Page 66 of Starside

I swallow as I stare up at the hundreds of feet above, not knowing how the hell I’m going to climb this.

Every hard thing is conquered in steps. That’s what Stellan would say. I just have to be brave enough to take the first one.

With a steadying breath, I do—before Zane roughly drags me out of the way, grip tight enough to bruise. “What—”

A body lands right where I was standing.

The limbs are twisted. The bones are snapped like twigs. Blood pours out of a shattered jaw. He’s one of the challengers. One of Cadoc’s friends.

“They’re here,” I breathe. They’re trying to get creatures. They’re failing.

Fear sinks into my chest, but it’s quickly smothered by fury.

He killed Stellan. He stole his blade.

I look up. He’s somewhere up there.

I make the decision right then. When I get the chance, I’m going to kill him.

“Look,” Zane says, and that’s when I see all the bodies, spread out in a ring that reflects the band of winged creatures above. Challengers. A half dozen of them. Clearly, we weren’t the only ones with this idea. Did immortals tell them about the tree? Was it written on pages they brought over? I look away from the broken bones and blood, Xara’s warning flashing through my mind.

She didn’t think this was a smart plan. But we made it too far to turn around now.

I climb the pile of roots, then press my hand against the bark. It’s as rough as the stone pillars of the ruins, ancient—yet still alive. I look up, squinting through buttery beams of sunlight, taking in the short, twisted branches above. They get thicker and longer higher up, until they’re as sturdy as bridges.

“Ready?” Zane says next to me.

“Not at all.” Here goes nothing. I jump, trying to reach the lowest branch. My fingers don’t even brush the bark.

Well, fuck. I look around for something to step on.

Zane takes a few steps back. Then he runs, jumps, and buries his ax into the branch. It stays put, even as he groans, using his weapon for purchase as he pulls himself up, inch by inch.

When he’s over the side, he turns and offers his hand.

No going back now.

I run and jump just like he did, reaching out—

And his fingers lock around mine.

I gasp with pain as my entire body hangs below me, just like it did during the Culling. Zane groans again, then pulls me up, little by little, until I collapse next to him.

“We can’t do that the whole time,” I tell him through ragged breaths. There are limits to what a body can take, especially after everything we’ve done since the platform.

He looks up. “It’s a good thing we won’t have to.”

I follow his gaze, and relief rushes through me. Stairs are carved into the bark, wrapping around and around the trunk in massive spirals.

That relief quickly curdles behind my ribs. Entire steps are missing. The way they’re slanted makes it almost impossible to climb down. I swallow. There are only two ways off the Beast Tree—on the back of a creature … or falling to your death.

Zane motions me forward.

I take the first step.

There’s no railing, of course. If I lose my balance, I fall. I don’t look over the edge. I just focus on every stair and the weight of my blade clanging against my back with every movement.

It claimed me. It saw something in me worth saving. Hopefully, during my plunge, a creature will see the same.