Page 36 of Flame and Fury

“Aren’t you going to climb a tree and eat some poisoned fruit or some shit?” Greer snaps back at me.

I chuckle and turn toward the apple tree. The branches are too high for me to jump and grab hold. I dig my fingers into the rough bark, one booted foot finding purchase as I kick off the ground with my other foot.

My first thought; this sucks. Isn’t climbing trees supposed to be fun? A staple of childhood or some bullshit. My chin keeps scraping against the rough bark and my fingernails are being bent back with each hand hold. At least I’m moving fairly quickly. I thought apple trees were relatively small, but all the trees that line this area are massive.

Reaching a branch that’s big enough for me to stand on, I grab hold with one hand. With a hiss, I snap my arm back.

“What? What is it?” Atlas shouts from down below, sounding panicked.

Little slices, no more than half an inch, cover my palm. What the hell? “Nothing. I’m fine.” I call back, frowning at the cuts. The leaves are as sharp as razor blades.

What now? I could keep climbing up, but I need to get onto a branch at some point to reach the apples. I haul myself up a few more feet until the leaves are so thick here I can’t see the ground below. I spot an apple and reach out to grab it, only to curse at the biting pain of my hands being sliced open.

Blood drips down my arms. I ignore it, stepping onto a branch so I can shuffle out a few feet to get some apples. Leaves brush over my exposed calves where I have my pants rolled up, slicing the skin there. I hiss out a breath through clenched teeth and stand still. What the hell is wrong with these trees?

I breathe through the discomfort. It’s more of an inconvenience than true pain. My boots scrape along the bark in a shuffle, and I’m careful not to lose my balance. I won’t die from a fall, but it wouldn’t be pleasant. Who knows how long the guards would leave us out here even if my body was broken. We already have three champions down and there hasn’t been any sign of someone coming to get us.

“Why is blood raining from the tree?” Atlas growls up from the ground, sounding like he’s barely keeping a leash on his rage.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine,” I snap back at him, except my blood is dripping down on them in a steady rhythm. My grip is slippery on the branch overhead. Only a few more steps and I reach the apples.

“Heads up,” I call down to the ground before I grab hold of an apple and pluck it from within the razor leaves. The fruit is going to need a wipe down before we eat it.

I go nuts grabbing every apple in sight and drop them to the ground.

“That’s enough. There’s blood all over these. Get down here,” Atlas barks. The only reason I head back toward the trunk of the tree is because we do have enough fruit. I make my way to the ground, leaving smears of blood on the bark.

I’m still six feet off the ground when hands wrap around my waist and lift me away from the tree. Atlas sets me down and spins me around.

“What happened?” He flips over my hands, looking at both sides of my bloody flesh. Then he drops down to his knees to inspect my legs that were exposed from my rolled-up pants. I probably should have pulled those down at some point, but I wasn’t about to do it when I was perched up in a tree filled with leaves that carve through skin.

“Yeah, so apparently the leaves of these trees are a little sharp.”

“A little sharp.” Atlas laughs, but the sound is humorless. His hazel eyes are bright, the gold striations more defined as his temper flares. “You’re not eating the apple.”

Greer has the apples gathered in her shirt. She and Drake are watching me and Atlas with unchecked interest.

“I don’t think so, buddy.” I shoulder my way past Atlas, but he picks me up and bodily moves me out of the way. He doesn’t get away fast enough to avoid my leg. I sweep it out and trip him as he tries to walk back to Greer. He catches himself before he belly flops on the ground. He jumps to his feet, snags the back of my sports bra, and tugs me back.

“Hey!” I am not proud of the yipping sound that comes out of my mouth, but Atlas is too late to stop me. I swipe an apple from Greer’s shirt and sink my teeth while Atlas curses behind me.

I nearly groan at the taste. It’s crisp and sweet and the first moisture that’s made it to my mouth in hours.

“Gods, Wren, do you ever let anyone do anything for you?” Atlas sneers down at the apple in my hand.

I take another bite, my irritation rising to meet his. I’ll eat the whole damn thing to make sure it’s not going to tear up my insides.

“Maybe because people don’t do shit for others for free.” The sound of my teeth breaking off another piece of the apple ricochets around us.

“This seems like a private conversation.” Drake grabs the back of Greer’s shirt, tugging her away from us. “We’ll give you guys a few minutes. We’ll be back with the others.”

Greer nods, shouting over her shoulder. “Let us know if you die anytime soon. Kay, thanks.”

A low growl rumbles in Atlas’s chest. “You think I want to watch you get hurt? To let you do something I could easily do in your place.”

I lick juice off my bottom lip and wipe one bloody arm against my pants and then the next. The cuts have already started closing up. “I’m sorry I almost destroyed your secret weapon,” I hiss out so low, there’s no way anyone else can hear.We’re under the canopy of the leaves but I’m aware that there are drones close by.

Atlas rears back, his mouth opening and closing in shock. “Fuck that. You think that’s why I’m pissed? Do you have no concern for yourself?”

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