A scream pierced the air, halting all of us in our tracks. Frozen, we looked back, trying to see where the sound had come from. The walkway was too narrow to see everyone, but nobody was moving. Whispers came from the back of the line, working their way toward us at the front.
"It wasn't one of us," Tiona said.
"Quiet." Kael shouted. "Listen."
All I could hear was the pounding of my own heart and the distant sound of the waves crashing against the shore. A roar came next, followed by more screams. By the sound of it, they weren't very close. Probably near the forest, which sent a cold shiver down my back as I realized just how loud that woman had screamed. And that roar...
"Tigers?" Becca gasped, full of terror.
"No," Kael answered somberly. "I'd know that roar anywhere."
We all looked at him urgently, desperate to know what our next challenge was going to be.
"Bears," he supplied.
My stomach sank. The final animal of the four kingdoms that we hadn't encountered yet.
"What do we do?!" someone shouted.
"We're all going to die," another whimpered.
"We're going to stop talking and keep moving. There's nothing we can do for whatever poor soul is out there right now. Bears have an excellent sense of smell. It's how they track their prey," Kael explained.
"Now, let's fucking move," Rivka barked, snapping everyone out of the fear trance they'd fallen into.
We didn't so much as whisper a single word as we moved faster than before. Each roar that reached us spurred us on, giving us the energy we needed to keep going. When the screams abruptly stopped, I sighed. Maybe it made me a bad person, but I was thankful that the victim's suffering had ended.
The sky slowly began to lighten as the sun rose from the sea, and it should have been a relief. A moment of triumph that we survived the night, but for me, all the sun brought was a new day of unknowns. I wasn't sure what was worse—terror in the darkness, where the carnage was hidden... or terror in the broad daylight, where you could see the things that scared you, look them in the eye, and fully witness their deadly wrath.
My mouth was so dry it hurt to swallow, and I knew dehydration had already begun. With the amount of running and walking we'd all endured over the past eighteen hours, we would need water. The sooner, the better.
"Kael," I rasped, holding my throat. "We've been keeping this pace for over an hour now. How long do you think we have until we reach the Keep? Water is going to become necessary."
Not stopping, he nodded. "I think we should be getting close. I'm going to have to climb up and see where we're at. Let's keep going a little longer, and then I'll take a look. Our best bet for water is at the Keep. There is a freshwater pond just outside of the front gate. The path we're on will lead us right to it."
"Okay," I croaked out, then relayed the plan to Riv and Isla, who were right behind me. They'd pass it along so that everyone was on the same page.
Sea birds were circling overhead, calling out to one another without a care in the world. That was a good sign. If dragons were to show up, the birds would be the first to know and their scattering would be a dead giveaway. I watched as they swooped and glided, some of them eagerly swallowing down whatever they'd just found in the sand or water. Two black birds joined the circling flock, and I squinted, trying to get a better look. Ravens.Just like the ones that had been in the forest yesterday.
"Riv," I whispered over my shoulder.
"Already spotted them. About a mile back," she said, her voice low.
I gritted my teeth. We'd been followed by ravens nearly the entire time we'd been out here, and that could only mean one thing. Corvus knew where we were and what was happening. His cold, dark eyes flashed in my mind. The look of complete boredom as we'd walked through that gate yesterday. He had something to do with this, I was one hundred percent sure of it now, and I couldn't wait to get back to the keep and raise hell.
"Okay," Kael announced, coming to a stop. "I'm going up there to see where we're at. With any luck, we'll be right where we need to be and this madness can end."
"Be careful," I said. I'd only known Kael a short time, but I cared about him. A lot. My heart couldn't handle it if something happened to him.
He grinned roguishly, in a completely Kael way, and winked. "Don't worry about me, Eves. Be right back."
Kael was so tall that he was able to walk up the side of the rocks with each foot on one side of the wall. He searched for a good hold with his left hand and then pushed off the opposite wall, hoisting himself up and over the ledge, disappearing from sight.
"I don't think I've ever been so nervous," Isla admitted.
"Please, let us be close," Becca murmured under her breath as she gazed up at the spot Kael had vanished from.
Seconds ticked by, which felt like hours. I shifted on my feet, ready to do— well, I wasn't sure what. But I was ready.
