Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
I walk to the waterfall and stop a few paces away, unsure if I can do it. But it turns out to be surprisingly easy. I don’t even have to focus hard for the water to part, revealing the bridge against a peachy, misty morning sky.
Wow. That’s so cool.
“Well done, Elsie,” Vitai says next to me. “Your power is strong.”
I glance over my shoulder. The humans are still engrossed in the statues and the views. They haven’t seen me parting the water, and the noise of the waterfall is drowning out my conversation with Vitai. For all they know, it was Vitai who opened the waterfall. I haven’t told them I’m an Alit. I don’t want them to think I’m not on their side, not when I want them to return to Earth as much as they want to leave this world.
I look at Vitai, who’s fallen quiet. He’s studying me with crossed arms and a deep line running between his eyebrows.
“Any Alit can do that,” I say.
He raises a brow. “Not any Alit. Seeing that we have guests who shouldn’t leave, Aruan put a seal on the waterfall. It takes a great power to break such a strong barrier.”
“Is that why you came with us?” I scrutinize him. “To open the waterfall?”
He doesn’t answer, but I don’t miss the guilt that flickers in his eyes before he wipes it away. “Aruan would’ve opened it for you.”
“But he’s not here, is he?”
He turns his face toward the horizon. “You would’ve found someone in the palace to help you.”
Is it me, or is he hiding something? “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“It’s not my place to tell you anything.” He cuts a sideways glance my way. “That’s Aruan’s privilege as your—”
“Mate.” I roll my eyes. “Yes, I know.”
Vitai doesn’t reply.
“Come on,” I call to the group. “We only have ten minutes on the bridge. Let’s not waste it.”
The women stare with apprehension at the sheer drop. A swing bridge with wooden boards and ropes on the sides spans between the palace and the cliff on the other side. A circular platform in the center serves as a lookout point.
Karl goes after Sandy and me, and the rest follow. They cling to the dewy ropes that serve as rails as we make our way to the platform.
Vitai hangs back until the last person has walked onto the bridge, which happens to be Eucabeth, and then he falls in step behind her.
I stop on the platform, gripping the thick ropes in both hands. Mist hangs over the land. The trees are so tall their tops pierce the white fog that envelopes the sea and hills like a soft cloud. Above it, streaks of orange and pink are painted across the sky. A few stars are still visible in the purple band that separates night from day.
I fill my lungs with the fresh morning air, inhaling the scent of forest moss and salty ocean. Like before, the oxygen infuses me with energy. I’ve never felt healthier or stronger.
Sandy leans on the rail next to me. Her gaze is trained on the distance as she asks in a low, serious voice, “Any news about sending us home?”
“I was going to speak to the queen, but then the rockslides happened.” Heat climbs up my neck as I give her only half the truth. “We came back very late. I’ll try today.” I turn around, facing the hills, and rest my elbows on the rope. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here.” One way or another.
She observes me with an earnest expression. “What about you?”
I blow out a sigh. “It’s still complicated.” I don’t want to tell her that Aruan is literally keeping me captive here. For some reason, I don’t want her to have a bad impression of him.
“I’ve gathered.”
She opens her mouth to say more, but a scream cuts her short.
We both give a start. I spin around just in time to see one of the boards fall down from the bridge. It hits the rocks below with a thud that echoes through the space. Eucabeth stands on the board in front of the gap, her left foot poised in mid-air.
Shit.
She must’ve stepped on the board that collapsed.
Vitai freezes two paces behind her. His tone is clipped. “Don’t move.”
The board under her right foot creaks. She raises huge, fearful eyes to us, tears glimmering with a plea in their expressive depths.
I rush to the edge of the platform that gives access to the bridge. Irina and Maeva are in front of Eucabeth. They close the remaining distance with two big steps and leap to the safety of the platform, causing the bridge to sway dangerously.
Eucabeth screams again as she loses her balance and stumbles. Everyone screams at the same time before a deathly quiet falls over the group. We hold our breaths while Eucabeth rights herself with a white-knuckled grip on the rail. She lands with both feet on the unstable board, putting her full weight onto it.