Word Count: 1,136
Written: 7/23/24

We came to the rickety bridge. Once again, only one muscle-elve was allowed on the thing at a time. I held my breath as I watched the other brother cross first. My sharp inhale prompted notice from my handler.

So-called Vari glanced down, spinning me a smile filled with crooked teeth and this morning's breakfast, and said, "Don't worry. You're lighter than my mining gear. We'll pass the bridge, easy."

If he'd thought that would calm me down, he had sorely underestimated the brain of an unstable elva. Immediately, I needed to be put down. Saliva pooled in my mouth, and I wondered if puke stains would eat away at the already-rickety bridge and weaken it further. My puke wasn't that acidic, was it? To eat through wood?

"Careful," so-called Vari warned as I turned into deadweight, wiggling my legs to touch the blessed ground.

"Wait, Beckett, this is the dangerous part. With your leg all wrapped up, I don't think—" Resinee didn't try to touch me, at least, which was smart. I was two seconds away from spewing out venom.

Emery, the Goddess's messenger who promoted peace and unity, stepped in to save the day. "I'll escort her. Let go," it said. "I said, let go."

So-called Vari backed off, a dazed and stupefied slant to his brow—or maybe his face was just always like that. I grabbed hold of Emery's hand with my good one while my bad ankle touched the ground. The hiss of pain was like a relieving draft of cold water moving down my throat after three days of nearly falling off cliffs. The two of us made our way across the unstable bridge. To its credit, Emery didn't flinch at all as each time I stepped on my bad ankle, we veered sharply into the rope. It just kept hold of my hand, letting my nails make half-moons on its skin.

"Did your Goddess promise you won't die by falling off a rope bridge?" I asked, my voice mere threads of air patched together.

Emery shook its head, golden hair flopping over its eyes and back. "Nope."

Stunned, I almost stopped moving, except the rushing waves of my stomach acid prompted another step, another curve into the rope. Below us, I could see brambles and bushes growing out of the stone. At least there was a plentitude of objects to bash my head open against before I splatted at the bottom.

"Then, why aren't you scared?" I asked.

Emery shrugged. "The bridge will hold."

"Do you have precognitive powers as one of your blessings? Is that how you know so much about me?"

Emery grimaced, different from before. "Nah, but it's a hassle to explain. Don't worry about it, alright? The bridge will hold."

"How old even are you?" At last, we made it to the farthest edge where the other muscle-elve tried lending a helping hand in that final step back up to solid ground. Emery smacked—smacked—his hand away; instead, it secured a foot into the wedge of where the bridge began and pulled me up so that we both landed at the same time. "You look like a child, and yet...is it just because you're in communication with your Goddess?"

"'My'? My Goddess?" Emery raised a brow, not even a little out of breath. I was grateful that it didn't unlatch its hand from my talon-like grip. I huffed and puffed, waiting for an answer. The Hesperide finally sighed. Behind us, I could hear the jangling of the wooden boards clinking together as a heavy creature crossed. Oh, great. So-called Vari was a permanent addition to the party now. I'd half-hoped he would go back to whatever sentinel position had him hidden away, just waiting to pounce on the clinic like a giant-ass vulture.

Guess not.

"Physically?" Emery raised both brows. "I'm 9." I opened my mouth, but it said, "Mentally, though? I'm about 37 now. I think. I kind of lost count right away, so it's hard to backtrack."

What in the naga was this nymph saying?

I held my tongue. I didn't particularly have enough breath to waste on arguing. Besides, it's not like this was the first time I'd faced non-answers from this child. "Okay."

"Are you ready?" Resinee asked. She sounded calmer now, moving with a dignified purpose rather than the fretting of before. "It would be best for you to be seen walking from here, anyway."

The elva took the lead, and before our eyes, Resinee transformed. No longer the sweet, dainty little thing. No longer the fretting worrywart. No. Now, she walked with long strides that demanded all eyes to turn. She walked like her own spotlight, the four of us her entourage.

"This is a regular Burning, isn't it?" I asked, hobbling along. "There's nothing...extra, is there?"

"Well..." Resinee half-turned, flashing those bright eyes behind her before focusing back on the path ahead. We'd crossed the bridge to the mountain with the mines. Even from here, I could see that dark, gaping entrance. I remembered the market hiding behind a corner, but now Resinee steered us to a different path, one that headed directly into the maze of bubble-shaped homes. "It's pretty typical for around here, but I'm sure it'll look different from what you're used to."

We disappeared under a false oasis, one made of stilts that propped homes up high in the sky like giant lollipops. I wondered how these structures stayed safe from all the wind, but upon further reflection, the mountain was carved a little differently here. It looked hollowed out, chiseled into a backdrop where layers of sediment formed natural walkways and bridges that angled up and down and over and sideways. A natural network of highways.

Oh, how pissed Father would be to see the Goddess's Femur outdoing him. He spent most of his time trying to carve her lovely bone to his own purposes. I could only imagine his face if he saw a natural spectacle working in tandem with the Dark Elves.

The circular homes were small, mere rooms or rooms and a half. Entire families couldn't shove themselves inside them, could they? Not with all these muscle-elves walking all over the place.

The vaulted structures provided cover from the relentless sun. I hadn't realized how much the skin on my legs needed that relief—they hadn't seen this much sun in, um, ever. Just as I wondered how far we would go, the sandy path opened onto a hushed waterfall.

And gold.

I blinked, stilling on the edge of the scene. My ankle throbbed, blood rushing through the limb. Its heated tempo moved in tandem with the water. The waterfall wasn't giant or anything, but it took center stage. Who knew hiding behind the maze of homes, there would be something like this?