Gilded Serpent by Danielle Jensen (top 10 novels txt) 📕

her lap and resting it on her folded cloak. They’d taken turns at watch, mostly out of the necessity of feeding the fire, and when he’d slept, it had been fitfully, though that was nothing new.

She took stock of the supplies they had that would be of use to her. Considered what, out of necessity, she’d need to leave behind. As she gathered items into various piles, she noticed that during one of his watches, Marcus had scrubbed away the codes he’d written, leaving behind only smears of soot.

A flicker of hope filled her chest that he’d changed his outlook on the day ahead, but then she saw tiny bits of leather littering the floor. Scowling, she lifted up one foot, peering at the bottom where he’d scratched the very same codes into the sole while she’d slept. “You won’t win this fight,” she told him, but he only muttered something unintelligible and rolled onto one side.

Retrieving the kettle, she went outside in search of ice to melt, then stoked the fire, smoke escaping through the openings in the rocks above as she watched the wood burn. Her stomach growled painfully, and already she felt light-headed and weak from the lack of food. Which, given what she needed to do today, was not ideal.

She’d do it anyway.

Marcus was stirring. Taking the vial she’d hidden in her boot, Teriana carefully measured the drops into a tin cup, which she then filled with water, swirling the contents with her finger before turning around.

“It’s dawn,” she said, handing him the cup. “We need to get moving.”

Marcus didn’t answer, only drained the contents of the cup in a few long gulps, then stretched his arms and legs, his face blank and unreadable. Teriana packed the things they needed into their respective satchels, one eye for the task and one for him.

It wouldn’t take long.

Sure enough, he swayed sharply, colliding with the wall of the cave. “I’m just hungry,” he muttered. “It’ll pass.”

Teriana stood. “I’m really sorry,” she said. “But I’m not going to let you die.”

Alarm filled his gaze. “Teriana, no!”

“I’m sorry.” She clenched her teeth, watching as the drug took hold, and rushed forward at the last moment as he fell, his weight knocking her from her feet.

A reminder of just how hard this was going to be.

But there was no time to waste. Scrambling round the cave, she bundled him up as best she could, sacrificing much of her own clothing to ensure he didn’t freeze. Exertion was going to keep her warm.

Outside, she chopped down two skinny trees with the rusty axe and dragged them into the cave. Using the canvas, she swiftly formed a litter, which she rolled Marcus onto, using ropes to bind one end to her waist so she wouldn’t spend the strength in her arms before necessary. Then she loaded the satchels onto the litter, doused the fire, and started walking.

The sky was grey and overcast, the wind mercifully absent, though it would pick up through the day. Teriana dragged the litter across the plateau, sweat coating her skin after only a few minutes, her pulse pounding.

You’ve lost your mind, a little voice whispered inside her head. This is impossible. You’re in no condition for it. You’re not strong enough. You’re going to get both of you killed.

She ignored it.

Reaching the next bridge, she eyed the gap over the ravine, ice and rapids flowing far below. She checked Marcus’s pulse and rolled him off the litter, then created a harness for him. Hauling him up on top of a pile of rocks she created beneath the baggage cable, she flung the rope over it, forming a loop much as she had before. Then she pushed him off the rocks.

Marcus dangled limply in the harness, neck lolling to one side as he swung. She swiftly looped the rope around her own body, then after checking her knots again, climbed on the bridge in front of him.

She took a couple steps, then let go of the cable with one hand and reached back to take hold of his arm and tug him forward. Another few steps, another tug.

Each time she had to let go of the cable, her heart skittered, the line beneath her feet seeming to wobble and sway with more intensity as she struggled to keep her balance. She couldn’t lean on the cable she gripped with her left hand, nor pull on it too hard or the bridge would tip sideways.

And it was painfully slow.

In the length of time it took her to reach the midpoint, she could have crossed back and forth thrice on her own. And she had to get this done today. Keeping Marcus unconscious for any longer would be too dangerous, and he wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.

Get the job done.

Reaching the other side, she stepped down onto the plateau, pulling Marcus along until they reached the boulder to which the lines were bolted. She pulled loose the knot above him and staggered beneath his weight, falling sideways as she eased him to the ground.

Unfastening the harness, Teriana looped the rope over her shoulders and scampered back across to repeat the process with the litter and the supplies.

One bridge down. Seven more to go.

The day turned into a blur of repeated steps as the sun passed overhead. Harness Marcus. Get him loaded onto the baggage line. Pull him across. Do the same to the supplies. Rebuild the litter. Load Marcus on the litter. Drag him to the next bridge.

By the time she reached the last ravine she needed to cross, Teriana was shaking with exhaustion and nausea, her hands abraded from the ropes and every muscle in her body screaming abuse.

“Only one more,” she muttered. “Then you’ll be done.”

But one more felt impossible as she stared at the expanse of bridge, the longest yet and the late-day wind rising in strength. She needed to rest, to regain her strength, but the sun was setting and Marcus was dangerously cold. Three