Page 50 of Queen of the Night
I immediately look closer at our surroundings, and my eyes widen when I notice a tiny face that at first glance appears to be a leaf… Another could be mistaken as the boulder it trembles behind, and another miniature one rides on the back of a small red bird, who circles us once before racing for the treetops again.
We follow a meandering path that weaves in and out of thick forest, at times traveling right alongside the rushingLucent River that I can hardly keep my eyes from. The path eventually splits, one side going to the right, deeper into the forest, and the other is a bridge, of sorts, made of intricately woven vines and stretching across the rushing, sparkling depths of the Lucent River. I press my lips together. Bridges and I don’t always get along, and I don’t swim well enough to risk falling into the Lucent River.
Ikar tests the vine bridge first, and when it holds beneath one of his boots, he looks back at Rhosse with a shrug and continues forward. Rhosse goes next. I watch how the vines give a little beneath their boots warily, but it holds.
Darvy gestures with one hand for me to go next. “Lead the way.”
I wrinkle my nose. He gives me a gentle nudge to get my boots moving.
“I’m going,” I grumble.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Darvy asks from behind me, sounding overly cheerful about the situation.
“Quite,” I mutter.
“I enjoy the unimpeded view we get without a handrail.”
“Aren’t you scared ofanything?” I ask with a growl as the vines bounce with the movement of so many who are heavier than I.
I envy the nymph who continues to skip ahead without fear.
“Of course I have fears.”
“So nice to hear you’re normal.”
“—Just not very many of them.”
I roll my eyes. “Tell meone.Help me feel better.”
“Let me think for a moment,” he says so seriously I almost laugh. But I don’t because I’m still angry with him.
“An animal?” I ask, trying to help.
“No…”
“Dying?”
“Not really.”
“Water?”
“No.”
“Spiders?”
“Nah.”
“Deathstalkers?”
“Everyone is afraid of those.”
I can’t help but laugh this time.
“Women?” It was only supposed to be a joke, but his hesitation piques my interest.
“Onewoman.”
I look back with so much surprise that I almost topple off the edge. Darvy grabs my forearm and sets me back on the path while I exclaim over his admission.
