He pulled out his phone and raised it.
Click.
And another.
I lunged forward and snatched it from his hand. Before he could react, I flung it. The phone sailed over the edge of the bluff and disappeared into the ravine.
“Bitch!” he yelled.
“Serves you right!” I snapped.
“That was mylifein there!” His voice rose with fury as he stared down, searching the tangle of green and stone as if the phone might still be clinging to a chance.
“My pictures were in there!” I threw back.
He rounded his fingers, his fists twitching. Then he stomped the ground—hard—like the rage needed somewhere to go. “Argh! And my crystal—fuck! My crystal cover!”
“You should’ve thought. You should’ve stopped back when I still had mercy to give.”
He took a step, the ground thudding under his weight. He pulled my collar, his breath hot against my ear. “You’re gonna pay for that,” he hissed.
The earth shifted.
Literally.
The ground beneath him crumbled, roots snapping, rock sliding. His footing gave out. He screamed, panic overtaking him as his grip on me slipped. Next, he was skidding down the side of the ravine, his arms flailing.
My instinct kicked in before my brain did. I dropped to my knees and grabbed for his arm.
“Hold still!” I shouted. “I’ve got you. Just…hold still!”
He clung to the ledge, his legs dangling. I stretched out, myfingers locking around his wrist. Our eyes met, and for a second, I was sure the panic would take him before the fall ever could.
“Climb,” I said, bracing and pulling. “You can do it.”
He scrambled up like a crab on scorched rock. At the top, he grabbed me.
“No! Not—” I screamed, the force of his grip jerking me off balance.
He made it up the ravine. I didn’t.
I slammed down onto the slope where he’d been seconds before. The ledge cracked, loose dirt giving way.
My hand shot out, catching roots, rock, and anything I could grip. But everything slid with me.
The man was already running.
I screamed after him. “Help me! You asshole! Don’t leave me!”
But he didn’t look back.
Didn’t even pause.
The dirt kept collapsing around me, coming down in waves, loose and merciless. At the Belrose mansion, I could scale stone walls using whatever footholds I could find. But here, with the ground shifting above me and nothing to anchor to, survival wasn’t just a matter of strength.
It was luck.
And mine was running out.
