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SUMMER
“You did it,” I cried, hugging Adone. When Tumbles squeaked, squished between us, I put him down. He peered over the edge of the spire.
Adone stood, lifting me until our mouths could meet. Heat flared between us, and I couldn’t wait to be with him again.
But this sure wasn’t the place. We were so high up, and the space wasn’t more than a few feet across, and oh shit, I didn’t dare look to see how far we were off the ground.
However, he’d flown!
Whoever manned the monitors must’ve decided they wouldn’t find worthy footage, because they flew high into the sky. I was sure they watched, though, awaiting the next opportunity to zip back down and take videos of whatever would drive the viewers to increase their bets.
When we separated, I fed Adone a grin. “I can’t exactly say I’m having fun, but I’m grateful to this Game for bringing us together.”
“Mate,” he sighed, tugging me back into his arms. “I am too.”
I held him until his body stopped shaking. “You’re worn out.”
“I will rest, and we will fly again.”
“Imagine. Did you ever think you’d say something like that?”
“Never,” he vowed. “You were right. I held myself back. It gave me satisfaction to show Vunne he couldn’t bend me into something I didn’t choose to be. I wanted him to fail at everything he tried, because whatever he did was forced upon us.”
“I understand. You had to control something when everything else in your life was spiraling.”
“I have no control now, but you are right. In this, I made the choice.”
A jolt went through the spire, and I blinked at Adone. “What’s—”
Another bang rang out, and the spire shook. I dropped to my knees and crawled to the edge to peer down.
The creatures bellowed and looked up at us. One backed away and charged the tall stone structure, ramming its horns into the smooth base. The spire shuddered. Did they do this regularly? It would explain why so many were crumbling.
A hum nearby revealed the monitors, hovering nearby so they could catch our screams as we fell. I gave them the dual middle finger.
But my satisfaction from the gesture faded fast when more bangs rang out and the spire trembled.
“They’re going to knock us down,” I said, my skin crawling.
“Give me a few more ticks,” Adone said, still breathing fast. “If nothing else, I’ll fly us to another tower, then another, keeping ahead of them.” He gestured to the spires tracking across the huge cavern for as far as I could see. “They’ll give up eventually.”
Would they? We’d see. They seemed determined to get to us.
Another beast rammed the base, then others, until it felt like an earthquake shook the planet.
Adone spread his legs wide to keep his balance, and he held his arms out to me. Tumbles rolled close and clung to my leg.
With Tumbles in my arms, I rose and staggered toward Adone, struggling not to fall. He lifted me and swung me up so I could grab onto his shoulder with Tumbles tucked close between us. The little creature stared up at us with complete trust in his eyes.
“Hold on,” Adone said. He dove off the spire. His wings snapped out, and he soared. A few flaps, and he brought us to another spike, landing on the smaller, rockier surface. This time, he didn’t wait for the beasts to catch up. A quick rest, and he flew further. He kept going, taking us across the enormous valley. We left the giant beasts behind.
The monitors followed, and I swore I heard millions of viewers grumbling as their bets against us were lost.
Eventually, we ran out of stone spires. Stopping on one of the last, we studied the direction we still had to travel before we reached the outer cliff.
“Do I see the end, or is it just a mirage?” I asked. My throat ached, and my belly had gone snarly.
The sun had crept lower, and soon, night would steal it away.
