"That's it, I'm going up," Riv declared, shoving her blade into her skirt and placing a foot on the wall.
"No need, love," Kael said, making us all jump. His blond hair hung down as he leaned over the edge above us. He smiled. "I was more on point than I thought. The Keep is within eyeshot."
Cries of relief and whoops of joy came from our group. I grinned at Riv and then at Isla, who had tears running down her pretty, dirt-splotched face.
"I'll stay up here and guide you all out. It's a pretty straight shot, but just to be safe..." Kael trailed off, hopping up and looking around for threats. "Coast is clear. Let's get out of here!"
Rion stepped up, offering his strength to help us climb up, and since I was at the front of the group, I also volunteered to help. I couldn’t just stand around. Kael grabbed hold of nearly every single girl and helped pull them up the rest of the way. When it was just myself and the three remaining guards, Girane patted his thigh, indicating it was my turn. Nobody was screaming in terror, so we were still safe, but I was still wary.It only takes a moment for things toshift drastically.
Pushing away my more negative thoughts, I stepped up onto the guard's thigh and reached as high as I could. Tiro put his palms beneath my foot and boosted me up into Kael's arms. With an 'oof.' I was on high ground, and my eyes squinted as the bright morning sun nearly blinded me. I scanned the landscape, spotting the Keep.
"We did it!" Belinda exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Other girls joined in, excitement taking precedence over any other emotion.
Riv walked up next to me, rolling her eyes. "I'll be most grateful to get the hell away from that viper."
Luckily, the viper in question didn't hear her. She was too busy trying to tame her hair and clean up her face in case any of the royals were to find us first.
"Agreed," I replied. Delusion seemed to run deep when it came to the royals and this entire sham of an event. I still hadn't pieced together exactly what was going on, but one thing was certain—I would find out, and I would make sure that whoever was responsible for such atrocities was brought to justice.
The sounds of the guards behind me crawling out of the tunnel had me straightening my spine. I looked around at our ragtag group, marked with scrapes, bruises, dirt, and blood. A calm washed over me as I accepted my self-appointed mission, and I knew we had to get back into that damn castle.
"Ladies and gents," I announced. Every person turned to me, and I inhaled deeply and gestured to the Keep. "Shall we?"
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but when the group parted, making a clear shot to the very front of the line, I wondered when I had stepped into the role of leader. I came here wanting to be unnoticed, unliked, and free of any connections to anybody here. At some point, that had shifted. As I marched to the front of the group, with Kael, Rivka, and Isla right behind me, I realized that I actually cared. Not just about my three friends, but about all of these girls. Maybe it was the teacher in me, the protector, but I was completely invested now.
Chapter twelve
Aswemadeourway over the last of the rocky terrain and into the sandy grass, we were all on high alert. There was no telling what we might encounter and when. We needed to be smart and vigilant.
"Can we please stop at that pond and get some water? I'm dying of thirst," Tiona whined.
Several others piped up at the suggestion, and I had to admit, my throat felt like it was on fire.
"A quick one. We need to get inside as soon as possible," I stated as we hit the gravel pathway that we had walked not two days ago when we got off the ships. Speaking of, I turned and looked out to sea, relieved to find three ships still anchored a ways off.At least we still have a way out...
With water in sight, there was no holding back anyone. Nearly everyone began running to the pond, eager to quench their thirst.
"Shhhh!" Riv barked. "We're all bloody thirsty, but I don't feel like dying this close to the goal."
"They're just excited, Riv," Isla responded, smiling at our friend, who looked ready to murder the lot of them.
"I don't give two goat shits, Isla. It's as though none of them have ever read a damn story before. This is the turning point. Where everyone thinks they're saved, and they let their guard down. What happens then?" She dragged her finger across her throat. "They die."
I laughed. "Wow, Riv. That's some dark stuff you've been reading."
We reached the pond, and I all but fell to my knees, eager to get a drink. I dipped my hands into the cool water and nearly cried at the way every tiny cut on my hands stung from the liquid. It would be a miracle if I didn't end up with an infection.
"Oh, fuck!" Becca cursed, and I lifted my eyes from the water cupped in my palms to where she was crouched down. Her face was ghostly white as she pointed at something.
"What is it?" Kael demanded, dropping his hands and letting all of the refreshing water in them fall back into the pond as he stood and marched over to where Becca was.
Her mouth was moving as though she was trying to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. Kael followed her finger with his eyes to a patch of reeds on the other side of the pond that butted up against the stone walls of the keep.
"Stop drinking the water!" he snapped, earning gasps of shock and fear from the girls. I dropped the handful of water I was just about to drink and hastily wiped my hands on my skirt as I hopped up and ran over to him.
"What is that?" I questioned, already looking for a stick or something to fish out whatever thatthingwas. It was just beneath the surface and appeared whitish-blue, about the size of a large carp. But it wasn’t a fish. I knew that much.
"T-t-t-" Becca stammered just as I spotted a long and thick enough branch on the ground between a tree and some rocks near the water’s edge.
