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Maybe Shaan was right. Perhaps with time she could forgive me—fall in love with me. Goddess, I’d give my soul for that. I wanted her forgiveness like I longed for clear skies during the monsoons. A trickle of silver light brightened as we reached the end of the tunnel and stepped into another massive chamber where a roar of water echoed.
Waterfalls rushed from four corners down an enormous gulf. We approached one side. Between the cliffs, dilapidated columns stood that were perhaps once a walkway and on the far side stretched a broken rope bridge. The entire temple was falling apart, moss slowly consuming it, but it must have been majestic.
Lira focused on the path ahead, but my gaze darted around the space, looking for the bhoot. It couldn’t approach us directly anymore, but it was still here, lingering in the shadows, waiting for us to let our guards down so it could have a chance to pounce.
Lira pulled her hand free, and I clenched my teeth to fight a hum of disapproval.We belong together,I wanted to say,and I’m so sorry I hurt you.Lira slid her fingers through her ivory locks. “I’m assuming the map is probably across this gulch.”
“That would be a fair assumption.” After all, we hadn’t found a storage room or the altar of the temple yet.
“How do we cross it?”
The bridge swayed slightly, and a loose board dangled in the middle. The wood had to be half rotted. I stepped closer to the edge of the cliff. The drop seemed endless with mist rising from the falls and shrouding the pool below, but sharp, pointed rocks jutted through them, making the situation precarious. Beneath the bridge, there was no water, but the same sharp-edged rocks dotted the land. Shit.
“I’m not sure what would be the safest way to pass,” I said.
“I could try freezing the water?”
A grimace made its way to my lips. “With how choppy the water is, it may not hold. Even if it did, it could cause these columns to topple with how fragile they are.”
Lira sucked in a breath and blew it out so strands of hair flitted against her cheek. “Okay, so we’ll have to jump across on the columns then.”
The frown on my face deepened, but she was right. It was probably the least-deadly path. “I’ll go first.”
Lira whirled towards me. “What if you fall and die?”
“At least it wouldn’t be the elemental my family is relying on for their future who died.”
“You’re needed too. You heard the prophecy. It’s me, my brother—which I’m still not convinced I have—and both of our Atallas.”
“You think I’m your Atalla?”
She stared at me as water roared. “Well, you made it into the temple, didn’t you?”
I clenched my fists.
I supposed it was stupid to hope she’d say that yes, she knew she was my Atalla because she could feel all that buzzed between us, how right it felt to be in the other’s presence. Perhaps that was wishful thinking.
Lira pulled a ribbon off her wrist and tied her hair back. “Time to cross the death bridge, I guess.”
I nodded and tightened the straps of my pack before dropping low and pouncing towards the first column. My feet landed with a thud and for a moment I held my breath, waiting to see if the damned thing shifted.
It remained solid.
I turned to Lira to nod at her before jumping onto the next one.
We moved forward without speaking, the thump of Lira landing behind me was as comforting as a heartbeat as the mist swirled with our motion. The columns were slick, and I slid on a few, gripping my fingers against their edge to steady myself. I looked over my shoulder to see Lira also struggling, her eyes focused as she jumped and immediately crouched to keep her center of gravity low.
What would I do if she fell off one?
She’d die and… Panic ricocheted through me.
No, Sai, stay focused.
I leapt again, landed, looked back at Lira, repeated.
I reached the second to last column, and relief washed through me. These were more stable than I’d expected, and soon we’d reach the other side. I crouched and threw myself across the chasm to the last slick stone surface. It creaked and shuddered.
I sucked in a breath and held it.
