Page 48 of Prisoner of Steel and Shadow

His chuckle followed her as she strode to the cliff and tested her grip. Satisfied she wouldn’t immediately drop, she started to climb.

The danger of the climb didn’t allow her mind to wander, but there was a sort of meditative state that came with being utterly focused and in the moment. There wasn’t room to worry about her competitors or how many people would be waiting for her at the top. So far no one had made a move for her token, but that would all change once she got into town. Thankfully, few knew their way around better than her. She was confident that as long as she could get off the cliff without setting off any sort of trap, she'd be in the clear.

When Ronan’s voice, strong and clear, sounded just to her left, she wasn’t even surprised.

“I once worked with a man with the gift of transmutation. He could turn anything he could touch into whatever he wanted. Such a power would sure come in handy right now, don’t you think?”

“Don’t.”

“Don't what?”

“Distract me.”

“I'm just trying to find an enjoyable way to pass the time.”

“Well, stop.”

“You’re right. Conversation is overrated. There are so many better things we could be doing.”

She fought against a smile, charmed by him despite herself. There was something about a confident man who refused to give up that had to be admired. Shaking her head, she selected her next hold and propelled herself upward.

They were just over halfway up when she felt the tremor beneath her fingers.

No.

The tremor was quickly followed by the telltale rattle of a stone breaking free.

Oh, shit.

Heart in her throat, Shadow looked up. She didn’t even realize she was holding her breath until she determined the fall of rocks was not directly above them as she feared. There wasn’t time for her to wonder why she’d also made a point to ensure Ronan was in the clear.

To the right of them, a tiny woman whose name she couldn't remember flattened herself against the wall of rock she’d been gracefully scaling seconds earlier. But it was too late. There was no hope for her as more deadly stones slid to the ground, taking the climber with them and crushing her beneath their weight.

“Mother's tits.”

“That was close,” Shadow agreed.

“It could have been worse.”

“But it wasn't, not for us anyway.”

“Does nothing faze you?”

She didn’t bother answering since the last of the quaking faded, allowing her to continue with her ascent. Thankfully, there were no other traps or natural disasters, and they—the prick was still keeping up with her—made it to the top unscathed.

Flopping over onto her back, she panted as she stared at the shifting wisps of clouds drifting across the sky. Rolling to her side, she forced herself up, her breath sawing in and out of her through a throat that burned. Her arms and legs visibly shook from the exertion of her climb and swim as she stood there desperately trying to catch her breath.

She was more out of shape than she'd realized, having grown soft during the relative peace of last year, but now was hardly the time to slow down.

“This is where I leave you,” she panted as soon as Ronan’s red hair appeared, not waiting for him to fully clear the wall before she took off toward the city gates.

Knowing many would use the alleys and various dark corners to lie in wait, Shadow had already decided she would be going up instead of through. The best way to do that would be from the East, where the roofs were flat, rather than the more direct path from the West. She angled right, heading in that direction and hoping the longer route would keep others from following her.

She knew she’d made the right choice when she slipped through the gate and was met with a wink from one of the guards.

“Only two have come this way so far,” he murmured. “But I believe you’re about to take the lead.”

She grinned at the man before offering a nod and then used one of the merchant stalls to jump up and grasp the metal rod just above it, using it to pull herself up and then over onto the shop’s balcony. From there, she climbed the wrought iron and jumped up onto the roof. With nothing but the buildings between her and the palace steps, she took off in a dead run.

---