Page 54 of A Girl and HER Prince
She had to be. “I’m ready to survive this thing. How’s that?”
He stepped forward, looking grim, as he took her hand. She stepped onto his knee. She reached above her, catching ahold of the ledge… and there was no way she’d be able to pull herself up. She felt him grab her legs and shove her up. She barely had time to feel bad for him as she scrambled to get onto the ledge and just… couldn’t. Not only was this death defying, but it was horribly embarrassing.
And now she was sitting on his shoulder like a cheerleader. This was really happening! He boosted her again. She gasped, feeling more than a little vulnerable in her swimsuit. He held to her legs to keep her from falling.
“Okay,” he said carefully, “now, you’re going to have to stand on my shoulder. Use my head for balance if you have to. You’re notthatheavy. It’s okay.”
She knew exactly how heavy she was—and she was no lightweight. In fact, her whole family was solidly built. It was their family joke that they could best any carnival worker who tried to guess their weight. And he was injured!
Still, there was no use dragging this out and making this harder on him. Clasping onto the ledge for balance, she straightened, her whole body shaking as she found her feet against his shoulder. As soon as she did, he grasped her shins and was pushing her up again.
This prince wasn’t exactly a wimp, was he?
Her knees easily cleared the ledge this time, and she only had to take another step before she was on it. Her heart lurched beneath her when she realized how little space there was between her and the wall, and she had nothing to hold onto. The faintest wind could knock her off balance.
“Keep your feet directly below you and hips close to the rock.”
Taking a deep breath, she did just that, inching forward. The charm bracelet that had gotten them into this predicament in the first place clanged against her wrist as she felt her way through.
“We’re looking for depressions and protrusions in the wall.”
She searched for something to put her feet on. The ledge went two ways—one was over the water, which would make for a much better fall, but the other direction led to the fissures in the rock where she could find more hand and footholds. And just above that was the pine tree. Muttering crossly under her breath, she scooted over the more dangerous drop.
Below her, Venice was finding his way up. Luckily, he knew what he was doing, and he was beside her sooner than she’d imagined… either that or she was caught in a time warp.
She reached the fissure, relieved to see that they provided a type of stepladder above her. But she couldn’t quite feel comfortable with this. She wasn’t used to not being able to bend her legs the way she’d like them to go… and at such heights. She didn’t dare look down now.
“Rest when you can.”
If she did for too long, she wouldn’t move forward. “Take your time,” Venice said beside her. “I want you to think about every move you make, but at the same time… don’t. You do yoga?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Yes.”
“Good. You’ll need that mobility right now.”
That meant she was going to have to bend in ways she wasn’t used to moving. She didn’t like it, and she’d let Venice know all about that later when she had time to be angry… which meant they had to survive.
For now, she tried to think like a spider while Venice found other depressions and protrusions beside her. His flashlight clanged against the rock wall as he climbed. His eyes were sharper at spotting holds than she was, and she was glad because that meant he could glance to the side and give her tips. She couldn’t think of anything else but her next move, and her next and her next. The tree branches above them were so close.
A splash sounded below them.
She couldn’t look. “What is that?” she hissed between her teeth.
He glanced down. “Nothing. Keep going.”
She noticed the bloody handprints he was leaving against the limestone. The bandage on his forearm had already soaked through. Her heart stilled with horror—no, no!He’d slip on his own blood. She clenched her teeth and found another foothold. They just had to get out faster.
Below them, a rock crashed against the wall. That forced her to turn. The assassin was beneath them. He still wore his tank and vest from his dive, looking like a deranged shadow in his black wetsuit as he gathered another rock. Her body froze as the stress actually pricked through her like deadly pins and needles.
“Keep going,” Venice whispered next to her. He found another handhold. His fingers slipped like she knew they would.
She screamed as he scrambled to stay upright. The pads of his hands caught against the wall again. How could she stop his bleeding? She couldn’t! She could barely hold herself up.
Another rock exploded near her head, sending dust into her eyes. She couldn’t react or she’d fall. The branch was above her. Venice grasped it with his good hand and pulled himself up into the tree with a grunted shout. The branch was farther from her reach, but she tried to catch it anyway.
Her hand missed it, and to her horror, she felt herself lose her balance and teeter backwards. The wind caught her body. Venice’s hand shot to her wrist. His palm was slick with his blood. A rock scraped against her leg. Pain shot through her and she realized it had come from their tormentor below.
Her wrist began to slip from Venice’s. Her other hand clawed for purchase and found that flashlight he’d tied to his neck, even as she felt herself slip more. The tube he’d used to lash it to himself would never hold her. There was only rock below them. She’d die.
