Chapter 13
Effie Harlow
“Before you do that, we should probably talk about the fact that more than half the stairs are missing.” Ryder cursed as I let my wolf explode out of my skin, unable to contain her eagerness and determination—literally.
My paws hit the stone floor as a bark left my throat, causing Dakota to chuckle. Tore crouched down, and I rubbed against him and circled both of them before going to sit back by Ryder, his gaze moving from me to the stairwell in concern and distress.
“And we have no idea if the other ones will crumble the minute you try to walk on them,” Tore added, Dakota making a noise of concern from the back of his throat.
Moving closer to the stairs, I examined the problem through the eyes of my wolf and determined that my original plan was the best chance of being successful here.
We would have a better chance of successfully reaching the top in our wolf form—especially with being lighter on our feet and able to move faster when some of the stairs inevitably gave way.
And while I was a bit nervous, my wolf didn’t seem concerned in the least, which bolstered my confidence in a way I hadn’t known I needed.
“Effie…”
Without explaining myself, I looked over the first four stairs, eyeing which pieces looked the most stable before jumping towards the first one to test my weight.
Landing on the stone, I was relieved when it didn’t give underneath me, and actually seemed rather solid.
Maybe all of the pieces left were still here because they were the strongest. One could hope.
“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Tore infused his voice with a bit of dominance, not exactly trying to change my mind but also making it clear that he hated this idea.
“If her wolf thinks she can do it, she probably can,” Dakota countered.
His confidence in me had me jumping to another stone step and then three more—until I finally reached one that wobbled slightly.
Not enough to crumble or fall, but my heart stuttered momentarily as we froze on it, waiting to see what would happen.
When it stabilized—I jumped three more stairs before landing on a larger piece of stone that jutted out a bit more than the others.
Slowly turning my head, I found all my mates watching me with concern.
I offered a bark of reassurance before I looked ahead with determination, willing myself to finish this first section—I could see there was a solid stone platform up ahead, almost like a small landing I’d get there and then figure out the rest after. One step at a time.
And that mentality actually worked. I jumped six more steps before reaching the first landing, where the stairs took a hard right before the next flight, if you could call it that.
Only four out of the twelve steps that were supposed to be there were recognizable, the rest a sloping pile of gravel.
It appeared there would be less and less as I went up.
That wasn’t good.
“If you need to come down, just say the word. I can catch you,” Tore called.
“Seriously, lil bit.” I barked in understanding, refocusing myself and backing up on the landing as much as I safely could before sprinting forward and jumping towards the first solid step, nearly six stairs up.
My back paw momentarily slid on the rocky ramp underneath it but I quickly recovered, doing my best to not look down towards my mates or focus on how close I was to the edge.
I could do this. I knew I could do this.
Luckily, the next four steps out of the twelve were a bit easier to jump too since the distance was smaller, but they were a bit less steady.
Each time it wobbled or small bits of stone crumbled downwards, echoing when it hit its final resting place on the first floor, adrenaline surged through me.
I felt immense relief when I finally hit the second landing and realized I was halfway there.
Which of course is when my magic would have a problem.
A small bolt of energy went through me, and I suddenly shifted back into my human form.
It was like my wolf was just…gone. She wasn’t, though.
I could feel her in my subconscious, but I couldn’t reach her.
My heart was racing, and panic stuck in my throat as I opened my eyes, trying to figure out what had changed—
A ward of power protected the rest of the way up.
I didn’t recognize the type of magic, and when I looked down at my mates, I could see that they were yelling up at me…
but I couldn’t hear them. I grabbed the stone underneath me, glad the landing was at least solid while trying to get my bearings, not feeling the best after shifting back so suddenly.
“This is bad,” I said to myself, looking back down.
The fall seemed a lot farther down than I had climbed, especially in this form without the benefit of my wolf’s reassurance.
Turning my attention away from the lethal plunge, I analyzed the third flight of stairs.
There were three stone steps that looked solid enough… Could I do this in human form?
I could, right? I had to.
Even though my magic was buried right now, the instinctual need to get to that top floor still buzzed under my skin.
Nodding with determination, I tested the first stone with my boot, my hand braced against the wall, and shot a small prayer of hope up that it would be stable before leaning forward and lifting my other foot to meet my first. I froze as I shifted on the stone, not sensing any weakness and feeling relieved that I could at least count on this to be a solid platform to reach the other two.
Although they seemed much farther away than they should have been.
I could feel sweat on the back of my neck and a slight shakiness to my frame, but mustering all the bravery I had, I took the largest step I could, still bracing myself against the wall as my toe brushed over the surface of the stone.
Muttering a small frustrated noise, I pushed forward with my back leg and used the momentum to reach the stair, my foot hitting some stones on the way up as they crumbled back towards the landing.
I wouldn’t lie, it freaked me out, but I was glad it was stones instead of me…
Going through the same process with the third step and then again to hit the landing, I nearly cried in relief when reaching it and went to my knees, feeling a bit dizzy from the height I was now at. I was so incredibly close.
Resisting the urge to look down, I eyed the fourth flight and was surprised to see that there were eight stairs…
which should have been a good thing, but they didn’t look nearly as stable.
Right as I began to test my weight on the first stone, the sound from the bottom floor returned with a palpable pop, as if a bubble had burst, and my wolf vibrated underneath my skin, glad to be back.
I didn’t even try to think how weird that had been—or what had caused it—instead focusing on my mates’ voices below.
“Effie, what’s going on? Are you okay?” Tore boomed.
I didn’t dare look down at him, not yet, but I could tell he was seconds away from trying to climb up himself to get to me.
We couldn’t afford that. These stones may have lasted under my light jumps, but all of my mates were much larger than myself, and I still needed to get down from here after.
“There was a ward in the middle of the staircase that forced me to shift back into human form,” I called out, halfway up the final staircase—the first four steps were surprisingly stable. “I’m nearly there!”
Almost as if cursing myself, the fifth step immediately gave way when I put weight onto it.
I groaned as instinct kicked in, grabbing the sixth step’s stone while falling flat on my stomach, the rocky rumble hitting my body in a bruising manner.
I lifted my other hand towards the sixth step as I moved my feet around the area below me, finding the fourth step again and getting onto stable ground.
I tried to ignore the open air sensation of being so close to the center opening of the staircase, also tuning out what my mates were saying.
Instead I straightened myself up and got to the sixth stair, then the seventh, before finally reaching the eighth without incident.
“Yes!” I groaned in relief as I reached the landing, nearly collapsing onto the ground.
“Is there anything up there?!” Dakota asked. I looked over the edge while staying on my knees because I was not standing right now and found all of them staring up at me, Ryder moving his gaze from me to the stairs, clearly wanting to join me..
“The staircase is super weak. Don’t do it, Ryder.”
He let out a low growl but nodded. Feeling relieved he wasn’t going to try anything, I sat up and looked around—feeling a sense of accomplishment. There was something up here.
“There’s a chest right in the center of the room. It’s small but made of stone.”
“I would say not to open it…” Ryder drew out. “Maybe throw it down so we can open it outside?”
“What if it breaks?.” My fingers grazed over the stone, and a surge of joy and energy ran over my skin, my wolf barking eagerly inside of my head. I heard Tore protesting below, but I almost couldn’t control the instinct to open the little jewelry box. So I didn’t even try.
“I opened it!” I shouted, unable to contain my glee.
“What’s in it?”
“A diamond,” I said, examining the perfectly clear stone cushioned in simple black cloth. It was several carats, but it was also so incredibly perfect. I didn’t understand much about the cut of jewels or their clarity, but this one seemed…so incredibly special.
Reaching forward to pull the stone out, my hands grazed the cold gem…and everything shifted.
Not just everything, but me as well—I shifted. Into something I had never been before.