Chapter 49

ELISE'S POV

I keep my back pressed against the rough stone wall, mobing along the small ledge that's over the darkness down. My heart hammers in my chest as I stare at how tall the height of the cliff is.

Below me, the world seems to fall away into nothingness. I close my eyes, forcing myself not to look at it or think of it too much. Looking at it alone makes me dizzy. Every breath I take feels heavy.

Why did Gina send me here? The question has been ringing in my mind since the moment she ordered me to retrieve this flower.

It was a simple flower, she had said, but one that only grew in a cave on the edge of this mountain. I had dared to ask why the guards couldn’t go instead, and she had smiled that wicked smile of hers, the one that never reached her eyes. "Because"she’d said" I need someone with a light touch, someone I can trust to not crush the delicate petals. And I trust you, Elise."

But I knew better. This was no task of trust. This was another one of her impossible demands