Page 105 of Stealing Embers
Chapter Thirty
Reaching a shaky hand up, I grasp the last handhold. My leg muscles bunch as I heft myself up and over the crest, flopping face-first onto safe ground.
My limbs, now reduced to Jell-O, burn with exertion.
My lungs heave air in and out, stirring the fresh powder stacked on the ground.
Super-charged muscles or not, that climb was challenging.
With a grunt, I hear rather than see Steel reach the top. He isn’t breathing like an overused racehorse, like I am, but scaling a few-hundred-foot vertical cliff can’t have been easy for him, considering his bulk.
“Remind me why you didn’t just phase and then fly up here in your Big Bird form?” I flip over, the bulge of my pack making the position uncomfortable.
Steel stands on the edge of the overlook, feet shoulder-width apart, arms at his sides, and scans the surrounding area.
“Why didn’t you?” he throws back. The acid of his words doesn’t melt his icy tone.
“Pfft. Like that needs an explanation. I couldn’t.”
“Well, there you have it.” He grumbles as he stomps past me.
I clamber to my feet and chase after him.
Everything is white up here, except the sky. Last night’s snowstorm cleared the clouds, making way for the perfect bluebird day. Another time, I might appreciate the beauty of the powder-covered mountain range yawning before us. But with the possibility that Blaze and Aurora are still missing, my insides clench with apprehension.
“You can’t phase?” Painful pinpricks jab at my heart, encouraging the beats to surge.
Steel’s shoulders hitch up around his ears. His back muscles contract under his long-sleeved Henley, which is currently plastered to parts of him by sweat.
His non-answer is answer enough.
“Why not? And since when?”
Steel’s lips remain sealed.
Why does it always have to be one of two ways with him? Either he’s saying things I don’t want to hear, or he’s not talking when I want answers.
Lurching forward, I snatch his forearm.
Steel releases a frustrated growl and lifts his captured arm in the air, almost taking me with it. I relinquish my hold and straighten my spine, needing every inch of my height to stand up to him.
“And while you’re at it, you can clue me in on where we’re going. Should we start digging for your sister and brother in all this fresh snow? Because in case you haven’t noticed, they aren’t here.” I fling both my arms wide. My words bounce off the peaks around us and echo into nothing. “There’s nothing here!”
“You are such a pain in my—”
“Steel,” I warn. “Don’t even start with me. Just answer the questions.”
Heated air pours out of his nostrils like an angry cartoon bull. It curls in the air around his face before evaporating. I half expect him to transform into his bull form at any moment. I take a half-step back, just in case. I don’t want to get squished under the girth of a Steel-cow.
For a long minute, I’m sure he’s going to shove past me and continue his random search in the frozen wasteland. Instead, he bites his bottom lip in a move that’s all aggression before pulling the abused flesh into his mouth to suck away the sting. His gaze ticks away from me to land on the horizon.
“I’ve been trying to phase since the moment I regained consciousness. I haven’t been able to . . . and I don’t know why.” It’s like the words have to be dragged out of him, kicking and screaming.
“What about this morning is different?” I wonder aloud. “Wait, you were going to phase when I was sleeping on top of you? Were you going to just dump me on the ground and be on your way?”
Popping his jaw, Steel grabs the back of his neck with both hands and looks skyward. “Is that really what’s important here?”
“Okay, fine. Not important . . . you turd.” I can’t help but sneak the insult in at the end. “And you have no idea why things are different this morning?”