Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Surviving the First Day

The icy rain was already starting to get to Praxis.

It had barely been an hour since they left the village but it had been raining for most of that hour. It started off softly enough, a few raindrops here and there that mostly felt good against his face but that didn’t last long before it was raining heavily, soaking both Praxis and Lysandra to the bone. What made it even worse was the total lack of clothing to absorb some of the sting of the cold.

Instead, they were shivering as they ascended the mountain.

For the most part, Praxis kept up the same path as he had the day before, when they were trying to find the alpha wolf. The key difference was that instead of dipping into the valley, they kept moving along the spine of the mountain, following a path that would lead them to the top.

It was a treacherous path as well, full of rocky, jagged rocks that cut their feet. There were also several sheer cliffs that were a bit too close to the path, ensuring that one wrong move could easily send them careening to their deaths.

Before they’d even neared the summit, Praxis could see that this would be their hardest test yet. Already cold and bleeding from his feet, he was ready to go back to the village. If only that was an option.

Once they reached a point just below the summit of the mountain, they found someone was waiting for them. A familiar face, Praxis recognized it as one of the elders. He was accompanied by someone who could have only been his son judging by the facial features. They guarded the only pass to the summit.

“Praxis and Lysandra, my name is Chilon, and this is my son, Evios,” announced the elder, confirming Praxis’ suspicions. “You are nearing the summit of the mountain. Once you go beyond this point, you will have reached the point of no return.”

“We understand,” said Lysandra as she wrapped her arms around her body, trying to preserve her warmth.

“This path in front of you is the only path to the summit,” explained Chilon. “Because of the sanctity of the trials, my son will stand guard on this path until you come down after two nights have passed. Any attempts to come down before that time will mean that your trials have ended with failure, and I’m sure that you two remember what the price of failure will be.”

“We will not fail,” promised Praxis. “Not in our last trial.”

Chilon gave them a nod of respect. “I do not believe that you will fail either—not with what you’ve accomplished thus far. Good luck to both of you on the summit, and if I can give you one piece of advice, use your bodily warmth to survive the summit. You’ll need everything you can get up there.”

Praxis and Lysandra thanked the elder for his advice and continued to move forward. As they stepped onto the summit path, Evios fell in behind them, blocking off the exit to the summit.

They were committed now. There was no going back.

Lysandra reached over to offer her hand. Fear danced in her eyes.

“Let’s get to the top,” said Praxis, taking her hand.

Lysandra nodded and they continued on, losing sight of Evios behind them as they ascended the rocky path. The closer that they got to the summit, the more the path narrowed until they came to a point where it was no longer possible for them to walk side by side. Moving onward, they came to a small clearing, a flat plain where they could catch their breath for a moment.

Luckily for them, the rain had stopped by this point too, opening up the skies.

“You can see so far up here,” noted Lysandra as she moved closer to the edge. “I can almost see the village down there.”

“I wonder if anyone down there is looking up here at us,” replied Praxis. “I’d bet we’d make a comical sight right now, naked and still wet.”

Lysandra started to laugh. “Probably. I hope it’s not Orcus though. I don’t relish the idea of him seeing me naked.”

“If only he was down there right now,” said Praxis. “Then we could just roll boulders until we squished him.”

“Now that’s a delightful image,” said Lysandra with a grin. “Save one for Medios while you’re at it.”

“Consider it done.”

They continued to look down the west side of the mountain until Praxis moved toward the east side. Though they were too far away, he thought he might be able to see Argos just in the distance. He wondered how the city was doing, and whether they were adjusting to new leadership. Although, he winced as he thought about Xanthos as a leader. He would be worse than Damian, if that was even possible.

Mostly, he thought about others still left in the city like Ariston, Xanthos’ younger brother. He also thought about Astara. Though he knew that as Xanthos’ wife she would be safe from reprisals from the Spartans, he still hoped she’d managed to come through the turmoil without getting hurt. Although Astara would always have a soft spot in his heart, he didn’t think about her as often as he once did.

It was just that Lysandra had filled so much of his heart. The tiny but fierce redhead had snuck inside when he least expected it and made herself at home. Though he would always remember Astara, he had to admit that if given the choice, he would pick Lysandra over her.

“What are you thinking about?” asked Lysandra moments later, as if she sensed the presence of another woman. “You’ve been very quiet the last few minutes.”

“Just wondering how things have been in Argos, that’s all. There are still people left there that I know. I hope they’re well.”

“Do you ever think about Astara?”

Praxis’ mouth fell open. “Am I that easy to read? Or do you have some hidden talent for reading minds?”

Lysandra let out an adorable giggle. “Maybe my talent is for reading your mind. She’s probably doing just fine though. I doubt Xanthos would let anyone hurt his family.”

“Probably,” muttered Praxis. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Do you still love her?”

That question took him by surprise. Praxis wasn’t even sure how to react. He stumbled backward and crossed his arms. “I still have feelings for her, yes.”

“I’m not mad,” replied Lysandra. “I just wanted to know. I think it’s sad what happened between the two of you.”

“You do?” he asked incredulously.

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“Of course. From what you’ve told me, you had a great connection with her. I don’t want to see you hurting if I can help it.”

“But that connection could have prevented us from being together. This probably wouldn’t have happened without Astara and I breaking up.”

Lysandra smiled at him. “Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?”

“What are you getting at?”

“You’re a strong man, Praxis. Women want to be with a strong man. It’s not surprising that you’ve gotten so much attention. And I don’t expect that there’s not always going to be another woman vying for your attention. That kind of thing is going to happen with a man like you. That doesn’t bother me.”

“So what you’re saying is that you don’t mind if I start taking other lovers?” he teased.

To his surprise, Lysandra shrugged. “I can’t say for certain. All I can say is this—don’t hold it from me. You might be surprised how I react when the time comes.”

Praxis wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Lysandra continued to give him an impish grin before she moved on, finding the path that led up to the rest of the summit. Finally, she turned around to face him.

“Are you coming?”

“I suppose I am.”

Lysandra’s comments gave him much to think about as they started the last ascent to the top. Though he still had questions about whether she was really serious about what she said, it was quickly pushed out of his mind as the path became dangerous again. From their current vantage point, they could see the ragged peak of the summit, where it was too steep to even set foot on it.

“How are we going to spend our time at the peak?” asked Lysandra. “I doubt we’ll be able to stand up there let alone lay down!”

“We’re just going to have to find the closest place that we can use for shelter,” he replied. “Something that might get us out of the elements.”

“I’ll keep my eyes open.”

They continued to move forward until something spooked them about halfway up to the top. A small bear had been sniffing around not far from their current position. Praxis halted in his footsteps and absentmindedly grabbed for his sword, forgetting that it wasn’t there. He cursed his luck and waited to see what the bear did.

Though it looked at both of them and seemed to sniff the wind, the bear must have decided not to go after them. Praxis wondered if it just ate something, which might have been their only saving grace. Soon enough, the bear started to gallop down one of the steeper sides of the mountain until he eventually disappeared from sight.

“That was so close,” whispered Lysandra. “I thought our trial was about to be over before it began.”

“Luckily for us, it must have already eaten today,” said Praxis. “Let’s hope that’s the last one we see for the next two days.”

It was shortly after seeing the bear that they made it to the last clearing before the summit. There was a flat portion here, large enough for them to lay down if they wanted to, but there was no escaping the elements in this position. Praxis wondered about moving down lower to find some wood that they could fasten into an impromptu covering but then he remembered he’d have nothing to cut the wood with.

“Praxis, there’s a small cave over here!”

The words couldn’t have come at a better time. Praxis followed Lysandra over to what was a small opening, barely large enough for two people. Calling it a cave might have been a stretch. It was more like a shallow hole in the side of the mountain but finding it actually gave Praxis hope for survival, especially now that they had shelter.

“We’re going to sleep here for the night,” he announced. “At least this will keep us out of the rain.”

Lysandra shivered. “I’ll be happy not to be wet for once in my life.”

As it turned out, making themselves at home was easy, especially without having to worry about clothing or provisions. They found a spot that both of them could sleep on without too much discomfort and that kept them out of the rain.

However, as soon as they stopped moving, they were both struck by the chilliness of the air. It was here that Chilon’s advice came most in handy as they pushed their bodies together to keep heat.

“I’ve never wanted your body so close to mine before,” admitted Lysandra as her teeth clattered. “This seems to go beyond sex. I just want to be warm and you’re the closest thing to fire.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to have sex right now?” he joked.

Lysandra poked him. “I’m too cold to be angry right now. Stop joking around.”

“Sorry, I thought the movement of laughter might keep us warmer.”

“If only, Praxis.”

Lysandra was quiet for a moment before she started speaking again.

“Do you really think we can survive the night like this?”

“We’re going to do the best we can,” he promised.

Lysandra nodded. “I certainly hope so.”

Outside the cave, the rain started to fall harder.

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