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They all fell in once or twice, due to slippery snow or an ice bridge that withstood their probing but not their full weight. As the day progressed and the sun weakened the topmost layers of ice, the cross grew more dangerous. They watched another group let the slack of their ropes grow too much, and when someone slipped into a crevasse, they fell so far that it yanked the next person in, followed by the rest of the group, disappearing before she could reach them. Misha was whimpering as they stared down where they had all fallen out of sight.

“We keep moving,” Edishta ordered, a bit pale herself. “There’s nothing that can be done for them.”

It was a huge relief when they made it over the field and Iryana didn’t have to fear the ice would fall out from under her with every step. Other groups cheered with relief around them as well. They weren’t the first to cross, and plenty were still behind them, but it felt like victory, regardless.

“Thank you for getting us across, Sena Edishta,” Iryana said, bowing her head at the woman.

The soldier offered a weak smile.

Iryana looked back over the field, trying to pick out her clan and friends, but all the groups were little chains of dark smudges against the ice and snow. She hoped they were all crossing safely or had already made it. They took advantage of the break to drink water and eat some of the rations they’d brought, but before they could get moving again, a pack of dakii came down over a ridge. The fighters who had made it across outnumbered them, but they were still all tied up.

“Don’t cut the ropes if you can avoid it!” Iryana called. They still needed them for the next part.

It wasn’t easy, but they took down the dakii, yanking each other around awkwardly.

“We need to get out of the open,” Iryana urged, pointing to a path one of the lead teams had marked with a strip of red fabric tied to a stake driven into the snow.

They climbed much higher into the mountains; the path was steep. They stopped where they could, but they were trying to make it to the campsite the scouts had picked out before night fell fully. When they crossed the next bend, Iryana grimaced at the sight, even though the scouts had warned her.

The path was just a ledge, narrowly hugging the side of the mountain, with a huge drop on the other side. While their dogs would easily make it, the dakii wouldn’t be able to follow the path. With how slippery the ground was, falling was a real risk.

Quietly, they all unstrapped their snowshoes. The groups that had come this way before them had already knocked most of the snow off the ledge, and they’d be nimbler with just their boots.

“We cross the same way as over the field,” Edishta told them tightly. “Don’t look down and keep moving.”

“Easy,” Misha mumbled just loud enough for Iryana to hear, part sarcasm and part terror.

“We got this,” Iryana whispered back.

One by one, they moved onto the ledge, stepping slowly. The wind blew right into their faces, howling wildly.

Iryana turned to Misha. “Are you ready?”

Misha nodded, most of her face obscured by her fur-lined hood. Those hazel eyes were still wide. Iryana gave her hand a squeeze and then stepped onto the ledge.

A few minutes into their slow hike, Iryana made the mistake of looking down and had to take a moment to let the lightheadedness pass. It wasn’t a sheer drop-off, but it was close. At its narrowest spots, the ledge was only a foot wide, and it wasn’t flat either. But she wasn’t going to think about it.

The farther they went, the more she relaxed, getting used to the height and the battering wind.

Until she heard the soft slip of a boot against rock, and Misha gasped behind her.

Chapter Forty-Five

Heart skipping, Iryana turned, throwing her weight against the wall of rock behind her, bracing herself as the rope jerked against her waist and Misha tumbled. She had to fight the urge to lean forward and reach for Misha’s scrambling hands, knowing that was how they would all get pulled off the ledge.

The sight of Misha going over the edge was one of the worst things she ever had to watch.

“Misha!” Hadima cried as Iryana grunted, Misha’s full weight jerking at the rope tied around Iryana’s waist.

But she managed to keep her legs steady, and Misha didn’t fall too far.

“Are you okay?” Iryana groaned, trying to shout over the wind that whipped her braid into her face.

“I don’t know,” Misha squeaked, voice tight with panic. “I think so. I hit my head.”

“Is there anything you can rest your feet on?” Edishta called back.

They were all avoiding looking down.