Page 355 of Shadowblood Souls
“We might as well give it a shot,” Andreas says in his easygoing way. “Especially with how much more walking we’ve got ahead of us.”
A murmur of general agreement passes through the group. I give the girl’s shoulder the gentlest pat I can manage.
“Why don’t you take the lead for a bit? Sounds like you know where you’re going better than I do.”
The swift grin she flashes at me makes the gamble worthwhile all on its own. She darts a little ahead of me, picking her way across the terrain so deftly my confidence in this plan has grown before I’m even walking again.
I check behind me to make sure everyone’s on board. My gaze collides with Riva’s, and she shoots me a wider smile that makes my pulse wobble in the best possible way.
She’s been championing these kids from the moment she found out they existed. But she doesn’t have to be alone in it.
She doesn’t have to be alone any way at all. A flicker of heat washes through my veins at the memories from last night—her taste on my lips, her face flushed with bliss.
I played a part in giving her that pleasure, and I didn’t have to push myself too close to my limits to do it. Even if that’s the best I can ever offer her, it’s more than I thought I could.
The shy girl guides us onto a narrow but trampled path that I’d bet animals use to traverse the jungle more quickly. My strides lengthen as we set off along it, the strain easing back.
“This is great,” I tell her, and she smiles a little longer than before.
“I feel like it’s going to take us on a lower path between the higher hills,” she says. “So we won’t have to go right up any of them.”
Nadia lets out a whoop of approval. “I’m all for that. No pain, no gain is definitely not my philosophy.”
At our faster pace, we find ourselves surrounded by the looming peaks within a couple of hours. The ground keeps veering upward with plenty of hillside still to cover, but my spirits are high.
Of course, the others still need their breaks even with an easier hike. Andreas calls for a pit stop when we come up on a couple of fallen trees that can act as benches, and he and Riva pass around the drinks and snacks while Dominic checks everyone for possible injuries.
Griffin scoops his cat out of his pack and scratches her shoulders while she cuddles on his lap. As I watch him, wondering what’s going on in that head of his now, he focuses on the perky girl from the older kids.
“I think we know everyone’s talent now except yours, Celine,” he says calmly. “What powers do you have? It’d be good to know in case they might come in handy.”
She lets out a giggle with an awkward dip of her head. “I’m not sure how likely that is out here. The guardians say my abilities have something to do with magnetism… I can manipulate certain metals a little, and sometimes I pick up on things like radio waves, cell phone signals… Haven’t heard any of that on this trip.”
She motions to the wilderness around us with a wry grin.
Nadia gives her a teasing nudge. “We’ll have to put you to work once we make it to the city.”
“It could definitely be useful there.” Jacob stretches his arms over his head and then considers the mousy girl with the earth affinity. “Any chance you can tell us how much farther we’ve got to go before we’re heading down again instead of up?”
Her shoulders come up a bit at his demanding tone. “I—I can’t really feel that far ahead. It’s farther ahead than I can tell, anyway, but I think that only means it’s not, like, ten minutes away.”
Andreas cocks his head, studying the peaks on either side of us. “From the looks of things, I doubt it’s more than a few hours farther. We’re not going to make it all the way down the other side before it gets totally dark, but it’d be good if we can push onuntil we reach the highest point. We might be able to see the city from there. It’ll give us something to inspire good dreams before we set off again.”
Riva stretches her arms out in front of her with a gleam in her eyes. “That would be amazing—to know our goal is in sight.”
Once we’ve reached civilization, we can find out where we are. Start making more plans. See if we can gather more allies.
My heart thumps faster in anticipation, even though those events are at least a day in the future. Then my attention snags on Riva’s next movement.
She sat down a couple of feet away from Griffin, and she’s just slipped her hand around his.
As he looks at her with a quiet smile, my hackles rise automatically.
He’s been helping us with the escape. He hasn’t given me any reason to distrust him since we fled the facility.
But he hasn’t really explained himself either. Justified all the ways he worked against us with Clancy and whatever other guardians.
He helped Clancy form his plan to shove me and Riva together. Shared some of my most private feelings—and hers.
