Page 48 of The Bones of Benevolence

“Shut up,” he answered, brushing himself off and returning his wooden sword to its sheath. “Come on.”

We sparred with the swords as we moved up the hill to the cliffs, the rhythmic clanking of wood on wood like a drumbeat to the perfect day.

? ? ?

“Look,” I called to Tobyas, pointing to a deposit of crystal that jutted out from the cliff face.

His eyes widened. “I wonder if they glint like the ones in the cave.”

We’d missed the cave’s midday lights, but weren’t too disappointed since we found a path we’d never taken before. “Be careful,” I added, eyeing the ledge that was uncomfortably thin and the waves that crashed below it.

“Yeah, yeah,” he sneered. “Think we could climb up to that ledge?” He used his sword to point to a ridge of rock a bit further down the cliff face. “I can see the footholds all the way from here.”

I squinted at the cluster of rocks. “Let’s find out.” We plodded along the ledge, tiny pebbles falling loose beneath our feet and disappearing in the deep blue water below. I loved days like this — the sun was boiling, but it lit the harbor like stained glass in a cathedral.

“Faster!” Tobyas yelled at me. “That footwork needs improving if you want to join the Guard.”

I kept my pace steady. “Shut up!”

“Bet you won’t make the Guard at eighteen.”

I stopped in my tracks and turned to him, a shit-eating grin on his face. “You don’t think I can do it?”

“A silver piece says you can’t.”

I narrowed my eyes. “It’s a bet.”

He gave me the hardest handshake he could manage, sure to look me straight in the eye like Aunt Berna had taught us. “It’s a bet.”

I scoffed, smirking as I came upon the footholds. “This looks sturdy enough,” I mumbled, surveying the short climb to the ledge.

“Can you just hurry up?” Tobyas said, tapping his foot.

“I’m sorry for making sure it’s safe enough for you, King Tobyas,” I answered sarcastically, gripping the rocks and securing my fingers before hoisting myself up to the first foothold. “I should just let you fall and die, right?”

“I wouldn’t die.”

“You can’t swim.”

Tobyas answered with a dramatic sigh, crossing his arms impatiently.

I tested the feel of my weight on the bit of rock. Satisfied it was secure, I curled my fingers around the ridge and pulled myself up on my elbows, shimmying the rest of my body up.

“The ledge is wide and it looks like it goes pretty far in both directions,” I shouted. I turned back to look up the cliff face, tufts of grass growing over the side of the plateau. “I think I can reach the top of the cliff from here!” If I could get my hands over the edge, I could easily scramble to the top. “Watch!”

I jumped and caught the ledge, and my feet found tiny toeholds, helping me awkwardly climb the rest of the way.

It was the westernmost part of the cliff, a spot we’d never been before because of the rocky pits and outcroppings that separated it from the main cliffs. The path Tobyas had found seemed to be the only way here. I threw my hands in the air triumphantly, delighting in the pitiful sulk on his face.

“Hey!” Tobyas cried. “How’d you get all the way up there?”

“I’m tall!” I boasted.

“No fair.”

“You’ll be up here in a few years.”

Tobyas moved to take the first foothold as I turned to look at the plateau around me again. “I’m going to see if there are any other paths around here!”

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