The Prince took the proffered projectile and drew a deep breath.
“Courage, boy. I took care of you with the wraith, didn’t I?”
He gave a barely perceptible nod and swallowed. With a shake of his hips, he turned back to his party and drew his sword.
“On this day, history will remember my deeds. The future queen lies trapped in yonder tower, and I will slay any in my path to rescue her from her wicked captors.”
Gretchen used the distraction to crawl to the cliff and eased her legs over the side. Her feet found purchase on a small ledge under the bridge and she huddled out of sight in wait. Risking a look down, she couldn’t spot Viragh’s resting place and fervently hoped he would forgive her for his inevitable tumble.
The Prince prattled on for seconds which seemed to stretch into minutes, making Gretchen clench her fist around the remaining clay ball. When he finally stomped toward the precipice, her heart began to pound.
A rumbling from below rattled Gretchen on her precarious perch. She looked up and her eyes locked with the Prince’s, who was stepping onto the rickety bridge. He clenched his jaw and threw his head back with an unintelligible cry.
The flames came ahead of Viragh as he launched upward and over the bridge. The ropes swayed, and the Prince couched to keep his footing. A fiery roar enveloped the sky and his head reached into striking distance of the Prince.
“You can do it, kid.” Gretchen winced as she felt heat rising from the gorge, fingers scrunching her skirts, praying the kid didn’t lose his nerve.
The moment slowed almost to a standstill, then everything happened at once. The prince lifted his sword and hurled his clay ball. Gretchen reached over the top of the cliff to toss hers at the combustible pit. She turned as it erupted to see Viragh’s head enveloped in black smoke and held a hand to her mouth as the befuddling haze knocked the wind from his wings.
He plummeted, one wing catching on a rope as he fell. The Prince ran across the bridge just as it was turning and barely caught the post on the other side before it swung upside down. Gretchen’s eyes turned downward in horror as a crash signaled Viragh’s landing. She hoped the old guy was okay.
Coughs behind her turned to cheers, and she pressed her back against the cliff as the Prince’s fellows came forward to shout encouragement from the far edge. He grinned back at them, victorious, and ran up the slope toward his quarry. After ten grueling minutes, he emerged carrying a waif of a girl who was plastering kisses over his cheeks. He strode with confidence over the steady bridge and carried her to the horses.
As they made ready to depart, Gretchen stole a glance over the edge to see the Prince mounted with his lady perched in front of him. Wiping a tear from her eye, she grinned at the farcical happy ending and didn’t bother hiding when he turned to look for her.
When their eyes met, he winked and turned his nose up into the air. “Now let us be away from this abominable place. We must make haste to the creature comforts of the castle for my fair lady.”
They left in a burst of speed and Gretchen hauled herself back onto solid ground. With harried looks, Mandell and the Cauley brother trotted out of the cave, their mouths agape.
“Did it work?” Mandell wrung his hands.
“They’ll be singing ballads about it for centuries.” Gretchen waved her hand and trotted onto the bridge. She stared down the chasm below for any sign of Viragh. “Come on, old-timer. Couldn’t have hurt that bad.”
Anxious minutes went by leaving Gretchen second guessing. Then her face broke into a grin when his familiar form came barreling up toward her and fell when he didn’t slow. The bridge lurched perilously, and she crouched holding tight to the rope. He turned tight circles around her, rattling her hat from her head.
He landed next to Mandell and stood rigid casting glares between them. Despite his scales, blood welled from gouges along his back.
“You will burn for this, witchling.” He kept his voice pitched low lest he shake the entire mountain.
Mandell coughed and spoke up. “I think you’ll find that without her, the Prince would have turned tail and run, along with our dues.”
Viragh shared suspicious glances among them.
“It’s true.” The Cauley brother piped up. “And I’d say we’ve a fair chance of a bonus.”
Gretchen rescued her hat from where it hung snagged on a root on the cliff's edge and crawled back to land. She stood and dusted herself off with a grin.
“Now that’s what I call a happily ever after.”