Hello and welcome back to our readalong for Ledge by Stacey McEwan! The story is heating up in more ways than one – fights, unbidden kisses and a lot of banter filled this section. Read on for a detailed reminder of everything that went on, and questions for the section down below!

🪓 Beware of spoilers down below if you haven’t read the section! You have been warned…🪓

!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD !!

This section begins with Dawsyn feeling the consequences of her previous night’s actions in the form of a nasty hangover. She meets the mage Baltisse for the first time, who heals her but not without first sizing her up.

She has a chance to talk more with Salem and Esra who banter and bicker like old friends.

That night is the celebration for the Anniversary of the Queen’s crowning and many come to Salem’s inn who cannot travel the distance to the Mecca.

A woman begins flirting with Ryon and Dawsyn grows increasingly jealous before she finally intercedes.

Dawsyn ignores what Ryon had told her the night before and kisses him again, passionately. He turns away but as the sexual tension mounts, he responds by pulling her into a hallway. 

When they hear someone coming up the stairs, they move to the bedroom – but Ryon stops things from progressing. He is now filled with regret, and when he questions if Dawsyn has forgotten what his people had done to hers, sends her into a rage. Because how dare he imply that she could’ve forgotten something like that. He apologizes but the damage is done.

She accuses him of lying. He did not in fact keep to his promise that he would bury himself inside her, but he tells her to drop it. Humans that lie with Glacians are fools after all.

When she points out that his mother was human, he doesn’t retract his point. He leaves with a slam of the door.

Dawsyn is still furious when she goes to bed and locks her door. In the middle of the night, Ryon kicks the door down. The Glacians have arrived, and they must quickly hide. He pulls her into a hidden cellar, and they listen to the Glacians destroy the inn above their heads while Dawsyn worries about Salem, Esra, and Baltisse.

When the Glacians move on, Dawsyn tells Ryon that they need to leave and get as far from the Glacians as possible. But Ryon will not leave until he’s accomplished his goal. Dawsyn accuses Ryon of putting his friends in danger, but he will not budge on his decision. She can tell there is something else he is keeping from her – something about his plan that he hasn’t divulged.

They emerge from the cellar and find everything smashed to pieces. But thankfully, Salem has many hidden trapdoors, and no one was harmed during the attack.

While everyone begins cleaning up the damage, Dawsyn uses the distraction to gather her things and leave. She wants to put as much distance between her and the Glacians as possible even if that means leaving Ryon behind.

If only it were that easy – soon after she heads out on her own, she thinks she hears the wings of Glacians and takes off running. In her panic, she tumbles down a hill into a raging, icy river. She nearly drowns, and Ryon saves her.

When she comes to, she learns that it was Ryon’s wings that she heard. He cradles her while they talk, and he kisses her. But they are soon interrupted by the sound of wings.

They are surrounded and a fight ensues. Ryon is unarmed but Dawsyn lends him her dagger. Together they manage to kill all of the Glacians except for Phineas who gets away. Before Ryon can pursue him, Dawsyn collapses. He rushes to her and finds that during the battle, she had taken a sword to the waist.

While unconscious, Dawsyn dreams of her grandmother and remembers a time where she was admonished for taking a punch to the face. She had let a starving boy take food from the Drop and not fought back. She believes this makes her weak, but her grandmother tells her that this is a sign of strength.

Dawsyn awakens to find Baltisse watching over her. The mage has healed her, and Ryon has hardly left her side. But as she talks with Baltisse, she begins to piece together that something hasn’t been adding up. The people of Terrsaw have been atoning for something, and she’s determined to find out what.

Well! What awaits us in the next section? Guess you’ll have to read on to figure that out… 

• Do you think Ryon will finally keep his promise to Dawsyn? (👀👀 👀 👀 👀)
• What do you think Ryon is hiding about his plan?
• Did you expect Phineas to betray Ryon? And do you think he will return?
• What are the people of Terrsaw atoning for?

See you next time, where we will be reading chapters 30 -37! Remember everyone, #StayTheFrost…