Chapter Twenty: Cassie

Cassie groaned as she opened her eyes. It took a moment to realize where she was, but the cramping of her muscles quickly helped her. “I can’t believe I slept.”

“Don’t worry,” Byron said. “I kept watch.”

“Did you hear anything else?” Cassie stretched her aching muscles. It was still dark, but the faint glow of dawn touched the tree tops.

“No.” Byron shook his head. “I think we should make a move.”

“You should have woken me sooner.” She stifled a yawn, longing for her nice, warm, comfortable bed.

“I was enjoying our first night together too much.” He flashed her a smile. “Although in my dreams, this was not where I pictured we would spend our first night together.”

“So you dream of me, hm?” Cassie snuggled closer to him. Maybe they could linger a little while longer.

“I have dreamed of you for as long as I can remember,” Byron said. “Of course, you had no face, because I hadn’t met you and didn’t know what you looked like.”

Cassie chuckled. “You say the sweetest things.”

“Are you teasing me?” Byron murmured as he dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

“Never,” she replied. “Okay, let’s go or I will be falling back to sleep.”

Byron wriggled out of the hollow tree and stood up, offering her his hand. “We should find water.”

“For the compass?” Cassie slipped her hand into his and he pulled her to her feet. “My headscarf should still be wet enough.”

“No, for us.” Byron chuckled, his large hand warm around hers. “We need to stay hydrated.”

Cassie stretched her arms above her head and twisted her hips from side to side. “So, do we just walk toward the sunrise now?”

“Yeah, we can use the sun for now, but it’s not going to be rising exactly east, as that only happens when it’s an equinox. We’ll have to check our bearings at some point.” Byron stared at the dawn sky, at least what was visible between the thick canopy of trees.

“Okay.” Cassie stared into the trees. “And we need to keep alert to whatever might be out there.”

“I sure do miss my shifter senses,” Byron admitted as they started to walk toward the rising sun.

“Maybe that’s the lesson.” Cassie held out her hands in front of her and tried to summon her magic, but there was nothing there. She could not tap into the source. “Not to take what we have for granted.”

“I’m sorry,” Byron said. “I was so wrapped up in myself I forgot you lost a part of yourself, too.”

“A not very good part,” Cassie reminded him. “Which is why we should walk faster if we want to win this thing.”

“Do you think this is the last trial?” Byron asked.

“I don’t know, but if it is, we need to be first past the post.” Her mouth turned down at the corners. “You shouldn’t have let me sleep.”

“I considered all the parameters and decided that you would function better if you were well rested,” Byron said as he increased his pace, striding through the trees.

Cassie had to practically jog to keep up with him. “All the parameters.”

“I’m being too analytical,” Byron said.

“You do get analytical when you’re stressed. But I think considering all the parameters is a good thing,” Cassie replied. “It makes us a more effective team.”

“We’re more than a team,” Byron replied, his voice low.

“Oh no, are you going to use the c word?” Cassie asked lightly.

“Couple, Cassie, we are a couple!” He grinned as he looked at her over his shoulder.

“I guess we are.” She smiled to herself as they pushed on through the forest that seemed to have no end.

As they walked, the faint glow of dawn gradually brightened into a full-blown sunrise, but they hardly seemed to notice. Byron kept his head down, adjusting his course through the trees, while Cassie focused on simply keeping up with him.

“Oh!” Byron stopped dead in his tracks and took several steps back.

“What?” she hissed as she nearly walked into his retreating back. Had they finally come across whatever was making those noises last night?

“We’ve reached the end of the forest.” Byron stepped back even farther. “And water.”

“That was not what I was expecting you to say from that reaction.” Cassie stepped past him gingerly and peered over the ledge down into a deep ravine, filled with rushing water far below.

“Me neither,” Byron laughed nervously, leaning back.

Cassie looked up to examine the vista spread before them. Just on the other side of the ravine was a land of gently rolling hills, casting soft shadows in the light of morning.

“There must be a way to cross,” she murmured, her eyes scanning the rocky landscape. “Seeing as this is a trial, there has to be an answer to every obstacle.”

Byron put his hands on his hips. “Or we go around.”

“Around?” Cassie asked. “That could take days.”

“It might not. If we head upstream.” Byron pointed to where the land rose above the trees. “That’s the source. We can follow the ravine to where it’s not as deep and find a suitable place to cross.”

“Or we try to cross here.” Cassie crept to the edge and looked down. “There might be a suitable route we can climb down, and then up the other side.”

“Too risky,” Byron said as he backed farther away from the edge. “We could get stranded down there.”

“Byron. We can do it,” Cassie said.

“What’s that?” Byron turned at the sound of something big crashing through the forest.

“I don’t think we are going to have a choice,” Cassie said. “We can’t risk…”

Farther along the ravine, a tree shuddered before tilting toward the ravine and began to fall, roots and all.

As the tree fell, a gigantic figure appeared where it had stood, his hands on his hips.

“Kengar?” Cassie said in disbelief when a disappointed cry rang out as the tree fell too short and tumbled into the ravine below.

“Perhaps he was the something big we heard in the forest last night,” Byron suggested. “It makes sense. We would all eventually converge to the same point, The Lonely Tavern. They took the door next to us, so I suppose it would make sense if we crossed paths…”

“I get it. Come on.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the orc.

“Are we sure this isn’t going to disqualify us from the competition?” Byron asked.

“Did Morwenna say there were any rules preventing us from teaming up?” Cassie asked as they crashed through the undergrowth. “Only that there was no magic.”

“AAARRRGHH!” A huge, green, hulking creature exploded out of the bushes in front of them with a roar, sending Cassie flying backward into Byron’s arm, but the bellowing quickly faded. “Oh. Cassie, Byron, it’s you.”

“It’s us,” Cassie said as she disentangled herself from Byron’s arms.

“Who did you think it was?” Byron asked warily.

“I don’t know.” Kengar glanced from side to side. “There was something else out there in the forest last night.”

“We thought the same thing,” Byron said lightly.

“You heard the whistling, too?” Kengar lowered his voice.

“Whistling?” Cassie asked and nudged Byron.

“Oh.” Byron pursed his lips and whistled.

Woohoowoo.

Kengar took a step back, horrified. “It was you? You were whistling in the forest last night?”

“Yes,” Byron said warily.

“Who does that?” Kengar asked.

“It was our signal,” Byron explained.

“Kengar, what are you doing?” Nyara appeared from behind Kengar, who had cut a trampled path through the undergrowth. “Oh, that’s great! Four heads might be better than two for getting across this ravine.

“Make that six.”

They looked up at Kengar as he turned and looked back into the forest.

“Six?” Cassie asked. If it was Jerome and Amelia, she would not be held responsible if they accidentally fell into the ravine.

“Hello there!” She breathed a sigh of relief as Stan’s cheery voice rang out.

“Hey, Stan. Nancy. How are you both?” Nyara asked with a smile at the familiar sight of the older couple.

“Could be better,” Nancy said, adjusting her hair. “I quite enjoyed our stay in nature in the cabin during the last trial, and I suppose the tavern heard me and decided I wanted more.”

“And as much as I do enjoy a good excursion, these old bones of mine don’t enjoy roughing it in the woods as much as they used to.” Stan stretched stiffly. “So, any luck with getting across this big old pit?”

“We’ve only just arrived,” Cassie said. “So not yet.”

“We’ve given it a good go, but we’re out of ideas for now.” Kengar rubbed one of his tusks idly.

“By that, Kengar means he pulled up the tallest tree he could lift and tried to lay it across the gap.” Nyara looked up at the orc. “But it’s just too far.”

“If only I had my magic,” Nancy grumbled. “I’d have had us across there quicker than a cat could wink.”

“It’s all right, Byron’s here,” Stan said cheerily. “He can just shift and hop us all across. You can shift, can’t you?”

Nancy clicked her tongue at Stan. “Don’t you think if he could shift, he’d already have found a way back to The Lonely Tavern by now?”

“No harm in asking. What in case he hadn’t thought of shifting?” Stan looked hopefully at Byron. “Shifting isn’t technically magic, is it? Or is it?”

Nancy opened her mouth to retort, but just shook her head instead.

“The tavern at least seems to think so.” Byron sighed. “I can’t shift. I don’t even have my shifter senses. I didn’t know you two were even close.”

Stan snapped his fingers. “Oh well. Suppose we’ll be doing this the old-fashioned way, then.”

Nyara put a finger to her chin. “I didn’t even know it was possible to just strip so many people of their magic like that. Let alone taking away a shifter’s ability to shift.”

“The tavern really is a powerful place.” Kengar nodded.

“So that brings us back to how we’re going to get across this ravine.” Cassie put her hands on her hips.

Nancy pinched the bridge of her nose. “Ugh, it’s so hard to think without either hours’ sleep or even a morning coffee.”

“And that’s why we are going to figure out how to get across this ravine and back to The Lonely Tavern,” Stan said, slipping his arm around Nancy. “And as a Regular in the tavern, I am going to demand Morwenna serves coffee. Or I’ll ask for that as our prize when we win.”

“My hero,” Nancy said, with only a sliver of irony.

“So, all that stands between us and coffee is that ravine.” Nyara turned around and raced back down the trail Kengar had cut through the trees with his vast body. “Ideas?”

The others glanced at one another before following. There had been no discussion, but it was obvious that if they wanted to get across the ravine, their best hope, and maybe their only hope, was to work together.

“Is there any way we can tie two or three tall trees together?” Cassie asked, turning her head to look up at the tall trees. “Did anyone see vines? We could use them as rope if we braid them together. Even if we don’t tie trees together, we could make a rope bridge across?”

“I haven’t seen any,” Stan replied as they reached the ravine. He gave out a low whistle as they stopped at the rocky ridge at the edge of the ravine. “Now that’s a nasty fall.”

“Kengar?” Cassie asked. “Since you are by far the tallest, can you see any vines, or anything resembling rope, that we could use?”

Kengar grabbed hold of the nearest tree and used it to steady himself as he stood on tiptoes and looked back into the forest. “No. Just moss.”

“Does anyone have any other ideas?” Stan stuck his thumbs into his belt and turned to face everyone.

Nyara drummed her fingers on her chin, squinting at the ravine. “What if we don’t cross it, but climb down and then up the other side?”

“We thought of that,” Cassie said, casting a sideways glance at Byron who had remained quiet through the discussion, standing well back from the ledge. “But we were worried we might get stuck down there.”

“Possibly.” Nyara shuffled to the very edge and stared down. “But if we work together…especially if we had some rope or something.”

“We could follow the ravine up some way.” Kengar pointed into the distance. “The ravine has got to narrow at some point. Then I’ll just knock down a tree, and we’ll cross over.”

“You think it narrows at all?” Nyara asked. “This thing looks massive.”

“Not to be impolite,” Stan began. “But would a tree hold a tall chap like you.”

“I’ll have you know I can be light-footed when I want to,” Kengar grumbled.

“I don’t know if I’d call ripping trees out of their roots light-footed. Or smashing down walls to escape prison, like last time,” Stan said.

“What would you rather I do?” Kengar raised one of his heavy eyebrows. “Build a bridge?”

“That’s what we have to do.”

Everyone turned to look at Byron.

“We’ve got a build a bridge.”

Kengar patted down the pockets of his denim coveralls. “Think I left my hammer and nails back at the farm.”

“No, we won’t need tools. We’re going to build a Da Vinci Bridge.”

“A what now?” Stan asked.

“A Da Vinci Bridge,” Byron repeated. “Kengar, we need a lot of straight branches, all roughly the same size.

“Certainly.” Kengar took a step back toward the trees. “And how do we build this...Da Vinci Bridge? With no tools.”

“Leonardo Da Vinci designed a self-supporting bridge that requires no nails or rope, just the right placement and pressure of the wooden pieces,” Byron explained. “We need to assemble it correctly, laying each branch so it supports the next. If done right, the weight of the crossing will reinforce the structure, not weaken it, and we can make it long enough to cross here.”

Cassie smiled as she looked at Byron’s face. She could see his brain working as he looked toward the gap they had to cross. He really was an encyclopedia of sorts.

“But will it hold all of us?” Nyara asked skeptically.

“If done correctly, it should. Just as the Pyramids of Giza have held up for millennia with only stone balanced against stone. The key is in the layout of the branches,” Byron said, stooping to sketch a crude drawing of the bridge in the mud as Kengar stomped into the forest.

Cassie peered over Byron’s shoulder, intrigued by his handiwork. She could see the arch of what would be a bridge made of interlocking sticks. “I think I see it, but can we trust it? It’s a long way to fall if it fails.”

“And it does look like a bunch of sticks,” Nancy said around a butterscotch.

Byron glanced at her, then back to his drawing. “It’s more than just sticks. You don’t need a lot of components to build something sturdy. It’s how you assemble them that truly matters. Da Vinci designed this to be used by armies during battle. Think about how much weight the bridge would have to hold then.” He looked up into Cassie’s eyes, smiling nervously. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course it is. You’re lecturing again,” Cassie said above the sound of Kengar snapping branches.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. I love it when you talk like that about all these things you know about. It is a good thing my mate is smart, even when it comes to engineering.” Cassie bent to kiss his cheek.

“Oh, you told her!” Stan exclaimed.

“You knew?” Cassie asked. “That we are mates?”

Stan was sheepish. “We could see it. When the two of you are together, it’s obvious.”

“It wasn’t for me,” Cassie retorted.

“Are you sure, dear?” Nancy gave her a skeptical look.

Cassie considered her question for a moment. “I suppose it was there. I just didn’t believe there was anyone out there who would get me.”

“It’s a fear we all live with until we meet the right one,” Nyara said and looked to Kengar, who had a thick tree trunk in his hands, which he was stripping off smaller branches.

Kengar, upon hearing his name, looked up and met Nyara’s gaze. His eyes softened, and the corners of his mouth tugged upward in a small smile. And in that smile was profound love. The same love Cassie felt for Byron. Deep and everlasting. Something she never thought she would feel.

An hour later, with sore muscles and blistered hands, they had hauled what Byron thought was enough lumber toward the clear ground at the edge of the ravine. Byron guided them in the construction.

It started with two branches laid on the floor parallel to each other, a few feet apart, with a third being placed across them both and a fourth beneath them. Two more branches were then slotted through the gap, creating an interlocking structure, and they repeated this process until they had a long construction of branches that mostly resembled a bridge spanning the width of the ravine.

Byron stood back and wiped the sweat from his brow, admiring their collective handiwork with a critical eye. “It’s not perfect by any means—the wood is uneven in places and the weight of our bodies…”

“Will hold it in place?” Cassie cut in. “It’s self-supporting, right?”

“Yes.” Byron bit his lips nervously.

“We can cross together.” Cassie placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“I…don’t know if I can.” Byron looked at her apologetically. “I can’t even get within a few feet of the ledge. It’s like there’s a physical block stopping me.”

Cassie watched after him with a wry smile as he walked away, back toward the tree line.

“Nancy?” Cassie went to the older fae woman who was putting her sweater back on before she lifted her purse over her head and threaded one arm through the strap. Somehow, despite the rough sleeping and manual labor, she still looked polished with barely a speck of dirt on her. “Do you have any butterscotch left?”

“I have a couple,” Nancy confirmed as she pulled a paper bag from her purse. “Do you want one?”

“No, but Byron does.” She glanced over at her mate before she lowered her voice. “I need you to follow my lead.”

“All right...” Nancy gave Cassie a skeptical look.

“I need you to pretend that these sweets hold magic,” Cassie explained.

“But there’s no…”

Cassie led her over to where Byron was standing.

“I’ll go around while you all cross the ravine,” Byron said. “I think only one of us has to make it back. I’ll move fast on my own…”

“Nancy has something that will help with your fear of heights,” Cassie told him.

“She does?” Byron asked.

“Yes, these butterscotch contain magic,” Cassie explained.

“There’s no magic,” Byron said with a questioning look.

“Ah, yes,” Nancy began, and Cassie was thankful that she had caught on. “But this is fae magic. It’s contained within the very essence of the candy. Not so easily removed. If you suck on one, the magic will be released, and you will conquer your fear.”

Nancy thrust the bag of candy toward Byron, who reached inside and took out one of the golden wrappers. He looked at it skeptically for a moment, then back to Cassie and Nancy.

Nancy leaned in and said, “I brought them after the escape room incident.”

“Escape room incident?” Byron asked as he unwrapped the candy.

“Stan has a fear of enclosed spaces,” Nancy explained. “He got trapped in the bathroom once and couldn’t get out for hours. He said it was...quite an ordeal.” She glanced at Cassie, who nodded in agreement. “It’s scarred him for life. But he doesn’t like to talk about it.”

Byron frowned as he held the golden candy betwixt his fingers. He looked toward the ravine, a clear sense of trepidation etched onto his face as he watched the sharp drops and rocky outcrops beneath. He gulped audibly, tightening his grip on the butterscotch candy in his hands.

“I...I suppose it can’t hurt to try,” he finally conceded. “If you’re sure these are still potent.”

“Of course they are.” Nancy waved him off. “It was fae magic that got the tavern drunk some time ago and caused all sorts of havoc. These definitely still have their magic.”

Byron’s jaw tensed. “All right.” And with that, he popped the candy into his mouth.

“Okay, let’s go. While the magic is working,” Nancy ordered and hooked her arm under Byron’s elbow.

As they reached the Da Vinci Bridge, Byron looked across the expanse and then placed one foot on it, then another.

There was no magic at work here. Only a man conquering his fears.

She had a lot to learn from this man who called her mate, and so she hoped to teach him something as well—that he was stronger than he thought.