Page 38 of Unbetrothed

“Anything to save on time.” I jumped in and swam, clothes clinging to my body.

We crossed the pool of water, climbed another waterfall, and hiked to the base of yet another, taller fall. Muscles aching like I’d swum the width of the Agata Sea, I sank my fingers between slick rocks. A grayish haze floated around us. Jagged boulders protruded from the mountainside, our cushion should we misstep. Would we ever make it in?

“Do you still want to go forward?” Zichri propped his foot on a rock and adjusted a sodden boot.

“Is this fear I’m detecting from a soldier?” I shook my head as I clicked my tongue.

“Forward and onward!” Zichri called to the rest of our companions.

Jaime assisted Laude by making suggestions on where to place her hands and feet. Blas and Milo raced to the top, crossing distances with ease. I picked a spot and climbed.

Left arm. Left foot. My right foot slipped, and I curled my fingers around the rocks, praying not to fall. I recovered and started up again. Right arm. Right foot. Push up. I continued until halfway to the top ledge. Something buzzed about my head, and I swatted it—more buzzing. The little critter knocked against my cheek.

I cringed and glanced at Zichri, who was about an arm’s length away. “Do you see bugs swarming about?” My arms trembled under my weight.

He stopped moving. His expression contorted until his eyes grew a couple sizes bigger and his nostrils flared.

“What is it?” A pinch pricked my neck, and I yelped.

“Just keep going. Faster,” he urged, continuing his ascent.

I reached for a nook, and something stabbed my palm. I screamed. A hornet, larger than any I’d ever seen before, remained stuck in my skin. I flicked my hand, throwing the yellow monster. Even with the pulsating sting, I increased the pace—more buzzing. I swatted. Another stab on my leg.

Keep going, Beatriz.

Mumbled voices filtered from above. I couldn’t hear past the throbbing pain of my stings.

Dirt and pebbles trickled onto my forehead. But I didn’t stop clawing and pushing skyward.

“I think the dirt’s helping!” Laud’s voice blared above the roar of the waters. “Almost here!”

Ragged breaths puffed between my lips. More dirt pricked my eyes and burning pain pulsed. Many hands yanked my body over the top of the ridge. I lay on a hard surface. Blue skies above.

“You climbed into a swarm of strange bees,” Laude said. “Jaime has never seen such creatures before. The fellows believe it’s one of the beasts of the valley.”

Her statement brought no comfort.Will we be the first to come out alive?

My forearms and calves protested any further movement, but I got to my feet anyway. It seemed everyone else needed a break just as desperately as I did. Thank the Ancient One!

We stood on a rocky ledge, squinting at another large expanse of glistening water. The slow-flowing current cut through dark slabs of rock, making swimming our best way to officially enter the infamous valley.

Tucking stray hairs behind my ears, I peeked at Zichri. “You could still turn back.”

“Why don’t we stop here?” He squared up to me. “We’ll decide tomorrow when we’re not so tired.” He walked around me and swiped a yellow-orange fruit from the ground. The floor was littered with mangoes.

Nothing had ever looked so sweet. By the time I ate my second mango, Laude, Milo, Jaime, and Blas had their hands coated in sweet juices from devouring the treat. No one argued about camping at the top of the cliff for the night.

Since the land on the cliff could fit my bedroom inside of it, and roots and brush took up more than half the space, the Himzos chose to sleep in the brush while Laude and I got a grassy spot in between the tree roots.

Laude curled up and slept before the sunlight disappeared from the sky. As clouds covered the moonlight, I sat, legs curled to the side and back straight. The stings on my hand and leg pulsed. The marks along my arms throbbed with an itch that would not be satisfied, reminding me of my oath. Was my time running out?

Footfalls approached. Zichri took a seat, with one leg extended and the other propped up. He leaned an elbow on his knee and turned toward me. “You should get some rest.”

Now an inky black, the calm water lay as the boundary between being inside the sacred land and outside. I inhaled a hissing breath, subduing the urge to tear at my skin. “I can’t sleep.”

“Nerves getting the better of you?” His piercing eyes searched mine.

“If the whyzer, who hears from the Ancient One, told you to come, then he’ll protect you.” Zichri sounded so certain.

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