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The climb was faster than he expected, the non-smooth finish giving him plenty of space to navigate around and find the best stepping stone. When they reached the Northern towers, Emerald pointed.
“Clouds.”
Excitement surged but didn’t last when lightning struck, nearly taking out her hand while she was reaching for the closest cloud formation. She yelped and clung when more lightning streaks shot down before rain fell on them in giant drops. One hit them on the heads and made him lose his grip—which also made her lose her grip and fall.
He reached out to catch her, their fingers intertwining just as his other hand caught another protruding brick. He gritted his teeth at the strain on his muscles, then heaved harder than ever until she could slowly, carefully climb toward his back again. This time, Rick was careful to dodge the drops as he made his way to the towers once more, where he hurriedly threw their bodies inside one.
In the darkness, he made out the small, circular space, and deduced that only one giant could fit in. Not satisfied with that, he searched around until he found some roughly constructed beams on top with smaller dots of windows. Emerald spotted it, too, and was climbing there first, then removing strings here and there.
“Bird traps. The towers are to catch meals,” she concluded, brows furrowing as she looked around the space. “They haven’t caught any here.”
“It must not be a popular spot with birds,” he mused.
The space was cramped, just enough for the two of them to rest their asses on the beams and backs against the wall. When her legs swung unsteadily, he pulled them up and wrapped them around his waist. She protested and repositioned herself until she could sit sideways on the beam, her hip brushing his knee.
“Did you lock the door?” she asked.
“No. That will make it more suspicious. We will know when they come here. And we have our exit.”
“Lily said no one comes here.”
“Exactly. So, there’s no need to lock the door.”
That didn’t sit well with her, but she didn’t argue. Despite the tower shielding them from most of the rainstorm, thunder still cracked hard on their ears, and water sprayed inside the small windows. She shivered but didn’t come closer.
“We can’t sleep,” she said. “They will be looking for us, so we have to leave as soon as the rain stops.”
“Hmm. We can take turns.”
“Do you want to sleep?” she asked.
“Hell, no. Do you?”
Her expression was answer enough. Silence washed over them as they mulled over their situation before he decided there was no use dwelling on it. He leaned back further on his side of the wall, crossing his arms and observing her through hooded eyes. Emerald was restless, wriggling about, obviously not contented to just stay put.
“They will hear you.”
She froze. “Do you hear them?”
“No. I just hear the rain. Let’s trust Lily.”
Her conflict remained, but not for long. Slowly, she relaxed too, a visible process that started from her wriggling toes to her rolling shoulders. When she finally leaned against the wall, her hip was still brushing his knee and her brows were still furrowed.
“Shut that brain off,” he suggested.
She gave him a grumpy look, then reluctantly heeded. Her forehead cleared, but she still didn’t achieve what he—and she—wanted.
“Tell me a secret.”
Emerald blinked. “Are you serious? While we’re hiding from flesh-eating giants?”
“You need a distraction. I’m willing to distract. No one can hear us and you still need to shut that brain of yours down.”
“It’s not that easy—”
“Tell me a secret and I will take it to my grave.”
“I made a magical pact with a dragon shifter to marry me,” she blurted out, stunning them both. They eyed each other, she astonished and he slightly impressed.
