Page 20 of The Call of Crimson
“If you’re too scared, just say so, B.”
“Definitely not,” I protested, crossing my arms.
“Then stop overthinking it, and just jump with me.”
“Fine. Together, then?”
“Together,” he agreed, taking my hand.
With a running start, we jumped from the edge of the roof towards the tree branch. To my surprise, we easily caught the limb, but to my horror, we had gravely miscalculated the distance from the tree to the pond.
Knowing our only chance of reaching the water is if we use the momentum from our first jump, I let go and prayed that I hit the pond. I screamed, arms flailing as I realized I wasn’t going to make it.
“Oof,” I moaned in pain as my body hit the muddy embankment. Elijah let out a pained grunt next to me.
Our legs had managed to hit the water, but we hadn’t made it far enough, leaving our upper halves lying in the mud surrounding the pond.
“You fucker,” I groaned at Eli. “I landed on my arm.”
“Shut up, so did I.”
Using my opposite arm, I shifted myself into a sitting position, hissing at the pain it caused me.
“I think it’s?—”
“Breyla!” my mother’s annoyed voice rang out behind us.
“Oh, shit,” Elijah whispered.
“Oh, shit, is right,” Mother snapped. “What were you two thinking?”
The pain throbbing through my arm overrode my common sense as I answered her, “Uh… that we would be able to swing from the tree branch and reach the pond.”
Her nostrils flared at my smart mouth. “You are intelligent enough to know better. You two aren’t even supposed to be out here right now.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to think you shouldn’t have scared off the tutor. Obviously, our arithmetic could use some help,” Elijah unhelpfully added.
“Obviously. Do I even need to say what comes next?” Mother raised an irritated brow at us.
“We’re confined to our quarters?” I guessed.
“And that’s just the start,” she confirmed.
“I can’t believe she refused to summon a healer,” Elijah says. She had allowed the castle physician to set the bones and give us mild sedatives, but it took weeks for the bones to mend themselves.
“We learned our lesson, though, didn’t we?”
“Debatable,” Elijah says with a chuckle. “You know, my arm still aches with the first snow each year?”
“Mine does too!” I laugh heartily with him. As soon as it comes, it’s replaced with guilt.
“It feels wrong to laugh…” I trail off, not completely sure I meant to say the words aloud.
“Yeah, I know,” Ophelia agrees, Elijah nodding with her.
“But I don’t think—no, I know they wouldn’t want us to feel that way,” Elijah adds.
“Doesn’t make it any easier,” I say as I throw back the remainder of my drink. My head swims, skin buzzing from whatever Elijah put in this.
