*Maddox*
Hunter stands next to me at the river’s edge, the first inklings of morning light drifting lazily over the roiling water and the shadow land beyond. Dark clouds are gathering in the distance, and I try not to think of them as a dark omen to kick off our quest.
I turn to see Trinity standing nearby, her eyes wide as she inspects the water, which is ripping past us at an impossible speed. Further downriver is a rope–some type of woven line of metal stretching from one side of the river to the other, the side touching Hunter’s territory glinting in the sun as the first rays reflect off several carabiners meant to help ease us across.
“Everything you own is going to be soaked,” Hunter says casually, glancing at the backpack I’m wearing.
“You’re sure there isn’t another way across?”
“Not at this time of year. Had you come three weeks earlier, you could’ve simply hopped from rock to rock to the other side.”
I purse my lips and look back out over the icy, gray, white-capped rapids currently blocking us from reaching the temple.
Seth and Antony are helping each other into the harnesses Hunter provided, while Trinity continues to stare at the river in fear and awe.
“This is insane,” I growl to myself.
“I agree. I don’t understand why you have to do this now… why not wait until next winter when the water isn’t running so high?” Hunter asks.
“I don’t have that kind of time,” I say with regret. I step away from him and toward where Seth and Antony are standing, waiting for my command.
There are a few people who have come out to watch what I’m sure will be a spectacle, including a tall, dark haired man I don’t immediately recognize. He’s dressed in plain gray clothing, his arms crossed over his chest as he watches our group gather near the post that’s attached to the rope–the only thing that will keep us all from being swept away by the river.
I keep my eyes trained on the man as I step toward Antony.
The man turns to look directly at me, hazel eyes bright in the dim morning sunlight. He must be Elijah, the twin brother of Hunter. They share the same face shape and hazel eyes, but Elijah is the darker of the two. He bears no scars on his skin like Hunter, however.
He nods at me, once, then turns his attention back to the river, and surprisingly, Trinity.
“There has to be another way,” Antony huffs, yanking on the tight harness looped under his armpits and around his waist. “What are we supposed to do? Flail around until we reach the other side?”
“I heard there’s a bridge further south of here,” Seth says sharply, letting out his breath. “Why aren’t we considering that?”
“Because there is no bridge,” I say, shrugging into my own harness. “I sent scouts out last night. This is it, we have no other choice.”
“We could wait, like Alpha Hunter said,” Seth protests, but he’s silenced by the look I shoot in his direction.
I’m not happy about this either, but it has to be done.
“Once we’re across, it’s only a few days worth of a walk.”
“But we have to cross it again to get home,” Trinity says softly, her eyes round and wide with fear. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“It’s not a good idea,” I agree. “But it’s the only option. We’re crossing, and that’s final.” I turn to Leo, who has been standing in silence for the last several minutes, already in his harness and patiently waiting to get started. “You’re going first, and will be tethered to Trinity. You’re to climb along the rope until you reach the other side.”
“So my feet will be hanging in the water?” Trinity scoffs.
“Likely everything below your waist will be submerged,” Leo says, not an ounce of emotion on his face. “It won’t be that bad if you wrap her arms around my neck and your legs… around my waist.” The young warrior colors deeply, his cheeks going a ruddy pink as he looks down at the ground.
“Goddess. Fine.” Trinity rolls her eyes and turns away from us, stomping away and cursing under her breath.
“Good luck,” Hunter shouts from behind us, and I turn to watch as he and the onlookers begin to fade into the shadows toward the small village in the background. Elijah remains, cresting the top of a small hill to watch with Vember and the warriors who are staying behind. They’re to keep an eye on things here to make sure we aren’t followed by the other Alphas.
I also trust that Vember will go straight to Isla if anything happens to me, or if there’s some other threat. He may be all she has to protect her in the event none of us make it home.
I try not to think about that as I give Vember a tight nod.
Seth looks up at the hill, and for a moment I think he’s looking at Vember, but then Seth’s eyes move discreetly towards a warrior standing behind several of the others.
“Seth,” I say, unease prickling up my spine. “You will cross after Leo and Trinity have reached the other side. Alpha Hunter said there’s another rope that can be thrown to help pull you across.”
Seth’s eyes snap back to mine, his face going cold and expressionless as he nods his assent. I turn at Antony then, who is looking a little pale.
“Then you,” I say, “and then me.”
Antony says nothing as Trinity and Leo approach the post, but when Seth is out of earshot, my cousin-in-law turns to me and says in a low whisper, “I would rather you go before Seth.”
“I understand, but that's not happening,” I reply, laying my hand on his shoulder. I take a step closer to him, leaning down to whisper into his ear. “He doesn’t know you are carrying the diamond. If anything happens to me, you’re to go straight to the temple. Do you understand?”
He nods, and I pat his shoulder before turning to the rest of the group.
“Let’s go.”
* * *
Leo makes quick work of crossing the river. He has the roughest go of it with no one on the other side to throw him the anchor to help pull him across. Plus, he has Trinity on his back, clutching him for dear life.
I can’t hear what they’re saying to each other, but based on the calm on Leo’s face as he turns his head to speak to her over the roar of the river below, I know he must be trying to encourage her. His finger’s are white with the strain of their weight as he shimmies along the taut rope, legs swinging in the air as he pushes them further across the wild water.
But soon, his feet graze solid ground, and above us on the hill shouts and applause rain down on us.
Seth is next, and it only takes him a minute to cross after catching the loose rope and anchor . Leo has thrown to him. Antony too makes quick use of it once he catches the rope, which takes a moment. Leo has to throw it three times before Antony is able to catch it, securing the anchor to his harness. The carabiner grinds across the suspended rope just as the first droplets of rain start to fall from the sky.
It’s my turn.
I secure my carabiner to the taut rope then wait for someone to throw the other rope. Leo tosses it, but it’s… shorter than it had been. His eyes go wide as he reels it back, saying something to Seth, who looks just as concerned.
I can’t hear them over the roar of the river. Leo tosses the rope again, but it doesn’t reach me.
I look up to where Vember and our warriors had been standing, but it’s starting to rain in earnest now, and the only person left on the hill is Elijah, who is watching what’s happening with a stone cold, if not skeptical, expression.
Rain pelts the top of my head as dark clouds begin to funnel overhead. If I don’t move now, I’ll have no grip on the rope stretched from one side of the river to the other.
I have to climb across, like Leo did.
I grip the suspended rope with one hand, waving my other at Leo in a silent command to not bother with the other rope. The wet line snags on my carabiner as I start the arduous process of climbing across, my arms burning with the effort by the time I make it halfway.
“Try throwing it now!” I shout, squinting through the downpour. Over the cold spray of the rapids below and the heavy sheets of pounding rain, I can’t see my group on the other side.
But I see the second rope fly out of the gray, watery haze.
But as I let go of the line with one hand to grip the other rope, the line behind me suddenly slackens. My stomach twists as I fall, my hands gripping the line with all of the strength I have as icy water shoots up my back and neck.
I can’t hear anything over the sudden rush of water. I have no grip on the line, my hands sliding down as I’m dragged downstream.
I’m numb in an instant, and then…
“MADDOX!”
I gasp, spitting water as I briefly break the surface before being sucked back into the river. I hit something hard, the side of my head cracking against what must be a rock. I fight back to the surface, but I’m struck again, and I have no idea what's up and what's down. Everything is black, and my body is succumbing to the icy temperature.
My lungs scream at the lack of oxygen as I blindly reach for anything to grab onto.
I think of Isla and our son. I see them curled up in our bed together, Isla’s slender fingers trailing through Isaac’s silken hair.
I want to see them again. I want to–
My hand slides over something solid, and I flail, gripping onto what feels like a rock. I hold on as the underwater current tries to pull me further into the river’s depths.
I won’t give up. I can’t. I can’t leave Isla alone to rule until our son is of age to take my title.
Something is pulling my hair, then a hand wraps around my neck, then the sensation disappears completely.
My grip on the rock is slackening, my heart beginning to slow. It’s almost peaceful as the roaring of the river begins to fade, and everything goes still, quiet. My numb hands release the grip on the rock involuntary.
Darkness. Nothing but black, endless darkness….
Then a cracking blow to the chest sets my body aflame.
“Goddess, is he dead?” Seth shouts, his voice fragmented and distant.
Another blow, my ribs cracking and splintering in my chest.
“Maddox? Maddox?” Trinity’s voice is clearer, laced with terror.
Another blow.
I try to roll to my side, but it’s impossible to move. Something is pinning me down. Am I still in the river? Am I–
My face burns and tingles as someone slaps me across the face so hard I buck off the ground and onto my side, water pouring from my lungs. I blink, my vision filling with gray, suffocating rain and the river’s edge.
“Alpha Maddox,” Antony says urgently, kneeling in front of my face. I look up at him and take a shallow, ragged breath.
“What the fuck happened?” I growl, my teeth clenched as a chill wraps around me, my sodden clothes clinging to my skin.
“The rope snapped–” Trinity begins, but I raise my hand, coughing violently.
“Obviously. But from what side?”
“Ours,” Leo somewhere nearby. “It shouldn’t have happened. The line–the rope is made of woven metal. It can’t just break.”
“Did you see anything before it happened, Seth?” I ask, slowly rising into a seated position. Antony is still kneeling beside me, rain dripping from his hair as he gives me a once over.
“No,” Seth replies. He turns away before I can see his face.
I don’t like it, but I have to admit that Isla might have been right.
Seth is up to something, and that something… might have might be the cause of me falling into the river.