Page 146 of A Thief Among Fae

Thunder shakes the cavern. Needle-sharp stalactites crack and drop from the cavernous ceiling. My magic whips out, knocking several clear of the bridge.

Finnian yells, “You trying to kill us, Auri?”

She grimaces. “No more lightning. Perhaps if he were better at dodging. . .”

“You should go next,” I blurt out, even though my gut says bad, bad idea. “If the beast tries to capsize the bridge while you cross, I can hold it up with my Gift. Desmond and Finnian need you over there.”

Auri’s jaw sets, and the glint in her amber eyes hardens. “You know the truth about the vow, don’t you?”

The meaning behind her words is like a punch to the gut. She’s known all along. I nod. “If I die, Desmond dies too.”

“I can’t leave you unguarded. If you cross first⁠—”

Finnian cries out, and a draugr’s hissing laugh raises the hairs on my neck.

“If I cross first, I’ll have to focus on the bridge while my back is to the draugr,” I argue. “I have my knives. I can hold the beast off on my own.”

She hesitates as if deciding pains her. Then she gives in with a nod. “May Danu be with you, Cyn. I’m starting to like you.”

I don’t know what to say, so I nod back instead.

She holds her bow ready as she crosses the first quarter. Then three tendrils spiral up, latch onto the center of the bridge, and pull.

The stakes creak as the bridge buckles. “No!” I shout, gripping the stakes with my magic and willing them to stay in the stone.

Auri runs, leaping over the tendrils. She lands on the other side and swivels to aim. She shoots with enviable speed, but as soon as the tentacles drop, others surge to take their place.

“Run!” Auri yells at me.

The tentacles constrict like a snake, the planks creaking and cracking. I hesitate at the edge of the cliff because if I don’t stop the beast now, we won’t have a way out of the tomb. I have to⁠—

“Run!” Auri screams again. Her fear halts every thought in my mind. I sprint, my life depending on it.

I untether the daggers strapped to my thighs as I throw my arms out for balance. The blades fly, slashing through the tentacles. I dare to hope I’ll make it.

Halfway across.

Then the plank beneath me cracks, my foot plunging through. I cry out as I fall. My body slams into the bridge, knocking the breath from my lungs.

I hold on tight and pull my leg free. The bridge sways beneath me as the beast batters it, trying to knock it down. My frantic, pounding pulse roars in my ears. This is worse than fighting the draugr wight. The beast in the chasm is too far below to harm, and I have no idea how I’d kill it anyway. If I can’t make it across, I’ll die here. I’ll never hug Evie again. I’ll never have a chance to apologize, to tell her that I love her.

I have to keep going. I crawl, the bridge swaying too much to stand. Splinters dig into my hands. My knives defend me on instinct.

Slice. A tentacle plops onto the planks. I throw it off. Slice. Another joins the darkness below.

I’m so close—I can see Auri shooting the tentacles that creep toward me.

Then the beast below hisses. A writhing mass of tentacles rises around me, outnumbering my knives. They pull on the bridge with merciless vigor, rocking it so hard I’m forced to hug the planks to hold on.

A stake pops loose. I scream as the bridge twists, dangling me over the chasm. I kick empty air, gasping as I look down. Gods, help me. I can’t survive this drop.

I release the knives, letting them fall as I focus on the remaining stakes. My magic strains under the weight of the bridge, my body, and the monster’s pull.

Auri’s lightning strikes the dark tendrils in a burst of sparks, but the beast doesn’t let go. It yanks again, and the rope snaps.

The bridge swings like a released pendulum. I hold on for dear life, every second tortuously long as the chasm wall grows closer and closer. I squeeze my eyes shut, my panic choking me. There is nothing I can do except brace for impact.

My chest slams against the chasm wall, knocking the breath from my lungs. I wheeze as stars swarm my vision. I swallow the metallic tang of blood in my mouth and look up. Maybe I can climb the bridge like a ladder. I’d be on the wrong side of the cavern, but what choice do I have?