15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Gerta
I think I was Kay’s villain origin story.
Frowning, I glance at the discarded chain. It was used by a man loyal to the family that actually accepted him over the realm of his childhood torment.
As Granny would say, I have no one to blame but myself.
And as for what Smalls would say . . . I can definitely see why he calls me impulsive. Who else goes from stabbing a man to trying to kiss him in the same day ?!
Kay is apparently unconcerned with either, as he leans way too far over the edge. He cranes his neck to look above. He either has too much trust in me or too much faith in his Bloodline Magic. “I don’t see any sign of the Snow Queen. Hopefully, she came to the logical conclusion that we perished in the avalanche.”
“One can only hope, but since she appears to fly on a breeze that sings for her, I fear logic may not be something she grasps.”
“Hmm.” Kay taps his chin. “Good point. We must proceed with caution.”
“Especially when considering how under the Three Heavens we’re going to get down from here.”
“Another excellent point.” Kay flips open his satchel and tugs out a coil of rope. It’s followed by a hammer and a peg.
I frown. “Whatever plan you have, I hate it already. ”
Kay ignores me and ties the end of the rope into a small circular knot. Then he tests it out on the peg, ensuring it can’t come off the top.
I slide. “I really hate this plan.”
He pulls a knife out of the satchel and sheathes it in his belt. “As long as you comply with the execution of the plan, your opinion of it doesn’t matter.”
“‘Comply’ isn’t really in my dictionary.”
The smallest of smiles twists on Kay’s lips, and for a moment, I’m as breathless as when we were sledding down this mountain.
Then he’s hammering the peg into the ledge we’re standing on, and my stomach twists for an entirely different reason.
“You’re a wild woman of Gaelia,” Kay says when he finishes. “You know no fear.”
“But you’re not a wild woman of Gaelia. I should be considerate of the dread you cannot help but feel.”
Kay tugs at the peg, this time checking if it’s secure. It doesn’t budge, but it also doesn’t have the weight of two people bearing down on it.
I glance over the ledge, noting the cliff face. It is covered in fresh snow from the avalanche, and the grooves will have to be dug out one as we go. The ground is higher up thanks to the massive buildup of snow from the avalanche, but it is still farther than I have ever scaled before. It will be quite the descent before I can— possibly— safely fall.
“Fearless or not, I don’t think I can do this. Physically speaking.” I wince at how weak I must sound to a man whom I know to be my enemy. But I have long ago learned my limitations, and this mountainside claims all of them.
But then again, I’d never have made it this far in life without testing each limitation again to see if this time I could be free of it .
And it’s not like there is any other option. Even if I choose to climb back up the mountain— as if that would be less dangerous— the Snow Queen is up there.
“You can do this,” Kay counters, “and if you grow weary, just tell me. As long as you have the strength to wrap your arms around my neck, I can carry us both down.”
“Uh— what ?”
Kay turns placidly toward me, like he didn’t just encourage me to embrace him— after he turned away from my kiss, thank Heavens. “My Bloodline Magic. It replenishes my endurance as well as my health. I can carry us both down as long as we make frequent stops while my strength returns.”
“That is some very convenient magic you possess.”
“Well, I wasn’t awarded my ranking just because of my father’s money. And even my rugged looks couldn’t have landed me my elite regiment.”
“What do you mean ‘elite’ regiment?”
Kay sits on the ledge, clears a foothold, and then stands away from it, clinging to the rope. “I’m afraid that’s off the books, ma’am. I’m also afraid this rope doesn’t go all the way down, but it’s close enough.” He offers me his arm.
I shake my head. Between the choice of holding him or clinging to the mountain, I think it’s pretty clear which is the better alternative. Only one will give me a good reason to lose my breath.
Making sure my gloves are in place, I reach the edge of ledge and lower myself to the foothold Kay cleared.
Kay going first is mayhap the most appreciated demonstration of chivalry I’ve ever witnessed. With the footholds and handholds cleared ahead of me, my path is smoother than I originally thought. I still am careful to keep one hand clinging to the rope at all times, though. Because even though the snow is cleared, ice remains. One slip could still kill me from this height— or leave me wishing I was dead.
The longer I stare down, the faster the wind seems to pick up. Has the Snow Queen found us again? The world is spinning too fast for me to dare check without losing my balance—
“Focus on the foothold beneath you,” Kay calls. “That’s all you need to look upon. Just the next step.”
“I know that,” I snarl.
“Knowing and doing are two very different things.”
“Stop staring at my arse and focus on your next foothold, why don’t you?”
“As you wish, lassie.”
I make it several more footfalls lower before my foot slips.
Fear rushes through me, colder than any ice, and I grip the rope with both hands. The force sends me flying out with it.
Kay hisses below me, and I glance down to find him plastered against the cliff face. The rope I’m dangling from sways from the loss of his grip on it.
As he struggles to keep his desperate grip, I slide down an inch.
“Kay,” I gasp.
He glances up as I slip down another inch despite how desperately I am clinging to the rope.
“Hang on another moment, lassie,” he grunts, sliding more tightly against the mountain. Then he reaches one hand toward the dangling rope.
I try to sway my body toward him, but that has me slipping two more inches. My heart nearly stops.
“Got you!” Kay calls, clutching the rope just beneath me. If I slide anymore, I’ll knock away his grip. “Easy now . . .” Kay slowly drags the rope closer to the mountain. “Can you find a grip? ”
My heart is thundering so loudly I can barely hear him, let alone see a good grip. “If I let go, I’ll fall.”
“You won’t fall. I won’t let you.”
“Even captains of secret garrisons have to obey the laws of nature.”
“But wild women of Gaelia are free of such things. Keep your hands on the rope and find a foothold.”
Nodding, I have the inexplicable urge to cry. But all that will do is cause icicles to form on my face.
No, I must be strong. I won’t have my enemy fighting for my life harder than I am.
Ignoring the new angle at which I’m tilting over the world now, I reach out with one foot. It slides off the first foothold, but I reach again, doing my best not to be sick from all the swaying.
This time, I’m able to push it all the way in.
“Good,” Kay calls. “Now do your other foot.”
“I’m not a complete imbecile,” I mutter before slipping again, colliding with Kay’s hand that mercifully doesn’t lose its grip.
“You can yell at me about touching your arse in a moment,” Kay calls. “Find another foothold.”
Fear has banished every other thought, so I just mumble and use my one foothold to drag me close to the mountain again. Then I jam my other foot into the first available spot I see.
“Now your other hand.”
Fury fights the fear and is honestly the only reason I’m not immobilized. “I thought you didn’t manhandle your prisoners.”
“If you want to scold me, grab hold of the rope and come look me in the eye.”
Tearing my left hand away, I blindly grasp the cliff. The rope and I totter a bit, but I don’t fall away from it. I also accidentally send a handful of snow downward .
Kay sounds like he has to blow it out of his face.
My anger giving away to sheer terror again, I glance down and find a pile on top of his head.
He offers me an encouraging smile, that is startling to see for so many reasons. It is perfectly rehearsed, like he taught himself to smile based on others’ facial cues and doesn’t grin for his own purposes. “Excellent job, lassie. Now, compared to everything else, embracing me doesn’t seem so terrible, does it?”