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least.
    Instead of following the fork to either the road or
the beach, Matilda stepped off the path and started to move down
the rocky hill on top of which the castle was perched.
    “Where are we going?” Sierra asked now that she had
her breath back.
    “You’ll see. It’s worth it.”
    They walked for a moment, but they were soon climbing
down the rocks. Sierra was glad she wore pants today. She saw small
white crabs flee from them, scuttling into crevices between the
black rocks. Below them, waves crashed against the rocks and sand.
When they were a few feet from the waves, Matilda moved to the
side, closer to the ocean. Sierra’s boots nearly slipped once or
twice, but the waves weren’t deep. She’d only soak herself and get
a few scratches.
    “Where are we going?” Sierra repeated as they rounded
the hill. When she looked up, the castle stretched out hundreds of
feet above them at the summit of the hill.
    “We’re almost there,” Matilda called.
    What had she been thinking, coming out here with
Matilda? She’d probably throw her into the ocean or something.
    Around the hill, the rocks hollowed into a cave. The
rocks became more sparse on the shore, replaced by sand and
pebbles, and a shallow amount of water disappeared into the mouth
of the cave. Matilda stopped and sat on a jutting rock to remove
her shoes.
    “I don’t know about caves,” Sierra said, gazing down
the cave, where the water disappeared into darkness. It reminded
her of when she and Grace separated in the caves in Mumbar Jungle.
That trip to the top seemed to go on forever.
    “Don’t worry, it’s not long,” Matilda said. She
stepped into the water, the clear liquid reaching her calves and
flowing past her.
    “But what are you showing this to me for? Is it just
a cave?” Sierra couldn’t fight the frustration. She’d climbed down
here and cut open one of her fingers, and now she felt all those
memories of that horrible cave rushing back. After Grace fell, and
Sierra was worrying about Evan…
    Matilda paused, hoisting her shoes over her shoulder.
“It lets out on the other side of the hill. I just thought you’d
like to see it. You didn’t seem like you were in a very good
mood.”
    Sierra pursed her lips, then sat down on the rock
Matilda had been on earlier. She started to unlace her boots, then
rolled up her pants and joined Matilda. “It opens on the other
side?”
    “Yeah,” Matilda said. “I actually found that side
first, but I thought this view was beautiful.”
    She and Sierra looked out at the ocean. The sun was
low in the sky, and the water was dazzlingly bright at times.
Matilda turned and walked into the cave. She sat down on a high
rock, dipping her feet in the water. Her feet were covered in the
dyes, as well, matching Sierra’s, but with less designs. The women
had warned them not to wash their hands or feet or the dye wouldn’t
set, but the cool water felt so good on Sierra’s feet.
    She climbed onto a similar rock on the opposite side,
sinking her toes into the sand and letting the water push against
her legs as it came in and out. The come and go sound of the waves
echoed in the cave, soothing Sierra and her thoughts.
    “Is Evan going to find Gregorio?” Matilda asked,
breaking a few moments of silence.
    “How’d you know?” Sierra asked.
    “Jeshro asked me to protect the room,” Matilda said,
“and I listened in.”
    “Do you do that with everything you’re supposed to
protect?”
    Matilda didn’t respond.
    Guilt twisted Sierra’s stomach, and she tried to
think of a way to make amends without apologizing. Normal
conversation with Matilda wasn’t something she was used to. On
their travels, they’d avoided arguments for the most part, but they
were far from friends.
    “So, when are we going to get Grace and Dar?” Matilda
asked.
    “We? Do you want to help?”
    “Of course.”
    “You said that Grace would be just fine where she
is.”
    “She probably would be if she weren’t so in