Page 128 of The Heart Trials

I whirl on him. “You cannot expect me to let her go down that mountain attached to you after what just happened. You can’t expect me to risk that.”

His jaw sets. “I would not promise you this if I was not certain that I can do this. I know you love her. I know the ship is for her. I will do this. Even if it costs my life.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you, Axira! Don’t you believe me?”

Hearing it again rattles something loose inside me, and it feels like being shoved to the edge all over again. I shake my head.

“Not love in this twisted, sick way my father and the Skyborn tout it,” Caelus presses, “but in the way my mother loved me. She did everything she could to make sure I see my father for who he really is. It cost her her life.”

“That’s too high a cost.” The words fall from my lips like a whispered confession. “Losing people you care about. It’s too much.” I unstopper the vial and hold it to Fina’s lips. “Drink up, quickly, now.”

She drains it.

“Axira!” Caelus shouts. “How do I get both of you down now?”

I blink, my head a world of chaos. He is right about hiking. We’ll never last.

“Over the cliff is fastest,” I say. “You’re right.”

He growls in frustration, but it’s done. The only way is forward. “Let’s move quickly,” he says. “We’ll see how far we can get.” He hooks us up to our gear, strapping Serafina to me with a harness. He double-checks the clips, and we start our descent.

The first few feet go well. My toes find holds in the rock like muscle memory. Serafina is pressed tight against my back and her breath tickles the nape of my neck. Going down is a lot faster than going up. I let out my rope inch by inch, and we manage to descend a few hundred feet. Then a few hundred more. The mountain swallows the sound of our gear clinking and the scrape of stone beneath our boots. Wind whistles sharp between the cliffs. My muscles burn and my eyes get heavier. I force them open, digging my nails into my skin to urge myself awake.

In a half an hour, we’ve covered what took us hours to climb. We should feel proud. Relieved.

I just feel tired.

Devastatingly tired.

And the weight of Serafina, as little as she is, isn’t helping.

An hour passes. Maybe more. Soon we reach the first ledge. We hike, bent against the wind, until we reach the next cliff drop. We immediately start securing our ropes and ease over the side. The sun will be setting soon. We’ve made good progress, but I’m not sure exactly how much. Weariness pushes needles behind my eyes. The base of the mountain is thousands of feet below. The cliffs blur together in tones of gray and shadow. Serafina hasn’t said a word. She’s rigid on my back, coughing every few minutes, wheezing in the thin mountain air. The harness keeps her anchored to me, but I can feel her squirm occasionally. The tension of the straps holding her to me is crushing my chest.

“You okay?” Caelus calls from just below.

I nod. Or I think I do.

We keep going, dropping another hundred feet. The setting sun casts a warm haze across the cliffs. The elevation still presses on my lungs, like the air is too thin to breathe anything but regret.

I should have let Caelus take her.

My legs tremble. A pulse beats behind my eyes, blooming heat. The world moves—just slightly, like the tilt of a ship. I blink. The cliff shifts out of focus.

My left foot scrapes the rock. I pause, gripping the cord harder, and I catch myself, barely. I press flat to the wall. I try to breathe deep. Focus.

Find one hold, then another. I try to focus. One hold. Another.

But everything feels…far away. Like I’m sinking into myself. The wind dulls. The light dims at the edges. The burn in my limbs doesn’t flare the way it should. It’s quieter.

No.

Serafina’s nails dig into my shoulders. But my arms don’t respond. They’re slow and heavy like iron. My muscles lag, like I’m dragging them through sand. I try to flex my fingers. Nothing.

The sedative.

The thought barely registers before my limbs buckle inward, tingling and distant. My eyelids feel too thick, my thoughts, syrup-slow. “Almost there,” I whisper to Serafina, though I don’t know if we are. She shifts, adjusting her grip.