AllFreeNovel
Share Us
You can’t have him, damn it.
The temple didn’t reply.
When we reached the chasm where the column had toppled, we stood side by side and observed the jagged rocks below. Sai released a breath. “We’re going to have to take the bridge.”
The ‘bridge’ was nothing more than rotting planks scarcely held together by decaying ropes. Sai stepped towards it, but I cut him off. “I’m going first.”
He reached for me, his hand finding mine like a bird drifting to its nest. “Lira.”
“No, you lifted the damned box without explaining it to me, and don’t you see…” I clenched my teeth but looked up into his eyes. “It frustrates me when you leave me in the dark. You take my choice away from me when you do that.”
Sai faltered, and he leaned forward so that his knuckles grazed mine. “That’s not my intention.”
“I’m starting to see that, but if I’m in this, I want you to trust me.” I moved closer until our bodies touched. “Give me the information and let me make choices for myself.”
“I’m sorry.” He skimmed his hands along the side of the bruise again. His gaze lingered on the spot as his eyebrows pushed together.
I clasped my free hand over his. “Please, have some faith in me.”
“I’m afraid,” he whispered.
I know, I wanted to say.You told me.“Let me go first this time.”
Sai released a hiss of a breath and leaned his forehead against mine. For a moment he rested there, his eyelashes brushing mine as the waterfalls roared behind us. “Okay.”
I raised my face and our lips lingered so close I could feel his cool breath whisper across mine. I felt almost heady with the nearness of him, drunk on his scent, drowning in his presence. His nose touched mine, and I shivered. He trailed his nose lower, lighting up my skin, and I reached up on tiptoes, parted my lips…
A crack jerked us both away from the other.
Another column fell, swaying precariously towards the swing bridge before landing with a thud that smashed into the pool beneath.
“Should columns still be falling?” I asked. “Could it be some other creature causing it?”
“The temple is likely still settling from the first fall. We should move so we don’t get stuck over here.”
I gripped my hands into the bag’s straps, looked into the soulful depth of Sai’s gaze once more, then approached the bridge. A few boards had snapped and dangled from the ropes, others had dark, damp spots and appeared ready to break any moment. My dance classes from childhood came to mind. Okay, light on my feet and one step at a time.
I pressed a single foot on the first board.
The bridge swayed.
Mist rolled over my ankles and whirled away revealing the depth of the fall, the sharp rocks beneath. The water stopped a dozen feet away and there was nothing to break a fall here but stone.
For a moment, I considered using my elemental powers to rush us across the chasm like I had when Sai had fallen. But that magic had arose from pure panic and my chances of unintentionally throwing us into the hole seemed high. Plus, my powers had proved unreliable. I’d nearly fainted using them with the merfolk. We’d just have to cross the bridge the traditional way.
I stepped another foot out, so that I balanced high above the claws of rocks and the painful death they promised.
Pulling in another breath, I moved a foot onto the edge of a dark board. It bent with my weight, and I gripped into the ropes so tightly they scraped against my palms. Another step and another.
I pushed a foot forward.
The board cracked. A piece broke off and dropped into the valley below, smashing into pieces.
“Lira,” Sai called.
“I’m okay.” I couldn’t turn back to look at him. Fear froze me there, suspended in the belly of that shadowed temple which was intent on devouring us. “I didn’t put my full weight on it, and I can reach the next plank.”
I moved forward even slower. Each motion caused the bridge to sway, and a tingling anxious feeling swept down my limbs. I’d passed the halfway point. A few more steps.
