Page 41 of Scorched Earth (Dark Shores #4)

LYDIA

“Well shit,” Agrippa muttered. “This is going to be a problem.”

An understatement if Lydia had ever heard one, because as far as her eye could see in either direction stood a wall of blighters five deep.

“This escarpment isn’t on any map I’ve ever seen.

” Killian looked east and then west before shaking his head, and as Agrippa opened his mouth, he added, “I know, Agrippa. Map or not, it is clearly here, just as you said. It just never ceases to amaze me how little we know about what resides within Derin’s borders. ”

“Well, you can color the Eyrie on your maps when you get home,” Agrippa quipped. “Runs near the full length of the border between Derin and Anukastre.”

Impressive in and of itself, but the scarp itself had to be at least five hundred feet high, and beyond, the great dunes of Anukastre stretched below them like a golden sea.

“There are a handful of these outposts.” Agrippa gestured to the fortification in the distance.

“There’s a pulley system that lifts a platform up and down the scarp.

From experience, I can tell you that down isn’t that much easier than up.

It’s not well made, but there is little need to go out into the desert, so no one has ever bothered with improvements.

We considered it as an alternate launching point for the invasion of Mudamora, but then we mapped the stem to Deadground.

Given that the Anuk’s prince, Xadrian, was making short work of every scout I sent into the desert, we went with the path of least resistance. ”

“Is it possible to climb down it?” Killian asked.

Agrippa hesitated, glancing between Lydia and Malahi. “It’s a tough climb, especially without rope. Five hundred feet, give or take. You’re probably the only one who could do it, though Lydia we could just toss off the side, and she could heal whatever damage would be inflicted by the fall.”

She rolled her eyes at him, and despite the gravity of the situation, Agrippa laughed before tugging Killian forward so that they could continue to discuss the obstacle before them, Baird following after them.

Lydia took the opportunity to stare back the way they’d come.

The terrain had shifted as they’d traveled south, growing more arid.

It was hot during the day but chill at night, and water had grown scarce.

The ground here was dry and rocky, the only foliage spindly pines and dry brush.

The ground crunched beneath her feet as she shifted, and the raven that had been cawing loudly above them fell silent.

“How are you coping?” Malahi asked. “I’ve been wanting to ask but I didn’t want to press.”

Lydia examined her hands, which were still concealed by the gloves Agrippa had given her. She almost never took them off. “It’s tempting to say better,” she replied. “Except I’ve not really been put to the test. All we’ve been doing is following the blighters.”

“Well,” Malahi murmured. “That’s not entirely true.”

Lydia’s cheeks warmed. “Agrippa ties me up every night.”

“And Killian sleeps right next to you.” The corner of Malahi’s mouth turned up. “I have eyes, you know. Once we’re through this, I can keep Baird and Agrippa occupied if you care for some time alone.”

After everything, it should have felt awkward talking to the other woman about this, but it didn’t.

So Lydia admitted, “I’m afraid if I lower my guard, that I might hurt him.

” She bit the insides of her cheeks. “What if I accidentally take years of his life from him, Malahi? I can’t put them back in. It’s like… slowly murdering him.”

“He’d stop you.” Malahi’s eyes drifted to where the men still argued. “Killian loves you, Lydia, but he doesn’t have a death wish. And he’s more than capable of taking care of himself.”

Malahi’s words did nothing to alleviate Lydia’s concern, so she changed the subject. “Perhaps I should be creating some alone time for you. ”

The Queen’s cheeks turned bright pink. “Agrippa’s only being kind to me because of what I went through. I think he feels guilty because he served Rufina for so long, and this is his way of making up for it.”

“Is that what you think?” Lydia smirked.

Amber eyes shot to hers. “I know you think the worst of him, Lydia, but Agrippa’s never once done anything inappropriate.” Nudging a rock with her shoe, Malahi added, “He makes me feel safe. Maybe that won’t last forever, but while it does, I’ll take it.”

Baird crawled back over to them. “I’m in disgrace for leaving you alone,” he said to Malahi, forcing his bulk between the two of them as he added, “They’re too busy rejecting each other’s ideas to come up with a plan.”

Lydia frowned, watching Agrippa building something with sticks and grass only for Killian to shake his head and knock it over with a swipe of his hand. “Baird,” she asked, “have you seen this pulley system?”

“A few times.” The giant wiped sweat from his brow. “Agrippa always made me do the pulling. He’s a bit lazy when he can get away with it.”

“What does it look like?”

“It’s a big bucket.” Baird frowned. “Hangs from an oak frame with rope as thick as my arm to pull it up and down. It can only fit three men on account of the weight.”

“The ropes might snap?”

Baird shook his head. “Only one man can work the pulley system, and any more than three people and it’s too heavy. Agrippa had a good number of criticisms about the design, but I wasn’t particularly interested.”

“There are five of us,” Malahi said.

“Neither you nor I are very heavy,” Lydia replied.

“But Baird weighs enough for three.”

“And is as strong as four.”

“Fair point.”

The giant coughed. “I think the issue is not how much I weigh but rather how we get past the blighters defending it. All it takes is one of them seeing us and then the whole mass of them will come running.”

“So the most critical thing is them not seeing us.” Lydia tapped a finger on a tree root, her eyes locked with Malahi. “Is it possible?”

The Queen of Mudamora’s eyes were distant as she held her hand to the root, but then she nodded. “Yes.”

Agrippa and Killian chose that moment to return. “It’s not possible,” Killian said. Agrippa nodded in agreement, then added, “We need to backtrack. Steal some rope. A lot of rope.”

“Lydia and I have decided on a plan,” Malahi interrupted, and at Lydia’s nod, she added, “This is how it’s going to go.”