“Put me down!” I screamed.
“I’ll put you down—all the w?—”
His words were cut off by the sound of a sword singing, and the wet slap of blood against stone, and the thud of a head hitting the ground. His arms loosened and I started to fall, but a large hand gripped me, claws wrapped around my neck, as I was dragged off the ledge, the headless akadim’s body falling and falling.
“I said, don’t run from akadim. It excites them,” Rhyan sneered.
I waited until he had us turned, both of our bodies firmly away from the ledge and then I reached for his claws, and tore his finger back as my legs lifted and kicked him square in the chest.
He released me, and I slammed to the ground on my ass, but quickly scrambled to my feet, using the half second I’d surprised him to sprint. I ran across the stone bridge, and then finally, I made it to the top.
“Damnit,” he yelled. I was coming to the edge of the cliff, to the rope bridge.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. I had no choice. I started running, holding onto the railings, my stomach dropping with every sway. I slowed down in the middle, conscious of where the floorboards had gone missing. And then I felt the bridge dip low behind me, all of the ropes shaking. Rhyan. My heart was in my throat, but I kept my eyes ahead, focused on the other side. Another step loosened and fell just as I reached the cliff.
And suddenly, Rhyan screamed.
I turned back, my heart stopping. His foot had fallen through the bottom. The step that had just dislodged.
One entire leg was dangling precariously off the bridge, while he balanced the other on one remaining step, his knee bent awkwardly, his claws hanging onto the roped railing. He wasn’t able to pull himself up—the rope didn’t provide enough leverage or support.
I backed up against the wall, my heart shredding into pieces.
There was a groan deep in the mines below, and another shudder of the cave, and Rhyan’s step gave out.
He fell, his entire body dangling from the bridge. He was holding on to the ropes, and nothing else. His body was so heavy, and he was so twisted up in them, he’d never pull himself free in time to catch me. I’d be free. I’d find Auriel.
If I ran.
But if he fell to the mines, that would be it. He’d die. Die in his akadim form. Rhyan would never come back to me.
He might kill me if I went back for him. The bridge was already so unstable on its own, I was likely to fall.
And yet, none of that seemed to matter as I found myself running toward him, leaping over the missing floorboards until I reached him.
He looked up, and his eyes were red and soulless, but they were scared, and something inside of them still felt like Rhyan. I widened my stance, one hand braced on the railing, the whole structure shaking and swaying.
“Take my hand!” I yelled, reaching for him.
“What?” he asked. Like he didn’t realize we were in the middle of a truce.
“I’m not letting you fall,” I cried. “Now take my hand!”
He reached for me, and I pulled, my muscles straining against my injuries. But with a burst of energy, I tugged him toward me as my breath came in quick, painful spurts. He wasso Godsdamned heavy, and with the unsteadiness of the bridge, I couldn’t find my balance.
“Come on,” I yelled, my hands sweating. The bridge swayed again and I tightened my grip, pulling with one last show of strength, using everything I had.
And then he was back on the bridge, landing on his belly before rising to his feet, one hand, large and clawed, tucked in mine.
Our eyes locked. The walls shuddered. And with our hands still linked, we ran to the ledge.
I slammed against the stone wall as far from the cliff’s edge as I could manage, about to catch my breath, only to realize Rhyan was reaching for my neck, his eyes glowing.
“I knew you were mine,” he growled.
But I pushed him back again, careful it was away from the cliff’s edge. He stumbled and I spun on my heels. I raced for the tunnel, running as fast as I could, my feet flying. I didn’t stop to look back, or try to make a plan, or fight. I just had to get out— get away. So I kept running, and running. Rhyan caught up fast—as expected. He was on my heels, close enough to breathe down my neck. I bore down into the reserves of the power I had left from Asherah, and I sprinted, my speed doubling—the way I’d been trained to at the end of our morning runs.
I could hear the sounds of a fight up ahead, a scream of pain and then, the most glorious and welcome sight in the world.
