Chapter 2

The next morning, we packed up and kept climbing.

Altitude: nineteen thousand feet.

The air was razor-thin. Every step felt like dragging a mountain behind me.

We split into three groups.

I was in the second.

Keegan was supposed to be with me.

Then, right before we left, he switched.

"Ada's not doing great. I'll hang back with the third group and keep an eye on her."

He looked at me.

"Stay close to Edward. Don't fall behind."

I nodded.

All morning, I kept spotting him behind us.

He stayed glued to Ada, reaching out whenever she wobbled.

On a patch of loose rock, she slipped sideways.

Keegan caught her by the waist and pulled her upright.

Still rattled, Ada pressed a hand to her chest and smiled up at him.

"Keegan, if you weren't here, I would've rolled straight down the mountain."

He smiled back.

"Take smaller steps. Plant your feet before you move. No need to rush."

Ahead of me, Edward glanced back with a frown.

"Your boyfriend's pretty 'attentive.'"

I said nothing.

We stopped for lunch beneath a rock wall that blocked the wind.

I sat on a boulder, forcing down a dry energy bar.

Keegan came over and handed me a cup of hot water.

I wrapped both hands around it.

"Ada got altitude sickness earlier. She threw up twice."

He sat beside me, frowning.

"If she's still this bad tomorrow, going for the summit could be dangerous."

"Then she stays at camp."

He hesitated.

"She came all this way to reach the top. And leaving her alone isn't safe."

"Have a guide stay with her."

"We don't have enough guides."

He paused, then gave me a careful look.

"How about this? You wait for me at Camp Three. I'll take Ada back to Camp Two, then come back and summit with you."

I stopped chewing.

"You want me to wait there alone?"

"Just half a day." He patted my hand. "There are tents and supplies. You'll be fine."

I went quiet.

"No."

I folded the wrapper and shoved it into my pocket.

"I don't want your proposal at camp."

I looked at him.

"I want it at the summit."

Keegan froze, then smiled.

"Okay. Whatever you want."

We kept climbing that afternoon.

The sky darkened.

Thick gray clouds rolled in from the west, like a giant mouth slowly closing.

Edward studied them, his face tense.

"Keegan, those clouds look bad. A blizzard could be right behind them."

He glanced at the group.

"We should camp here and reassess tomorrow."

Keegan nodded and turned to tell everyone to stop.

"Keegan!"

Ada hurried up behind us, breathing hard.

Her face was pale, her lips blue, but her eyes were bright.

"I just checked the forecast. The next two days are overcast. Tomorrow morning is our only six-hour window."

She caught her breath.

"If we stop now, we'll miss it."

Edward frowned.

Keegan hesitated.

"Keegan." I tugged his sleeve. "Edward said the weather's unstable."

"It'll be fine, Nina."

Ada turned to me, urgency all over her face.

"I checked a ton of climbing forums. Clouds like this don't always mean snow.

"Besides, we're already at nineteen thousand feet. We can reach Camp Three in two hours, tops.

"If we miss this window, the whole trip was for nothing."

Her voice stayed soft.

Every word chipped away at Keegan's doubt.

He looked at Ada.

Then at the clouds.

"We keep moving. We reach Camp Three today."

Edward held his stare for a long second, then stayed quiet.

I followed the group without a word.

The wind at my back picked up.

Little by little, the gray clouds swallowed the last bit of sunlight.