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I stare at him. “Oh, is that all?”
He might as well have asked me to find some craft supplies and make a pair while I’m climbing.
He puts his hand on my shoulder. His talons are gone, replaced by chipped fingernails. “You have changed so much since I first saw you. You have surrendered your rage, so I know you can let go of hope and fear too.”
“What am I supposed to do? Just enjoy climbing for the fun of it?”
“That’s what I was doing.”
I grit my teeth as annoyance surges up because Theo has unlocked the secret before me. But then, he’s been in Under for far longer than me. He’s had time to change, become king, and then almost disappear. I force out a breath. This is the second chance that he deserves after all that suffering.
And me? What do I deserve?
I reach up for my next handhold, only to have it crumble in my fingers. My heartbeat quickens and my breathing shallows. Fear sweat beads on my back. Theo darts behind me as though to catch me.
“I’m okay.” This time.
His hand settles on my back. “I owe you a favor or two, so I’d rather you not fall.”
My arms are tired, and my fingers are cramping, and Julie has found no ledge to rest on. I know I can’t do this forever.
“You don’t owe me anything.” I find a new handhold and pull myself up—ignoring the distance between me and the ground. I’m paste if I fall. “But I’d be more than happy to give you a hand.”
He laughs and lifts his eyebrows. “I think I’d like to taste you again.”
I study him for a few seconds. “I’d like that too.”
He leans in and licks the side of my face. “Delicious.”
I can’t stifle the laugh that bubbles up. We are thousands of feet in the air, one small slip from death, but still playing games. My life has been precarious for so long I no longer care. It’s then I feel it. The ripping of my skin along my back.
23
Michael
Iwatch Theo flit up to Joe, then as Joe sprouts wings like he’s an oversized bat. The last thing I want is him swooping in to gloat at me. I don’t see Julie approach because she’s on my blind side, but I feel the pulse of air and smell her skin. It’s only then I turn, careful that my horns don’t clip the spire.
“I haven’t changed,” I growl.
What makes Theo and Joe so special that they’ve grown wings so they can fly up? Why am I continuing to climb?
“I can see that. There’s no rush.” She clings to the rock and her wings droop. She’s tiring.
“You don’t need to keep checking on me. I’ve been climbing Under for years.” But never this high. Never with fatal consequences. I don’t like the way my heart bounces high in my throat with every move.
But I can’t climb down, not now. I must keep going. I scale a few feet higher, and she stays with me. I guess she doesn’t need to leave me since Joe and Theo both have wings. They dart around the spire, then dip down.
“How’s Gerrard going?” I can’t believe she brought him with us. He’s not one of us…unless she fucked him while I wasn’t there?
“Still climbing. He’s finding it harder because he has so many changes to undo.”
I grunt and pull myself up again, glad that he’s not finding it easy. My fingers scrabble for grip. If I fall, will she catch me? Will I be able to keep going or do I need to start from the bottom? My foot slips and for a moment I’m holding on with one hand, then Julie’s hand is beneath my foot, as though she is a step.
My jaw clenches, hating being so weak.
She should’ve left me. One less man to deal with. What is she going to do with Theo and Joe, Gerrard, and me? We can’t all date her. While we had something here, things will be different above. I imagine everything falling apart.
Here we had something to work toward, but once that’s been achieved, there is no reason for us to stay together. I glance up at Joe and know that I will miss him. We spent years together. We were as friendly as monsters could be.
