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Ainsley
The rope beneath my hands burned my skin as I lost my grip and slipped a few inches down the ladder, while we dangled high in the air above Highvein.
“Ainsley.” Killian sucked in a sharp breath below, and I grasped the unstable rope ladder more tightly. The wind blew, and my stomach clenched as my body involuntarily swung back and forth.
I glanced up at the Phantom Saber, only to perceive Rek’s hard stare as he leaned over the railing. His concern could be clearly read in his features, whether the stern man would admit it or not. I was beginning to believe perhaps this had been an incredibly bad idea.
After all, I truly did not understand why the urge to travel to Highvein had struck me with such intensity.
Right. The maps. The keys. But I honestly could not think while dangling in the skies above a burning city I knew nothing of. It was impossible. I felt near death, as if peering above or below me could be my undoing. All of my “adventures” and quests would have been for naught.
Here lies Lady Ainsley Lilstrum. Death by idiocy and falling from an airship.Yes, that seemed quite fitting. If I weren’t midair, attempting not to look either up or down, I’d have rolled my eyes at the sheer absurdity of my inner musings.
Thick, squalid air tickled my nostrils, and we weren’t even halfway down the ladder from the airship. Rek could not lower us closer to the ground, thanks to the amount of smoke billowing from the burning city beneath us. So, the rope ladder had been suggested, and here we were.
Dangling from an airship above flames licking at what Killian referred to as a hellhole.
How appropriate.
“I’ll keep going. Move with the rope, Ainsley,” Killian called from below me.
Right. Move with the rope. Because that was something that must come naturally. In my entire life, I had never done anything quite so dangerous or life-threatening. But, yes, move with the rope. As if it were that simple. If Killian were at my side… Stupid pirate.
Grunting, I gripped the ladder until my knuckles were white, when suddenly, I felt it sway in response to Killian’s movements. With fear I felt deep in my bones, I closed my eyes, breathing to calm the rising storm within me.
Continuing again, this time more carefully, I attempted to keep my breathing steady, despite the images of crashing into the fiery city below as they ran through my mind.
Stop overthinking, Ainsley. You have fought rogue pirates, Gretta, even Bash.
Breathe.
Inhaling deeply, I did not dare look down to monitor Killian’s whereabouts. Instead, I simply focused on the action of taking one step at a time.
Thankfully, he remained quiet as well.
“I’m down.” Killian’s calming voice rang in my ears. “You will have to jump a fair distance in a few steps, Ainsley.”
I clung to the ladder again. Jump? Surely not. Has he gone mad?
“Take a deep breath. I shall tell you when. You’re doing great, love.”
“Says the pirate who has done this before.” I attempted not to snap at him—and failed. I made the mistake of sneaking a peek upward and gasped at how far we had already descended.
Killian’s chuckle echoed and I wanted to kick him. “The great Lady Lilstrum is getting worked up over a small hop? Come now, surely you’ve encountered far more fearsome obstacles.”
I growled, surveying my surroundings, and noting the roofs of a few buildings peeking from the black clouds around me.
Almost there.
Several more steps, and I knew I only had a few more to go before Killian would tell me to jump. The anger simmering at his teasing was enough to have me flinging myself from the rope and twirling midair, praying I had been right in my assumption.
“Ainsley!” Killian shouted, but whatever he meant to say, it had come too late.
My feet hit the grass, and I crashed into Killian, who wrapped an arm around me to stop me from going any farther. “Leave it to you to make a simple leap life-threatening.”
I ground my teeth together, but the playful grin the insufferable pirate wore made him appear far too sexy to remain mad. I pushed away from him and brushed at my trousers. Now that my feet were planted good and well on the ground, I felt bravery seeping back into my body.
Killian grabbed the ladder and tugged five times—his signal to Rek that we were all clear. The ladder rose, out of sight ever so slowly, and as it disappeared, Killian and I scanned our surroundings to survey what awaited us here in Highvein.
