Chapter 131: Chapter 131

Cam could see the despair in Kayda's gaze as she looked at the crevice. Too wide to cross. It was the last flake of ash that crumbled her.

She crouched down and hugged her knees, burying her face in them, rocking. He placed a hand on her back and felt her shuddering. Probably crying. No. She couldn't be crying. She'd survived so much. He had to fix this.

"Someone get me an axe."

"To do what?" Lila riposted. "None of these trees are tall enough."

The splintered remains probably wouldn't hold up as a bridge either.

"There must be a spot that's narrower." Cam wrangled them back into a march, following the line of the crevice.

They got lucky a few hours later when they found a fallen tree, big and solid enough for them to span the crevice. It gave them a bridge to the other side. Then two more days of hiking, which still didn't bring them to the border. By then, their water had run out. Most of the food, too.