ELIA

He thought he was clever. He got her blood boiling like that, then pulled away and, with a final wink, he headed up the ladder.

She'd planned to just wait until he got up there. But as he began to climb, she realized that this was something she'd never seen him do alone. She'd always either been in his arms as he carried her up, or only seen him below her, slowly following. But now, he put a hand up behind his head and pulled his shirt forward and off. Her mouth went dry as his thick, muscular stomach and chest were revealed, his biceps flexing as he wadded the shirt up and tossed it onto the dry rock where the two pools met.

"Not fair,

" she muttered.

He didn't catch her eye, but she knew he'd done it just to get her attention. He always teased her about the way her heart raced when his shirt came off—something the Anima bastard could hear, whether she wanted him to, or not.

Then he leaped onto the ladder and climbed with such smooth strength and grace that her mouth dropped open. It was the first time he'd ever actually reminded her of a cat, the smooth ripple of the muscles in his back, the easy way he hung off one arm, taking his time to reach for the next rung when he needed to. It seemed almost no effort to him at all, despite his bulk. Yet, she also realized he made it to the top in just a couple of minutes.

It had taken her near twenty the first time.

She swallowed when he crawled out of the hole at the top, then leaned back over to watch her.

"Your turn.

"

She smiled and looked at the ladder. And that was when it hit her.

No safety net.

"You can do it, Elia,

" he called, quieter this time, his face serious.

She nodded and tugged on the ladder to give herself a moment.

"Ready?

"

"Ready. Just focus on your breathing and where you put your feet. It's going to be easier because it's weighted straight down.

"

She frowned at the rocks at her feet.

"Do you do that for the men?

" she called up to him.

"What?

"

"The rocks?

"

"This isn't a tool I've used before, Elia, but—

"

"If Lucine was doing this, would you weight the ladder?

"

His eyes flashed. Even at the distance she could see him weighing up his response.

"Be honest, Reth. This isn't about her relationship with you. This is about how she's viewed by the people—and by you as her leader.

"

"First of all, there was no relationship—

"

"Yeah, just hot outside sex,

" Elia muttered to herself.

"—and secondly, she grew up here. Her body is different, as is her place in the tribes. Also, I heard that!

"

Stupid Anima hearing. Elia stared at the rocks. For her, she knew, climbing this ladder even with the rocks was a huge achievement. She couldn't have done it three months ago. But she had done it this week. Even if she did have Reth behind her, to catch her.

The memory of him catching her when she slipped flipped through her head—along with a simultaneous vision of herself toppling off the ladder and landing on the rocks below.

"I would never put you in a situation you weren't able to handle, Elia.

"

"I know you wouldn't mean to,

" she said thoughtfully.

"But you are rather optimistic, compared to the people, about what I'm capable of.

"

Reth snorted.

"Elia—

"

But she'd made her decision. Without giving herself time to think about it any further, she kicked the two rocks off the bottom of the ladder, then stepped onto it—and immediately learned why he'd locked it down.

"Elia, what are you doing?!

"

"I'm climbing the ladder, like you said.

"

"Elia!

" he was braced over the hole, his arms wide. He looked like he might throw himself over the edge, but it hit him in the same moment it hit her: If he tried to help now, he was only going to make it more challenging. Because, as Elia had just discovered, without his significant weight on the end of it, the ladder fluttered like a leaf in the wind. She was only ten rungs up when it began to tip underneath her, pulled by her center of gravity so that her feet stuck out slightly and most of her weight went on her arms.

That wasn't new, though it was more marked. What was new was the swaying—and the way the ladder moved every time she lifted a foot.

She couldn't hear Reth's breathing, but when she looked up, she could see his chest rising and falling quickly, and the tension on his features. He was trying hard not to scare her, but he was a lot more nervous than he'd been before she kicked those rocks off.

She was proud of the progress she made up the first half of the ladder. She even flashed him a grin at one point, and he nodded and tried to smile back. But she was close enough now to see the tension around his eyes and it made her stomach trill.

Her arms were aching, but she was far enough up now that going back would be harder than reaching the top. So she was going to do it. But everytime she dropped her head back to look up, it shifted her weight and made her shoulders work even harder. So, she pulled her head up and focused her attention on the next rung.

Her breathing tore out of her throat. This was definitely harder than it had been before—and she was already tired from days of workouts and little sleep. Nerves spun in her stomach, but she just kept telling herself, she'd done it before, she could do it again.

Then, when she was easily two thirds of the way up one of her feet slipped through the ladder and her weight jolted onto her arms. One hand slipped and she shrieked, flailing to grab the rung with the other as she began to fall.

"ELIA!

" Reth screamed.