The mountain feels steeper on the way down.
Probably because all of us are limping, bleeding, or half unconscious. My legs feel stiff every time I take a step, like they forgot how to exist without magical pressure pushing on them. But the cold air helps. It bites at my cheeks, stings my fingers, fills my lungs with something sharp and clean. After so long in the depths of the mine, even the freezing wind feels like mercy.
Felix walks a little ahead of us, scanning the slopes with narrowed eyes. Leah stays near him, scribbling something shaky into her notebook every few minutes. Ember clings to Felix’s arm with both hands, jumping every time the wind whistles through the rocks.
Nathan keeps his arm locked around my waist as if he expects me to fall over at any moment. I am doing fine. M
