Stolen - Nhys Glover Page 0,31

the wind became. It buffeted us, and my savior worked even harder to keep his feet on the wall, the rope taut and untangled above us. My damn dress billowed around us, getting in the way.

The sound of an explosion below jolted us both. I craned my head back to see. Far below, in the center of the village, a light from a bonfire inferno lit up the whole scene. The witches were scattering like ants. No, it wasn’t panic sending them in all directions. They were looking for something.

Me! They had to be looking for me!

Had they set something on fire so they could see where I hid, or was it part of their ceremony? Would there be enough light to see us as we climbed up the citadel? Hopefully, the bright light would make everything beyond its sphere invisible.

My hero was dressed in black, but I wore a bright blue dress that was flapping madly in the wind. With enough light they could see me, surely. If they looked up. It would only take one of them to look up and see us.

But I had bigger worries than the witches seeing me. I was hundreds of feet above the ground, one thin rope all that was standing between me and death. And the wind was getting fiercer.

My rescuer was weakening. I could feel it. It had to be taking it out of him, keeping us perfectly positioned. So the winch could do its job, he had to fight the wind every step of the way.

What could I do to help? I hated being the damsel in distress, so useless she couldn’t even help save herself. There had to be something I could do!

We were coming up on a small ledge. My hero needed to rest for a few moments. And maybe while he did, I could get my legs under me and do my share. This was no Danan warrior, whose strength and speed would make rappelling up a mountain seem easy. This guy was not much stronger than me. Or a normal me. Currently, I was as weak as a kitten.

But kittens had claws, and they could spit and hiss at their attackers. And climb drapes.

I remembered a kitten, belonging to the barn cat, getting into the farmhouse when I was a kid. It had led us all a merry chase before clawing its way up the drapes like they were nothing.

I could do that! I had to do that!

“Stop here for a few moments and catch your breath,” I yelled into his ear.

For a split second he fought the idea. Then, reluctantly, he paused our upward movement so he could bring us onto the ledge. We fell together onto the narrow, uneven shelf and lay panting for precious minutes. The wind whipped at my hair, stinging my eyes. I grabbed at it and held it back from my face. A moment later, a hand was creeping down my arm and looping some kind of elastic around my hair for me. Once it was secured, I fell against his chest, breathing in his pleasant, masculine scent.

His breathing had already begun to even out.

“We still have a long way to go?” I yelled into his ear.

I felt him nod.

“Can you adjust the harness so I can face the rock wall like you? Maybe I can use my legs to help keep us away from it. Right now, I’m just dead weight the wind is blowing around. You have to fight both the wind and our combined weight.”

After a moment of processing, he began adjusting our harnesses. I’d been attached to his side, my belly aligned with his hip. When he was finished, my right hip was aligned with his left hip. The rope between us.

My hair was no longer flapping around, but my dress was. It not only tangled around us, but it acted as a flag waving at any of the witches looking up.

Resolutely, I grabbed at the rip caused by my tussle with the hut wall. With shaking hands, I shredded the bottom away, leaving only the part I was sitting on in the harness. The rest took off into the air like a bird. It wasn’t cold, so I didn’t have to worry about that. And modesty was the last thing on my mind. But my feet were bare. Could I use them on the rough surface of the cliff?

I was about to find out.

“Ready?” I asked. “Is there anything I need to know?”

He gave