The trek to Jaguar Ridge wasn't a hike; it was a vertical scramble through a sauna filled with thorns.
For Aria, it was a warm-up. People assumed she was delicate because she was an heiress, but they didn't know about the hours she used to spend on the treadmill in her past life, running miles in the park.
She cut through the undergrowth, her breathing steady, her boots finding purchase on the slick roots. Behind her, the sounds of the jungle were punctuated by the heavy, wheezing breaths of the others.
"Wait... up!" Leo gasped, crashing through a fern like a wounded deer. He was sweaty, his face streaked with dirt, but he was keeping pace.
"Keep moving, Leo," Aria called back without slowing down. "If you stop, your muscles cool down. Then you cramp."
"I think... I'm already... cramped," Leo moaned, but he kept jogging.
A mile back, the "Golden Couple" was falling apart.
"Lucas!" Bella shrieked, her sandal caught in a root. "Help me! I'm stuck!"
