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Thea rubbed her temples as she surveyed the obstacle. ‘We have to pull ourselves across below. Or climb over the top…’ she murmured. The back of her neck prickled again and she turned back, scanning the fringe of the jungle they’d just left. There was no one in sight. Turning back to the bridge of bars, she made up her mind. ‘We've all trained, we've got the strength… Don’t we?’

Cal nodded. ‘I’ll manage.’

They strapped their weapons to their bodies securely and, not for the first time, Thea wondered where the rest of the shieldbearers had ended up. She pushed the thought from her head as she squared her shoulders to face the next obstacle. She could see no mechanism or tricks in place… but her skin still prickled, something behind them pulling at her attention. There was nothing there.

‘You two first,’ she said.

Cal opted to climb above the bars so he didn’t have to bear the full weight of his body on his injured arm. Meanwhile, Kipp swung from bar to bar below, like some kind of jungle animal.

In the distance, just beyond them, Thea’s heart soared. The flock of black birds circled above the island. She could feel the totem pulsing among them. She just had to get across this ladder of chains…

Thea opted for Kipp’s method and fit her hands to the metal bars, checking one last time that her sword, shield and satchel were firmly strapped in place. Then she started across. She marvelled at how strong she’d grown over the months, supporting her whole body weight with ease as she swung herself from one linked chain to the next. Before she knew it, she was halfway across, ignoring the roar of the waves below and reaching for —

That was when the first arrow whistled through the air.

The tip grazed her upper arm and she nearly let go from the shock, a startled yelp escaping her.

‘Thea!’ Kipp shouted from the other side, his voice pitched with panic.

Another arrow whirred close to her dangling legs and she cursed loudly, flinging herself to the next bar. She could see Cal nocking an arrow to his own bow in her defence.

As arrows shot across the chasm, Thea put one hand in front of the other, using all her upper body strength, desperate to get across without a dozen holes through her body.

‘Cal!’ she yelled, suddenly thinking of the cursed winged creature who held her totem somewhere nearby. ‘I’m going to need some of those arrows to shoot the bird down!’

‘But –’

‘Don’t you dare use another one!’ she commanded.

She was two-thirds across, she could make it, she could —

Another arrow kissed her side, pain searing as it grazed her skin, only just missing her middle.

Swearing and sweating, Thea hung by one hand and reached for her satchel, her teeth clenched with the effort. Fumbling blindly inside the bag, her fingers closed around the jar she wanted and, still hanging on for dear life, she threw it back at her attackers with all her might.

Thick smoke exploded as the glass shattered on the surrounding stones. Shouts of alarm and cries of pain echoed down the chasm.

‘I get some credit for that one, Wren,’ she muttered to herself as she swung across the final bars to safety.

Cal and Kipp surged for her, pulling her into a near-smothering embrace.

Cal was shaking his head in disbelief. ‘What in the name of all the gods was that?’

‘Soot root powder,’ she replied. ‘I’ve been harvesting those roots since I could hold a trowel. Nice to see the product in action for a change.’ She lifted her shirt to examine the damage. A decent gash ran parallel to the scar Seb had given her. Though it wasn’t as deep as the stab wound had been, it burned something fierce.

‘Are you alright?’ Kipp asked, catching her grimace and trying to peer over her shoulder at the wound.

‘Just a scratch,’ she assured him, tucking her shirt back into the waist of her pants and scanning the terrain ahead for the birds. ‘There!’ she shouted, surging forward, her pain and her attackers forgotten as the flock circled nearby. The pulse of power called to her again.

‘It’s close,’ Cal murmured. ‘I can feel it humming.’

Ahead, the huge black birds gathered on the rocks, some flitting back to the sky.

Thea held up her fist to signal the others to halt, crouching behind a thorny bush for cover.

Then she saw it. The totem, glinting in a pair of claws amidst a blur of feathers, skybound.

‘Cal, your bow,’ she said, holding out her hand.