Kaia lay on a slippery ledge, the cold seeping all the way to her bones. Normally, such frigid temperatures did not affect her. This time, she shivered, her teeth chattering. Her wound might be infected, her body slightly feverish, but at least there was no pain. The cold had numbed the stupid, still-gaping injury.
To heal from this kind of injury, she needed Strider’s blood.
Actually, she just needed Strider. She wasn’t sure how she’d ever gotten along without him. Naughty girl that she was, she wouldn’t get him. Not anytime soon—and maybe not even after that. Hopefully, he’d gotten the message she had left him and had charted a course to Buda. His well-being came before her understandably great need for him. But only a little!
She twisted the dial on her binoculars for a closer look at the surrounding area. White, white and more white, but so far, she’d spotted no other Harpies. No misty air to reveal the telltale sigh of heated breath. No bright colors slinking down the rocks, inching ever closer to safety. No clicks in the breeze as arrows were notched. Even still, she expected foul play. At least until they reached the bottom of the mountain. The moment her team stepped through the portal, they would be on neutral territory. No one would be able to strike at them.
The problem, however, would be reaching bottom.
“I think we’re good,” Taliyah said, confiscating the binoculars and panning the higher peaks. “And really, we can’t wait much longer. You and Tedra need to be tended, and we can’t do that here.”
Bianka confiscated the binoculars from Taliyah and peered down at the flatlands. “If Lysander were here, he could fly above and—”
“Again with this crap?” Kaia reclaimed the binoculars and tossed them over her shoulder. For the past hour, Bianka had recited all the reasons they’d be better off if the men were here. As if Kaia didn’t already know, damn it.
“Hey!” Neeka gasped. “That hurt.”
Kaia twisted, grimaced at the twinge in her side. The beautiful girl was scowling and rubbing at the lump now sprouting below her left eye. “I’d say sorry, but it was totally Bianka’s fault because she—”
“Shh!” Bianka clamped a hand over her mouth, silencing her. Her twin pointed to the shimmering portal with her free hand. “Look.”
She looked. The Falconways and the Songbirds had just crested the far hillside and were sprinting toward the portal, fast…faster…mere blurs now. No one attempted to stop them, and one by one, they whisked through that dazzling air pocket, disappearing from view.
If Hunters waited, determined to strike, they would have at least peeked from the shadows to see who approached. Right?
“Okay,” Kaia said with a nod. “We’ve got a direct shot to the portal, so here’s what we’re gonna do. Two of us are too injured to run and we’ll slow whoever tries to carry us, and I don’t want us separated, so we’re all going to slide over this ledge and ride our backpacks to the bottom. Like sleds. Then boom, we’ll be in the heavens, healthy and whole, before we know it.”
Murmurs of agreement met her words.
Within minutes, they were lined up and ready to go. Kaia had the lead. She perched on her backpack, her legs already dangling over the side of the ledge. Her heart drummed in her chest. She’d jumped from this very mountain a thousand times before, playing Who Can Break the Least Amount of Bones with Bianka. She usually won— Bianka always covered her face and let her body just kind of flop on the ice. Not that it mattered now, she thought. Concentrate. It was just, if one of her girls was hurt…
She gritted her teeth. Not gonna happen, not again.
As she exhaled, mist formed in front of her. “Here—” she scooted “—we—” she teetered… “Go!” She slid. Wind slapped at her as she descended, faster and faster, just as the other teams had done. The outside of her backpack was shredding quickly, and her coat would be next to go, then her skin. Almost there…
An arrowhead sank into her thigh muscle. Before she could react, another nailed her. She yelped in pain. Damn it! How? Where were— There. Hunters had stepped through miniature air pockets of their own, as if they’d been there, hovering between one realm and the other, watching and waiting. She wanted to fly off her pack and rip through them, one by one, but…she whizzed through the portal, and they disappeared from view.
A rush of dizziness. A wink of too-bright light. Then her backpack skidded to a stop, catching on thick ropes of tree roots. She blinked, clearing her head and reaching for the arrow still protruding from her leg. Gwen slammed into her with a breathy hmph, accidentally dislodging her hand.
Another yelp left her, another lance of pain shooting through her entire body.
“You okay?” Gwen demanded, already on her feet and dragging Kaia out of the path of the others.
“Sure, sure.” She scanned for the Falconways and the Songbirds. No sign of them, thank the gods. Well, thanks to all but Rhea, the bitch. Kaia would not be thanking her for anything, even in her own head. “You?”
“Yeah, but I think they got Bianka. I heard her shout.”
No! She would rather receive a thousand injuries than allow Bianka to receive even one. “I will murder—” The threat died in her throat. One of the tree limbs was reaching out, down, moving stealthily, purposely, the leaves—two of them, a top and a bottom—surprisingly jagged at the edges and clamping open and closed like teeth.
Alive. The trees were alive. Eyes wide, Kaia slapped at the huge, mouthy leaves and rolled out of the way. Yet another lance of pain. “Did you see that?” she panted.
The limb wrenched backward, away from them.
“Yeah, and I’m still reeling. Be careful.” Gwen spun this way and that, a dagger in each hand, watching the trees, daring them to try that move again.
Suddenly Bianka appeared, gliding to a bumpy stop. She had arrows in her shoulder, forearm and stomach. Blood soaked her already. “Shit! They got me.”
Seeing her, Kaia had to swallow a whimper.
Rhea really hadn’t wanted them to make it this far, she thought darkly. Well, Rhea would be in for a nasty surprise. “I’ll help you in a sec, sis. Just have to take care of something first.” Rage gave Kaia strength as she yanked the arrowhead out of her leg. That done, she limped to her sister and tugged her out of the line of fire—and more of those chomping tree limbs.
Gwen helped, kicking and slashing until they once again flew backward.
“Those bastards!” Bianka rasped, paling from blood loss and pain.
“We’ll have to worry about the Hunters later.” And their payback. “I think the trees are freaking vampires.” Shaking, Kaia kneeled and gently—well, as gently as she was able—removed the arrowheads from her twin.
Bianka complained the entire time, yelling at Kaia, then Taliyah, Neeka and the others when they arrived. Neeka was the only other member hurt this round and Taliyah doctored her. Not a peep did either make.
“What if the boys come through the portal, huh?” Kaia asked. “They won’t be prepared.”
“If they’re dumb enough to cross over, they deserve what they get. Now come on,” Taliyah said. “We may be on neutral ground right now, but we’ve still got an hour-long hike before we reach our destination. We can’t be late.”
Yeah, and a lot could happen in an hour. “You’re just jealous because you don’t have a white knight racing to your rescue.”
Taliyah rolled her baby-blues. “Your injuries have made you delusional. When I find my consort, I plan to stab him in the heart before he can cause me a moment’s unease.”
“I understand. Your consort can’t compare to mine, no one’s can, so you’d rather go without.”
“Mine’s better than yours,” Bianka said.
“No way.”
“Way.”
“Girls.” Taliyah clapped her hands to gain their attention. Just as she’d done when they were children, arguing over a toy. “Both of your consorts suck. Now shut up and move out.”