24. Aryn
Aryn
A voice cuts through my sleep. I fight to ignore it as I burrow deeper into the warmth, but Ronan moves closer, obviously irritated. “Cato! It’s your watch and I’m fucking cold. Wake up already.”
Cato grunts beside me, shooing Ronan away with a swat. “I’m awake,” he grumbles. Ronan seems satisfied, even if he mutters under his breath as he marches back to his sleeping bag.
“Want me to take your shift?” I ask through my grogginess. “I could leave you here where it’s warm. Let you get more sleep.”
“Mm, don’t tempt me,” he murmurs as he rolls over and swings a leg over my thighs. His gloved hand wraps around the back of my neck, teasing the skin before he tugs me closer. It takes all of my self-control not to give in and meet him halfway.
“Cato,” I scold quietly as his eyes open a sliver. “We can’t.”
“We can,” he argues as he rocks his body closer to mine. There are too many layers between us for it to be anything more than friction from the fabric, but it tugs at my threadbare restraint.
“All or nothing,” I remind him. “I’m not pressuring you, it’s just—”
“How it has to be, I know.” He deflates with a sigh and curls into my chest. I’m not sure if it’s because he wants to keep this closeness between us or because he’s leaching my body heat, but I wrap my arms around his back and hug him closer.
“Do you want me to take your watch?” I ask again.
“As tempting as it sounds, I’d feel too guilty. I’d be awake, anyway.” He pulls back, brushing a few rogue strands of hair from my face. “Get some more rest. I’ll come get you in a few hours.”
“Alright,” I agree as he slides out of our joined sleeping bag. It’s not nearly as warm without him here, but I fall back into a dozing slumber. It’s the kind that’s half-aware while still resting, and by the time Cato wakes me up to take his place, I’m refreshed.
Watch is uneventful, and in between my pacing loops of the tree, I get a head start on the day by building a fire for breakfast. We won’t be here long enough for it to attract anyone, and the veil of branches will contain the worst of the smoke.
The others stir as I toss oats into the boiling water, and by the time everyone is awake and moving, breakfast is ready.
We eat quickly and pack, then resume our path following the river.
Around midmorning, the water gains speed.
It flows faster as the angle shifts, until white-capped rapids slam against the rocky sides.
The terrain becomes harsher as we go, and the further we walk, the more the flat ground climbs uphill.
It becomes steeper and rougher, with jutting rocks making us step carefully and loose pebbles sliding under our feet.
Eventually, the only way to go forward is onto a narrow ridge trail. Ronan pauses, turning to face the rest of us. “This is a lot more dangerous than it looked on the map. Maybe we should turn around.”
“We’ve already lost a full day,” Cato argues. “If we turn around now, we’ll lose another, and we’ll be right back where we started. Our supplies are getting low, and we left signs of life behind.”
“That’s true,” I agree with a grimace. “I didn’t take a lot of care to hide the fire this morning. It’s possible someone spotted it.”
“The murder monsters,” Cameron adds.
Cato examines the path, staring at the narrowest part for a long time before scanning further ahead. “It opens back up pretty quickly. We’ll be over in an hour instead of wasting three fucking days.”
Ronan clenches his jaw, pushing out a long breath as he studies the map. When he determines there’s no other way around, the only choices we have are to continue or backtrack.
Ten long, heated minutes later, we move forward. The trail is narrow enough that we fall into a single-file line, and there’s nothing between us and the dizzying drop to the river. I peek over the side, staring down the sheer plunge to rocks and churning white water far below.
My instincts are on edge the entire time. No one speaks as Ronan leads us at a much slower pace, testing each footstep. As we get further, the path widens again, but just as my guard lowers, Taryn’s foot comes down on what looks like solid ground, and the edge of the trail collapses.
Snow, ice, and rock give way beneath her, and she drops with a terrified scream.
I shout her name, but Cato is closer. He lunges forward, grabbing her wrist with both hands.
For one heart-stopping moment they’re both sliding, but Cato digs his boots in and yanks her back with every bit of raw strength he can muster.
He hauls her onto the trail as Lillith comes thundering back for her mate.
The momentum shakes the ground beneath us, and I watch in horror as the cracks spread under Cato’s feet. The world moves in slow motion as the ledge disintegrates beneath him.
He tries to run, but it’s too late.
His wide eyes land on mine as he falls, disappearing from view. One hand desperately grips the broken edge, slipping even as I watch.
Pure terror rips through my body as I roar his name and charge, not even stopping to think as I throw myself over the edge. My tail lassos a branch as my abdomen slams into the sharp stone, nearly knocking the breath from my lungs.
My fingers close around his forearm just as his grip fails. His weight yanks hard on my tail, nearly pulling me over with him. Pain explodes through my spine, but I lock every muscle as my other hand grips his pack.
Below me, Cato dangles over nothing but deadly rocks and roaring water. His face is pale, eyes wide as loose stones tumble past him into the abyss.
“Hold on!” I snarl through gritted teeth, gripping him with everything I have. My arms shake violently as my tail strains against the branch. “I’ve got you, alright? Hold on!”
For several agonizing seconds, I’m sure we’re both going to fall.
My tail slips, and the branch creaks under our combined weight.
It hits me with terrifying clarity that I can’t hold us much longer.
My grip is failing, and the roots are separating from the rock, jolting us down inches at a time.
Cato’s eyes don’t leave mine as I tighten my fingers with desperate, adrenaline-fueled strength.
“I’m with you,” I promise him, voice cracking as I refuse to look down at the rocks and churning river below.
The thought of losing him here claws through my insides like ice and fire at once, feeling as if my heart is being carved right out of my chest. In that moment, I know with absolute certainty that if he goes, I go with him.
“Please don’t… don’t let go,” he begs, and the fear in his voice breaks me further. “Don’t l-leave me.”
“I won’t,” I whisper. “I won't. I’ve got you.”
Just as we slide another few inches, hands grip my ankles and legs. The others pull me up as I yank with every ounce of strength left in my body. Cato’s chest slams against the broken ledge, scraping across sharp rock as I haul him the rest of the way onto solid ground.
He collapses onto his back beside me, chest heaving. Blood trickles down his forehead from a gash along his hairline, and his entire body trembles as he wheezes for breath.
Taryn crawls over, face white with shock. “Cato, you’re bleeding, let me see—” As her hand moves toward him, something primal snaps inside me.
He’s mine.
Mine to comfort, mine to take care of.
Mine, and only fucking mine.
I bare my teeth and growl, positioning myself protectively over him. My tail flicks behind me in warning, the mark on it flaring bright where everyone can see. Taryn freezes mid-reach while Lillith’s eyes go wide. Ronan’s eyebrows fly up and Cameron just stares, stunned.
I don’t care about any of it.
“Stay back,” I warn, crouching lower. “He’s mine. Don’t fucking touch him.”
Cato lets out a breathless, pained chuckle beneath me. “Easy, killer… she’s just trying to help.”
I glance down at him, whining softly at the trail of blood streaking his temple. Some of the color is returning to his cheeks as he hauls himself up to sit, wincing with the movement. I crouch by his side, looking over every inch of his body.
“Are you hurt?” I ask.
He rolls his shoulders, flinching a little with the arm I was holding onto, then twists his torso and stretches his legs. “There’s some bruising, but I don’t think anything’s broken. If you hadn’t…” His eyes are glassy as he stares out over the edge, and his throat bobs in a thick swallow.
I swipe the blood from his temple and wait for his eyes to meet mine again. “I told you I had your back.”
“Fuck,” he chokes, leaning his head against my chest. Instinctively, I know he doesn’t want the others to see him upset. I position myself between him and the rest of them as I wrap my arms around his neck and hold him there.
“When did this happen?” Ronan demands from behind us.
I heave a long sigh, but there’s no point in lying. “The day of the khraelyx attack.”
“That’s been days, Aryn! You didn’t think to mention it?”
I whirl and bare my teeth at him. “This does not concern you!”
“The hell it doesn’t,” he fires back, flashing his own fangs. “Everything that happens on this trip, every single fucking thing that affects what we do here, concerns me. It concerns all of us. I would expect this sort of reckless behavior from him”—he gestures at Cato in my arms—“but not you.”
“You will watch what you say,” I threaten, each word spoken with intention, as I move in his direction. A hand on my wrist stops me, and I turn to find Cato shaking his head.
“If we’re going to fight, can we do it somewhere that’s not here?” he asks, nodding toward the crumbled edge.
My anger instantly fades. “Can you walk?” I ask.
He huffs a laugh, then groans and clutches his ribcage. “If the alternative is to sit here and wait for the mountain to collapse around us, I think I can figure it out.”
Taryn approaches cautiously from my left. “Can I look at his forehead? It won’t do us any favors for him to be bleeding right now.”
“There isn’t room for proper care,” I grit. “Not without shuffling everyone else too close to the edge.”
“I’m fine,” Cato stresses, tugging his t-shirt up from under his layers of clothing to wipe the blood away.
It pools on the cut again almost immediately, but only leaks into a trickle instead of a gush.
A few rocks tumble past us, bouncing off the ledge and into the open air where he was just hanging.
Cato’s face tightens as he watches them fall. “Can we please go?” he begs, losing his bravado for the moment.
“Of course, rha khor,” I murmur, tugging him into my chest once more as I press my lips against his forehead. He tilts his chin, and for a moment, I consider letting go of my resolve.
I want to crash my lips to his and kiss him like I’ve wanted to for days now, to show him he’s not alone. That I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.
It might be too late for this fractured heart of mine either way.
Instead, I give him a small smile. “You’re staying tethered to me the whole time.”
He coughs a weak laugh as he glances at my tail wrapped around his forearm. “Trust me, I prefer it that way.”
Cato is shaky as I help him to his feet, but no one dares to say anything else to either of us.
We resume our lineup with Ronan in the lead, and I keep my tail firmly around Cato’s arm as he walks in front of me.
He reaches down every once in a while and wraps his fingers around it, thumb drifting mindlessly over my skin before he pulls away again.
It’s midafternoon before we’re on solid ground in the foothills, and we all breathe easier when the river is no longer rushing a hundred feet beneath us. We stop to rest and clean up, and I allow Taryn to tend to Cato’s wounds while I hover at his side.
She cleans his forehead, but determines it doesn’t need stitches.
Tiny, rigid bandages close the slice after she cleans it, and she forces Cato to remove his jacket so she can inspect his other injuries.
A deep purple bruise circles his wrist and forearm where I grabbed him, and more dark splotches paint his ribcage and abdomen.
Nothing appears broken, though, and the minor scratches on the rest of his body will heal easily enough on their own.
The rest of the day is uneventful, and we find another cave to make camp for the night. This one is small, but the tighter space means it’s warmer inside. A large boulder at the mouth keeps the wind from cutting in, as well as hiding us from passing predators.
As night falls, we join our sleeping bags again.
Cato fights me when I tell him to sit out of watch rotation for the night, but eventually I convince him to take the extra rest to heal.
I curl into his body, needing to remind myself that he’s safe as much as I want to offer him the warmth.
His breathing smooths out, but I’m wide awake.
The fear on his face keeps replaying in my mind, along with the terrifying realization that I almost lost him before I ever even had him.