Troubled (The Binding Chronicles #4)

30. The Worst Climb Ever

The Worst Climb Ever

E xercise, especially hiking and climbing, was laborious, strenuous on the muscles, and generally exhausting on a good day.

This wasn’t a good day, and Vivienne had never hated hiking more than she did right now. They’d been in Death Mountain for hours, and each step was worse than the last.

This was, without a doubt, the worst climb she’d ever had the displeasure of participating in. That said something because one time, she’d climbed Midnight Peak on the eastern edge of Eleyta during a blizzard with several other vampires in a training exercise.

That had been bad. This was a hundred times worse.

You signed up for this .

The words had been running through her mind on a loop for hours, ever since they crossed the chasm. The knowledge that she’d agreed to this did nothing to ease the burn of her muscles as she climbed the path in front of her .

Although, calling it a path was an extremely generous use of the term.

It was more of a memory of an ancient trail than anything else. Sharp rocks and other pieces of debris covered the rough terrain.

They were slow-moving, thanks to the lack of light and the prince’s mortality. It would just take one misplaced step, one tumble down the ledge, and he would be gone.

Even Vivienne’s speed and her wings wouldn’t be able to save him.

The chasm seemed endlessly deep. Light didn’t exist there. It was unsurvivable.

And so, they moved carefully.

Vivienne had taken the lead when they left the broken bridge behind, and Marius was holding onto the tail of her tunic. It wasn’t glamorous, but at least this way, they wouldn’t lose each other.

Every so often, they stopped to consult the prince’s map. It was surprisingly accurate, considering that there couldn’t have been many people stupid enough to venture into such a dark and dangerous place regularly.

Or at least, it had been accurate.

Until now.

Vivienne frowned, her gaze swinging between the parchment and the area in front of them. There were more crystals here, and they cast a brilliant purple light not unlike the Light Elf orbs that illuminated Castle Sanguis.

“I don’t think this is right,” she said.

The path they’d been following was narrow. On one side, the mountain rose to greet them. On the other, less than a foot away from Vivienne’s smallest toe, the trail dropped into nothingness.

A massive shale wall spread before them, jagged edges jutting out from the otherwise smooth stone. Tiny gems were embedded in the stone, glistening faintly like stars shrouded by a dark mist. It was beautiful, and she stored it away in her mind to paint when their lives weren’t at risk.

The wall wasn’t marked on the map, and no matter how long Vivienne stared at it, she couldn’t figure out how to get around it.

A sound of frustration slipped from her lips, and Marius’s hand landed on her shoulder. He pointed to the same location she was studying on the map. “We’re here, right?”

“Mhmm, I think so.” She turned the parchment on an angle, hoping it would reveal something she’d missed. Unfortunately, it looked exactly the same as it had before. Navigation had never been her strong suit. “I don’t see how we can get through this.”

His lips brushed her cheek, sending tingles running through her. Since when did they kiss and touch each other so freely? She wasn’t sure, but she liked it far too much.

“We’ll figure it out.” He sounded so confident.

Her tunic fluttered against her back, and before she could utter a word of warning, the prince edged around her. He stood with his hands on his hips, outlined in darkness, as he studied the imposing wall.

Several minutes passed in silence before Marius slid off his pack and placed it against the shale.

“These crystals seem clustered differently.” Raising a hand, he touched several violet crystals jutting from the mountain. One was a lighter shade than the others, more lavender than violet, and seemed out of place.

“Maybe we should be careful?” Vivienne suggested, eyeing the chasm warily. “I don’t think touching things is wise.”

This place was named Death Mountain, after all. The person who destroyed the bridge must’ve had a reason for doing it .

“I am being careful. I just think…” He grabbed the lavender crystal and tugged.

Of course, he did.

A groan filled the air, and Vivienne shrieked. Dust rained down on them from the gods-only-knew-where, and then, the wall moved.

She grabbed the edge of his tunic, yanking him back just as the mountain shifted.

“Get down!” she yelled.

Thank Isvana, he listened. Marius dropped to his knees as massive rocks careened from above them.

Something sliced down Vivienne’s cheek, and another rock slammed into her head. She cried out, throwing herself on top of the prince like a blanket.

Why was he so big?

“Make yourself smaller!” she ordered him. “Tuck your hands around your head.”

More rocks fell.

A projectile slammed into Vivienne’s shoulder. Pain bloomed from the site. Another hit the fleshy part of her thigh.

She groaned, reaching inside herself and releasing her wings. The dark appendages unfurled from her back in a whoosh , and she curled them around her and the prince.

Death Mountain was no longer silent. Rocks smacked shale in a terrible, never-ending storm of destruction. Groans came from above, like a giant waking from sleep.

Shards fell, hitting the sides of the mountain like deadly needles on their descent into the chasm below.

The cacophony seemed never-ending.

Vivienne lifted her head as a massive rock careened past them. It slammed into the side of the path with a boom , shaking the precarious ledge where they remained.

And then, as if things couldn’t get any worse, the wall in front of them shifted. Death Mounted was rearranging itself. Why not?

Marius moved, but she shoved him down. What was he thinking?

“No!” she yelled, her voice barely audible over the chaos. “It’s not safe.”

A rock sliced across her forehead, leaving a burning trail of pain.

She cursed, ducking her head and raising her arms behind her neck to protect it. Even vampires needed their heads to live.

The stone rain got worse.

A rock slammed into Vivienne’s back, and she grunted. Another hit her wing, slicing through membranes as though they were made of paper. She screamed, the delicate appendage one of the most sensitive parts of her body.

The prince tried to speak several times, but his words were lost to the mountain’s roar as a deluge of rocks came from above.

Minutes dragged on.

Vivienne’s heart raced, and her lungs ached as the deadly precipitation continued. Blood dripped from her wounds, her legs ached as stones slammed into her, and her muscles burned.

And yet, even as she lay in agony, her entire body hurting in a way that it hadn’t since her mortal days, she didn’t move. Every time a stone slammed into her, every time her skin broke and her wings tore, it meant she was protecting the prince.

Every rock, every bruise, and every cut was a payment against her life debt.

Theoretically, she could survive this. The prince, with his halfling body and mortal blood, could not.

And then there was the truth Vivienne had discovered while riding the dragon. This was more than a job. More than a blood vow. She refused to let the prince be harmed because he meant something to her.

Protecting him was her calling.

So, she curled herself and her wings around him and prayed for the rain to end. Even if the gods were too busy to hear her pleas, she was grateful to have something to distract her mind.

Vivienne begged the goddess of the moon to stop the deadly rain. She asked the god of blood to keep her body strong against this rocky assault. She even prayed to Kydona, the goddess commonly followed by Ipothans and Ithenmyrians, and requested that she keep the prince from harm.

Vivienne lost track of time.

Rocks sliced through her skin, and her blood soaked the ground beneath them.

Black spots danced in her vision, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She would not let her body’s aches pull her into darkness, no matter how much it hurt. Not until the rain stopped.

An eternity that was probably half an hour passed before the rain died down. Silence fell upon the mountain once again.

Only then, when she was certain the prince would be safe, did Vivienne finally listen to her body’s cries.

And her body was weeping .

Pain swept through her like a burning wildfire.

Blood dripped from hundreds of cuts.

Her once beautiful wings, her sole gift from the goddess of the moon, were shredded.

Marius moved, and Vivienne cried out. Flames consumed her from the inside out. Everything hurt.

Roaring filled her ears as the prince gently flipped them over, laying her on her stomach. He crouched beside her, his concerned brown eyes hovering in front of hers. His mouth moved, but she couldn’t hear him.

Vivienne’s last conscious thought was that at least the prince was alive. She’d repaid her debt in full, and whatever happened, he could find the dagger and kill the First.

A smile tugged at her lips even as blackness consumed her.

She had done her job.