Kingdoms of Gold

4 | Ew, Bug

"Careful," Malachi hissed at me. His hand snapped around bicep, pulling me away from the edge. 

The wood continued to bob under my feet after jumping on it. It bobbed even more when Brynjar stepped down. 

"Why don't you yell at him?" I jabbed a finger at Brynjar. The night seemed to never end. We'd been walking and walking and walking, and morning still wasn't near. "He's making it even more unsteady than me."

"I'm not going to yell at Rune. You go yell at him." Malachi stepped in front of me, tucking me between him and Brynjar.

"I'm not the one complaining about every little misstep made. Just because you didn't get all your beauty sleep, doesn't mean you have to take it out on me." Stress. We were all stressed and tired and hungry. At least I was. My craving for a large portion of fear twisted my stomach.

"I don't need beauty sleep." He snapped at me, teeth clinking together.

"Yes, you do. Every time you don't get enough, you act like this—cranky. Then you pick on every little thing until someone feeds you, cuddles with you, or you get a nap." I was that someone. And he was a large baby, one that could talk. A true nightmare.

"You both are getting on my nerves. Every creature in this forest can hear you." Brynjar paused and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "Can you both be quiet for ten minutes? Ten minutes. It's all I ask."

I smirked. The lack of sleep had me anxious, bitchy. I wanted to piss everyone off. "Yes, daddy. Did you want me to refrain from beating the shit out of him too? I can do that quietly, amidst other activities."

Brynjar sighed and tilted his head to the sky. He pinched the bridge of his nose. His lips barely moved as he whispered unfamiliar words under his breath. 

I turned and quickly ushered Malachi out of my way, who blocked my escape route. 

If Brynjar was praying, then he'd reached his limit. I didn't want to know what wrath he'd invoke if he couldn't calm himself. I'd jump into the waters below and face whatever lurked there instead. At least I stood a chance of survival.

In my haste to outrun Brynjar, I'd walked straight into the trunk of one of the trees. A small mushroom seemed to pulse, a puff of dust shooting at me. I jerked back, burying my face in my hands after taking a deep inhale of the air. 

My nose burned, reminding me of what it was like to snort shit.

Malachi peeled my hands away and tilted my chin up towards him. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I blinked back the water pooling in my eyes.

He angled my jaw to the side, making sure nothing was truly wrong. "I keep telling you to be careful. Are you going to listen now?"

I nodded and pulled away to sneeze. "Yes."

He patted my head and took the lead again. "Cute sneeze."

I meant to snap back at him, say something snarky, but my tongue seemed to be weighed down. I swallowed in an attempt to get rid of the feeling, only to find my tongue still attached in my mouth seconds later.

Brynjar rested a hand on my shoulder, brows furrowed. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." I brushed him off and followed Malachi.

The next few minutes I spent blinking away the dust in my eyes while trying to keep a steady pace in the center of the path. It had to be the center of the path. If I got too close to the edge I wasn't sure I'd be able to refrain from jumping in. The glittering waters looked so warm and comforting.