Ella’s POV
Liam snorted. “More like I’ve been having a nightmare while on my feet. It was a relief when I walked into Andre.”
“Shall we continue our journey now that we are all together?” Kevin asked, bringing out the map.
“Let’s do that.” Damien agreed. “I can’t wait to put this whole nightmare behind us.” He said with a glance at me.
I nodded at him, fully understanding what he meant. We were all here because of my nightmare and I couldn’t wait to put it behind me as well.
“Here!” Kevin said and pointed to a path down the road.
I sighed. It was high time we found the path to the tree and get the damn slave mark off my skin. It had been long that I had glanced at my wrist because I didn’t want to be disgusted by the sight of my body which was what happened whenever I looked at my wrist, accidentally or intentionally.
We had been walking for a long time ever since we got reunited because we didn’t want to stay here for any moment longer. My legs were aching and I knew the guys were as well, even though they weren’t complaining.
I rolled my eyes, wondering why guys liked to form macho in every situations. It was okay to rest and admit that you were tired as well.
“Oh! I see it. I see the Arok tree.” Andre shouted, pointing at a tree down the path.
Really? I picked up the pace and walked after the guys who were now walking with a renewed energy as if the sight of the trees had filled their bellies. I also walked faster, matching up with them and forgetting that I was the one complaining earlier and wishing that they would take a rest.
I didn’t want to take any rest anymore. I wanted to take the sap and the tree and get myself scrubbed clean.
“We are almost there.” Kevin said, smiling at me.
“Yes, we are.” I smiled back, my face breaking out in a huge grin.
“Watch out!” Liam screamed suddenly and pointed at the ground.
I gasped as I paused and looked at the ground. I was grateful that someone had been cautious enough to check out the surrounding while the rest of us were too filled with enthusiasm to look around.
Kevin was the one in front and eager to get me the cure as my man that he had forgotten he was a warrior as well.
I shuddered at the sight of the snakes on the floor and didn’t want to think of what would have happened if Kevin had walked into their midst. They would have bitten him to death and we wouldn’t be able to save him.
I didn’t think I would want to get the cure if I lost him. I didn’t think so. I wouldn’t want a price that came at the cost of my mate’s life.
“Thank you, Liam.” Kevin said as he stepped back.
Liam nodded. “You are welcome.”
“What do we do now?” Andre asked.
Good question. I had the same question on my mind as I stared at the snakes swarming on the floor. I believed there would be up to fifteen snakes there, all curling around one another. There was no way we could pass through them and get to the tree, not if we wanted to get there alive.
I sighed, hating the mess that they were. We had almost gotten to the tree and if they weren’t there, we would be by the tree after few paces.
I was glad that they weren’t near the tree and few paces away from it. I had come too far to have some nasty reptiles stop me from getting the cure I had almost died for.
I would be mad. I thought of putting a fire on them but the risk of burning the Arok tree with them stopped that thought from forming fully in my head. The snakes weren’t near the tree I needed but all the trees were densely packed together that the fire was going to affect the others if it affected one.
“We can’t go through them.” Kevin sighed.
“We would be dead in seconds.” Damien smirked.
“Let’s go over the trees.” Andre suggested. “We can hop on one tree to the other till we get to the Arok tree.”
We all looked at him, considering his idea and then Damien finally spoke up. “What if the branches aren’t strong enough to support our weights?”
Andre shrugged. “We better hope they are strong enough to support our weights or we will all be falling right into the jaws of the snakes.”
I stared at him in surprise. He talked as if he wasn’t concerned that we would all be falling to our deaths.
“Are you kidding?” Damien asked. He had an expression on his face like he wasn’t sure if he should laugh at Andre’s words or cry.
Andre shook his head. “I’m not. Do you have any other idea?”
We all shook our heads and prepared to climb the trees, hoping we wouldn’t be climbing and hopping to our deaths.