A Queen of Gilded Horns (A River of Royal Blood #2) - Amanda Joy Page 0,99

walls, a sharp contrast to the colorfully painted homes in the Aerie.

Past the market stretched a swath of yellowed grass with a wooden mechanism I couldn’t quite make out at its center and what looked to be a high wall of marble, beyond which I could only assume sat General Sareen’s manor.

“So the steps are the only way up to the Aerie?”

I felt the heat of his body against my wings a moment before he spoke. “Do you see the vacant stores below?”

I nodded. A row of the larger buildings with large plate windows caked in grime, these roofs at least were flat. And not more than a fifty-foot drop from the ledge where they stood. I threw Aketo an incredulous look. “Seriously? You jump down?”

“Dthazi did it first,” he said, laughter in his eyes. “I couldn’t let him one-up me.”

“Is it safe?” I couldn’t see any soldiers from here, but that didn’t mean much.

“The soldiers sleep in the barracks near the manor. At this hour none should be in town. As long as we stay together, we’ll be fine,” Aketo said, taking my hand.

“You remember my aversion to heights, yes?” I said, taking a long stride back from the edge. My mind flashed to the memory of falling in Orai and my palms were suddenly damp. “Is there another way?”

“Yes, though it’s no easier than this.” He pointed west, where the Aerie’s ledge dropped off. One building stood taller than the rest. “The drop down to that rooftop is less than twenty feet. The problem is we’ll have to climb across a tangle of tree roots to get to where we can jump . . . and you’ll recall there’s snow on the ground. The roots will be slick with it, perhaps frozen.”

That sounded more suited to my skills. “Can you manage it?” I asked, giving him an impish grin as I brandished my clawed fingers.

I tried not to think too hard on the last time I’d climbed up something treacherous. If Aketo said something would be hard, he was probably underplaying its difficulty, since he was great at most things. I refused to let one near-death among several stop me from something I love.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine with you to look after me,” Aketo said, his voice wry.

Together we inched over to the ledge, but instead of jumping down, Aketo showed me the roots that jutted out from the earth. Some of which were as thick around as my thigh. It had been years since I’d climbed up a tree, but unlike the easy-to-grip bark and moss on a tree trunk, these were smooth.

My mouth dried up as I counted the trees and their tangled root network. We’d only need to climb across the length of six of them, until we were directly above the tallest building. Aketo went first, testing the weight of the roots. I could hardly breathe as I followed him down. Beneath the tree roots, there was nothing and nowhere to place my feet. I drove my claws into the fleshy tuber I held on to and tried not to think of my dangling legs or what would happen if I lost my grip.

My eyes fluttered shut for a moment as I tried to think past the pounding in my heart.

“Eva,” Aketo yelled, sounding panicked. “Open your eyes.”

My eyes flew wide. The sight of him just a few feet away steadied me. “Sorry. Lost in thought.”

“Come on, then,” he said. “Aren’t you supposed to be looking after me?”

“Right,” I muttered.

We inched our way toward the rooftop, root by root. The only near fall came when Aketo lost his grip. I swallowed a shriek as he swung himself up with one arm and found a sturdier root.

When we reached the very last tree, which seemed to be clinging to the Aerie’s ledge through sheer will as its knotty trunk protruded at a near horizontal angle, we used its branches to turn around so we’d actually see where we were falling. As one, we let go of the branches. A scream bloomed in my chest, but I smothered it as we fell through the air. The moment my feet hit the roof, I ducked into a roll. My momentum carried me head over foot a few times until I finally skidded to a stop, bones aching.

I climbed to my feet, grimacing at my raw hands. “This is what you and your brother did for fun?”

Aketo, brushing dirt from his knees, laughed. “How did you and