Page 98 of A Pact of Blood

When the cleric hands me the banner, my fingers curl tight around the handle. I slide it beneath the straps that cross my chest so both of my hands will be completely free and aim a reassuring smile at my companion on this journey. “Just follow my lead. We’ll make it to the top.”

Despite the jittering of my nerves, I put the same confidence into my strides walking to the obelisk. Even up close, the handholds blend into the smooth darkness of the stone. I peer at those at knee and waist height for anything that might distinguish the correct ones, but the semi-circles look essentially identical to me.

All right. I’ll just have to rely on my memory of what I saw from Marclinus’s climb.

Girding myself, I reach for a handhold at shoulder level. Then I lift my foot onto one of the lower protrusions.

My companion shuffles closer behind me. He peers up at the steep slope of the obelisk. “It looks even taller from here.”

His voice quavers slightly. Have I been tied to a man who’s afraid of heights on top of everything else?

“Don’t look too far up,” I tell him in the same assured tone as before. “Focus on where I put my feet so you can grasp on to the same holds and then put your own feet along that path.”

He swallows audibly but nods. As I stretch my arms higher and clamber upward, he follows right behind me. His nervous huffs of breath ruffle the hem of my dress.

I picture Marclinus’s ascent, pausing and then reaching for the holds I remember him using. It serves me well for the first ten or so feet of the climb.

Then I reach for a protrusion that I think is the right one. My first tug suggests it’s firm enough, but the second I put pressure on it to haul myself upward, the rock fractures between my fingers.

My fingernails skid against the stone with a thin squeal. I clutch my other handhold tight, pressing myself against the slope to keep my balance. My pulse lurches, but I remain in place.

Murmurs break out through the watching crowd. I can’t imagine they’re sayinggoodthings about my close call.

I can’t let the mistake faze me. Gritting my teeth, I reach for another nearby hold.

I’ve clambered up another several holds when my memory starts to get shaky. I didn’t see exactly where Marclinus was grasping from here on.

Breathing as evenly as I can, I pull on one hold, judge it solid, and then another. As long as I’m cautious about it, I should be able to avoid any major?—

The protrusion I just stepped on snaps beneath the ball of my foot. I lurch sideways, my leg swinging wild. With a hitch of breath and a yank of my arms, I center my balance on my other foot.

Sweat trickles down my back despite the afternoon’s refreshing breeze. Below me, my harnessed companion lets out a sound like a stifled groan.

“Just a minor slip,” I tell him and myself. “We’re doing well.”

But now I know that some of the holds can handle being grasped onto but not the full weight of my body pressing down on them. How can I be completely sure of my footing?

The lapses must be starting to rattle my companion. He heaves himself up the glossy surface after me as closely as before, but his breath has gotten a little raspy.

His concentration has been shaken too. I’m just reaching for another hold when he steps up after me—and jerks downward with a yelp.

The harness snaps, wrenching me down after him. The banner wobbles where it’s tucked against my chest.

I skid down the smooth surface, fumbling to snatch at another protrusion. One of the straps twists my arm, sending a stinging pain through my shoulder. Another smacks against my ribs roughly enough to bruise. I clamp my lips against a cry of my own.

Just as my fingers close around a hold, my companionmanages to catch himself and flings his hand up to steady me by the waist. My toes jar to a halt against one of the tiny ledges.

“Sorry, sorry,” the man mumbles. “I put my foot on the wrong spot. I’m so sorry.”

My shoulder throbs, but it’s not my most immediate concern. I’m never making it even halfway up this tower if the man I’m supposed to be guiding continues stumbling.

I dig into my well of calm and put all the soothing vibes I can summon into my voice. “It’s all right. Everyone blunders a little when they’re getting used to something new. Now you have a better idea of what to do. You’ve been with me so far. I know we can make it.”

“I don’t want to let you down, Your Imperial Highness.”

“You won’t,” I promise. “Only think about following me. About the next two holds for your hands and putting your feet where your hands were. That’ll take us to the top. We won’t lose our way. We can do this together. Are you with me?”

He exhales roughly, but when he speaks again, there’s renewed conviction in his voice. “Yes. It’s that simple. I can do that.”

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