Page 64 of A Dark and Drowning Tide

“Maybe a little. My apologies.” Her dueling scar dimpled infuriatingly as she smiled.

Lorelei shrugged off her bag and slipped an empty glass vial into her breast pocket for safekeeping. If nothing else, she could bring a sample back. With that, she took her first step onto the blade. The rock wall jabbed uncomfortably into her spine. Drawing in a deep breath, she slid an inch forward. A pebble skittered off the edge and hurtled nauseatingly into the open air. One misstep, and that would be her. Lorelei swore under her breath.

“Are yousureyou don’t want me to go first? I’m quite experienced with rock climbing! Have I ever told you about the time I came up against anaufhocker—”

“Stop speaking,” Lorelei sniped. “If I’m to die, at least let me remember you a bit fondly.”

Sylvia’s mouth snapped shut.

Lorelei tore her eyes away from Sylvia and focused her attention straight in front of her. It was agonizingly slow going, and with the abyss yawning beneath her, she felt a horrible vertigo. Her chest constricted with every shuffling step, and she could feel her heart pounding in every pulse point in her body. As she neared the waterfall, its hissing drowned out all coherent thought. Unfathomable gouts of water poured down only an arm’s breadth away from her. It was so pure it looked to be made of glass.

“I can’t see you anymore!” Sylvia’s voice sounded impossibly far away.

Lorelei dug her fingers into the rock face to maintain her balance. “I’m fine.”

Holding her breath, she continued onward to solid ground. As soon as she made it, she collapsed into a heap and desperately tried not to empty the contents of her stomach. Between altitude sickness and the stress, she felt like death warmed over.

“It’s safe,” Lorelei called back to Sylvia.

“I’ll be right there!”

Don’t rush, she wanted to say.

For the first time in weeks, she wasalone—trulyalone. Under the brightness of the moon, there was enough light to see by but faint enough that the shadows seethed in the corners of her vision. She breathed steadily, fighting back the jagged edges of her fear. There were no ghosts here. No men to strike her dead on the streets of the Yevanverte. Out here, she could almost convince herself she was at peace.

The air felt suddenly glass-like, like the moment of quiet when a hawk’s shadow falls over a meadow. A shudder forced its way down her spine.

“Finally,” said a familiar voice. “I caught up to you.”

It couldn’t be.

Lorelei sat bolt upright and turned to face Ludwig. He stood at the tree line, his hands hanging loose by his sides. She couldn’t find an emotion to land on as she stared at him. There was something unsettling about the vague shape of him in the dark. He was preternaturally still. Her hair stood on end, and yet, she stubbornly hoped against hope.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded. “And how? You’re going to get yourself killed, wandering around in your condition.”

“Maybe. But I couldn’t miss out on finding the Ursprung.”

Ludwig was not quite himself. His light, lilting speech pattern was an almost-perfect imitation, but his face . . .

His smile looked like a painting sitting crooked in its frame. He took an artless, lurching step forward, as though he wasn’t quite used to his own proportions. Lorelei suddenly found herself wishing that she’d indulged Sylvia’s stupid ego and let her go first.

“You’ve made an impressive recovery.” She’d meant it to come out accusatory, but it was almost pathetically small.

He tilted his head at an unnatural angle. “I honestly thought you’d be a little happier to see me.”

“Of course I’m happy to see you’re well.”

I just don’t believe it.

“It may be best for you to stay behind.” Lorelei jerked her chin toward the peak. “Unless you’re feeling well enough to scale this mountain.”

“Oh, it shouldn’t be a problem. Say, where’s von Wolff?”

Lorelei went very still. Ludwig never called Sylvia by her surname.

It suddenly seemed of vital importance that he knew she wasn’t entirely alone. “On the other side of this crossing. She should be here at any moment.”

As he came closer, his shadow sprawled long and skinny against the earth. His footsteps tapped out a juddering rhythm.