Page 56 of Pearls of Salt and Sacrifice

It had held her weight when she was younger…but would it still?

Reva launched toward the trellis, but Cassandra dove for her at the same time, catching Reva around the waist. They skidded sideways and slammed into the wall, Cassandra half sliding through the open doorway as Reva grabbed the door jamb with her free hand. Pain from the jarring impact pulsed through her body. Using the arm that clutched the pearl, she drove her elbow downward, catching Cassandra in the tender hollow where neck met shoulder.

Her stepmother screamed, her arms loosening enough that Reva could tear herself free and race toward the trellis again. She shoved the pearl into the pocket of her trousers and wrapped her hands around trellis and vine. When Cassandra grabbed her by the leg, Reva kicked out with a snarl.

“Let go!” she screamed.

Her boot connected with Cassandra’s face, and blood spray mingled with the rain. As Cassandra slumped to the balcony floor, Reva climbed. The trellis shuddered and creaked beneath her weight, but she pressed upward as quickly as she dared, hand over hand. Her boots struggled to find solid footholds, slipping on the winding vines that blocked the trellis boards.

The drizzle turned into a downpour as the sky released its fury on the island below, adding to the madness and confusion of the kraken. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and—in her peripheral vision—Reva glimpsed lightning flashing over the sea. Below her, she heard the screams of her people as a monster born of nightmares spread its arms across the castle.

The kraken’s massive, dark form blotted out the gray light of the overcast morning. It was only a matter of time before it would decimate the entire castle. Or before it spotted Jareth, bound on the battlement above Reva, helpless and alone except for the guards—her guards—who had staked him out to die.

Because of her.

The trellis shifted beneath Reva’s weight. Crying out, she clung tightly to the flimsy structure and tried not to imagine her body plunging to the balcony now far below her. Screams from above pierced through the thunder of rainfall.

She forced her stiff fingers to release and reached for another handhold. Her arms and legs trembled as she neared the top of the trellis, her body aching from the exertion. She paused and studied the distance between her and the thick battlement railing. She’d misjudged the distance.

Several yards of empty wall stretched between her and the battlement.

Reva choked back a cry of frustration and studied the castle wall. Its craggy surface offered potential handholds in the chinks between the stones, but she’d only be able to get the tips of her boots and fingers into them. Bracing herself, Reva reached out a hand and gripped hard before daring to shift her left foot and inch to the side.

Her arms, taut with tension, shook as Reva eased off the trellis and edged her way toward the railing a few feet above her.

Just think about the next handhold, she thought as she tried not to think about the balcony far below.

She shifted her foot across the wall, searching for someplace to dig the toe of her boot into. It scraped across solid wall as she blindly searched for a foothold.

Her stomach tightened as she imagined the inevitable sensation of falling…

A hand grasped her wrist.

Crying out, Reva clung to the wall and tipped her head back to see Rency leaning over the battlement, his blond hair rain-soaked and eyes wide.

“Reva, you fool girl!” he shouted down to her. “What are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Again?”

She tried to unclench her jaw to answer but couldn’t manage it. She dug the fingertips of her other hand into the cracks and kicked her feet as Rency hauled her upward. Her pulse thundered against her skin, every muscle tight and aching. She slid across the thick battlement wall and balanced on her wobbly legs.

Her jaw began to quiver from the strain, from the relief.

Rency allowed her to pull away, but anger darkened his features. “You need to stop trying to kill yourself, because I’m getting tired of trying to save you. It’s becoming a thing with us, you know.”

“Jareth,” she said around chattering teeth.

She darted around the pirate captain and sprinted toward Jareth strung between the pillars at the end of the battlement. Beyond him, the hulking shadow of the kraken rose. The remaining guards screamed and retreated as the creature coiled toward the battlement.

One of the soldiers paused to grab her arm. Behind her, Rency bellowed a, “Get your hands off me, mate!”

“Get out of my way!” she snarled, not caring what they did with Rency as long as it kept him out of her way. “Or you’ll feel the full weight of the crown bearing down on you.”

The young guard faltered and released her. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for her to slip through the scattering line of petrified soldiers and dash toward Jareth. She circled around the pillar on the left.

Jareth lifted his head as she approached, blood oozing from a wound along his hairline, over his forehead, and down his cheek.

“Reva,” he whispered as reached up to tug on the ropes that held his arms stretched to the sides.

“I’m here,” she said, gasping for air around each word.

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