Kaden’s face tightened, but he didn’t argue. Not that I was asking. I was getting across that cavern — with or without him.
Wordlessly, Kaden folded his wings, wincing at the effort it took. I imagined that it hurt like hell, but if the Vikkarni venom was sapping his magic, he might not be able to spirit them away.
Backing up until my heel brushed the stone wall behind us, I squared my shoulders and forced out a breath, preparing for a running start.
I pushed off the wall just as the merpeople sent another hailstorm of arrows arching toward us, and my stomach left me as I leapt over the yawning pit.
I yelped as one of the merpeople’s arrows glanced offmy hip, but my feet found purchase on the narrow stone column, and I landed in a crouch. I dragged in a breath as my fingers curled around the edge of the rock, deliberately avoiding the temptation to look down.
My heart was pounding so hard that it hurt, but I forced myself to breathe.
Crouched on the stone column suspended fifty feet overhead, I’d be nearly impossible to hit. But Kaden was still waiting on that ledge — an easy mark for their arrows.
Taking another breath to anchor myself, I straightened my legs ever so slightly. Without the stability of the rock wall behind me, I felt suddenly much less steady.
It was also at that moment I realized my miscalculation.
While the distance between columns had seemed feasible from the ledge, that had been anticipating each jump with a slight running start. But the column on which I now stood was tiny — barely three feet across.
Not only that, but from my new vantage point, I could tell that the other columns were spaced farther apart as they neared the opposite ledge, as though whoever had placed them had anticipated the onset of an intruder’s fatigue.
I wasn’t certain I’d be able to make those jumps, and I was evenmoreworried for Kaden, injured as he was.
Seven more columns stretched across the cavern, mocking me even as they dared me to jump. But something had shifted the moment I felt the lure of that magic; it had become my center, somehow. The magic itself called to me.
Icouldn’tturn back, I realized. I needed that book. I would get it or die trying.
Concentrating on the second column, I threw all my power into my legs and jumped. The open air whooshed around me, and all my muscles clenched.
My ankle wobbled as I landed, but I quickly regained my balance. I leapt before I could lose momentum, and my foot just barely caught the edge.
Throwing my weight forward, I sent myself sprawling across the column. The impact sent a jolt of pain through my chest, and I twisted to look over my shoulder.
Kaden had begun his crossing.
Even with his injuries and the poison sapping his strength, he still made the jump more gracefully than I had.
Then the merpeople unleashed another torrent of arrows. I couldn’t rest any longer.
Ripping my gaze away from Kaden, I rose onto shaky legs and focused on the next column. I was so tired from our battle with the Vikkarni that I wasn’t sure I had it in me to make it across the deadly chasm. But I clenched my fists and threw myself forward, bounding off the column with as much force as I could muster.
I stumbled as my feet found purchase, nearly pitching over the edge headfirst. Somehow, I managed to regain my balance and avoid taking an arrow to the leg.
I stared out at the next four columns. These were spaced much farther apart. I’d have to jump them one at a time, and the last would take everything I had.
Rallying my strength, I pushed off from the stone, but just as I did, a searing pain cut across the side of my neck.
I yelped at the same moment I became airborne, and the extra movement stole my forward momentum.
I flailed mid-jump and felt the front of my boot slip off the edge. Pain ripped up my knee as it glanced off the side of the column, and my stomach wobbled as I fumbled for something to hold on to.
My hands slid over smooth stone, but I managed to halt my descent.
My muscles burned as I gripped the edge of the column for dear life, trying to pull myself up. Beads of sweat slid down my temples, but I was able to haul myself onto the column.
I reached up to cup the side of my neck, and my fingers came away sticky with blood. But there was no arrow sticking out of me, so I decided to consider it a win.
Dragging in a shaky breath, I stared across the next expanse. It was even farther than the last jump I’d made, and that one had nearly killed me. My knee throbbed, and my muscles were jelly, but I knew I didn’t have a choice.
