propping me upright. “How much have you been working since I last saw you?”
“A lot.” I didn’t mind clinging to his solid, muscular warmth. Not even remotely. I leaned into him, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. “I have to get back, though.”
“You’re no use to anyone until you rest.”
“I can’tsleepwhen we’re facing the biggest battle since the night of the invasion,” I insist. My feet betray me, weaving unsteadily. Tovian propels me forward in a straight-ish line with his palm in the center of my back. “It might already be underway. I should call them, but I ran off without a charger and my sat phone is almost dead…”
“Save it, for now.” Tovian’s handsome face turns stony. “Can you handle meeting my mother?”
“The Ansi queen?” I took a deep breath and steadied myself. The world hadn’t lost that shimmering unreality born of sleep deprivation, but Iwasroyalty. I could pull myself together long enough to meet another queen—but Tovian’s mother? In this state? It didn’t seem as if I had much choice. “Yes. Especially if it will help our case.”
“I make no promises.”
“Youhaveto, Tovian. We need you. Do you know how many people will die if you don’t help us?”
My heart sinks at the idea that I’ve come all this way for nothing.
“I’m not one of your subjects, Sunshine.”
“I know. I’m not trying to issue commands, I’m desperate. We’reallat risk, Tovian. If the invaders win, how long do you think it will take them to raze the jungle and root you out? Joining forces with us now gives your people the best chance of survival. Right now, the invaders have the upper hand. The only reason they haven’t claimed victoryis because—”
I’m talking too fast.
“Save it for my mother. I’m not the one who needs convincing.” He kisses my forehead. “This is the entrance to my village.”
I must be hallucinating from lack of sleep. All I see is a bare rock wall.
Chapter 12
Tovian leads me around an outcropping, my half-empty pack dangling sadly from his broad shoulders. The seemingly solid cliff face opens into narrow canyon.
To my left tumbles a silvery waterfall. I wonder where it comes from. I saw no source of water along the top of the cliffside. I’m too tired to bother asking about it.
The waterfall joins a stream. We follow a pathway along the bank. More waterfalls, thin strings threading their way down mossy, fern-flecked volcanic rock, feed the stream until it rushes furiously through its carved-rock .
There was a steep climb down a hill. Tovian gave me his hand to steady me, his muscular legs braced in an open stance that left nothing to my imagination. Never had I ever seen a man as fine as he was. Noticing only underscored my travel-worn, dirt-stained, exhausted condition.
