The Midnight Watch

Chapter 14

A muffled thud sounded as Alex crawled panting over the top. I jumped away from Kai as if we had been caught doing something wrong, which of course, we hadn't. Hand holding was an innocent activity, something friends did. Wasn't it?

One by one, the rest of our group reached the cliff top. I looked left, shading my eyes against the sun. Ethan was still hauling up his third group member, which meant we had won. It seemed teamwork beat individualism.

Then it was only a matter of abseiling back down the rocks. We could have walked, of course. But this way was so much more fun. We lowered Kai down first, as he was only one who could belay. He proceeded to slowly bring the rest of us down. There was a feeling of freedom in abseiling. Almost like flying.

Why had I never done this before? Why had I never done half these things before joining the Moon Guard? It was like I hadn't started living until I came to Evarlin. After all, there is a huge difference between existing and living.

Kai helped me to unbuckle my harness when I reached solid ground. He showed me how to hold the end of the rope as a backup while Ben came down to join us. In reality, if he messed up, I doubted I would even be heavy enough to help. But he never did, so it didn't matter.

We returned to Evarlin together. Tammie told us to go ahead and that we had the rest of the day off. She stayed behind to wait for the other two groups. When our entire team reached the ground, Ethan was hauling up his last team member, and Corban and Matthias's team had almost reached the top.

For once, we didn't have to go out hunting or foraging. There was food enough to last a few more days at least. Hell, we still had half a deer hidden in the forest. So while we walked back, we gathered as much heather as we could carry and tied it in bundles with the climbing rope.

It was an idea that I'd given myself when talking about the Spartans building their own beds. Heather was hardly a feather bed, but with enough of it, we could make a decent mattress. Then maybe I would get a proper night's sleep.

An hour later I lay between Becky and Kai on the soft brush in the comfort of the dorm room. By unspoken consent, we had made one long mattress instead of five smaller ones. It saved materials and let us share warmth. The boys and girls were divided, but it was Kai and myself who formed the gender bridge.

"We're running out of time," Kai said suddenly, breaking a silence that had spanned for nearly ten minutes.

"What?" Alex asked drowsily.

"We need to complete the challenges by tomorrow," he replied.

"Any reason why?" Becky propped herself up on an elbow.

"I spoke to a guard who'd been on duty in the palace. He said the my mother is getting worse. I need to go and see her before it's too late." Kai's voice was distant, pained.

"So screw the Moon Guard," Becky advised him. "It's your mum. Go see her and damn the consequences. You're the Prince, Kaeden. If that doesn't mean you can do as you like, what's the point?"

"I can't," he murmured, and the heartbreak in his voice almost brought tears to my eyes. "I can't explain yet, but I can't leave this place until I'm one of the guard. Can you trust me?"

"You earned my trust a long time ago," Ben said quietly.

"Of course we all trust you," I added.

"Then help me. Please. We need to complete those challenges," Kai pleaded. "We can beat the instructor if we all work together. But as for the Shadowcat and the obstacle course..."

"Don't worry about defeating a Shadowcat," I sighed. I had finally realised what I should have ages ago. I trusted Kai, not only with my own life, but with someone else's life. I trusted all of them — Becky, Ben and Alex. So I could tell them about the night I had saved Nate's life. And I could tell them what he owed me.