Footsteps thundered from somewhere behind me, and I reached for another rock but found none small enough for me to throw. Rough hands grabbed my hair hard, and I screeched. Isadora clawed at my face, nails digging deep.
I tasted blood and dust in my mouth.
She held on to me, hands moving to around my neck. The air became tight in my lungs; I couldn’t get a breath. Panic made my pulse leap, fighting for oxygen. I didn’t want to die. Didn’t want to go like this. Tears streaked down my stinging cheeks as I tried to inhale and inhale.
There was no give. No air.
Black spots crowded my vision. I elbowed Isadora hard—
A loud cracking noise startled us both. The stone under us quaked. Blindly I reached for something I could hold on to, felt Isadora loosen her hold on my neck as the steps crumbled. I inhaled sharply, and then coughed from the effort. My fingers found purchase as my body dropped, legs swinging forward and back as I gripped the ledge. Isadora’s frightened scream rang, at first so close, right in my ear, but then softer as she fell.
The sound of her body hitting the ground went through me. A loud smack, bones breaking, her scream abruptly cut off, as if someone had slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I hissed, tears streaking down my face. My fingers were slick with sweat, digging into the stone, but I felt them slipping. “I can’t hold on!”
“Inez!” Whit yelled from below. “The steps are going to give. Let go!”
Terror gripped me. “I can’t. I’m too high!”
I glanced over my shoulder and down below and let out a whimper at the sight of Isadora’s broken body. Whit stood directly beneath me, one hand clutching his side, the other raised high, stained bright red. “I’ll catch you. Inez, I’ll catch you!”
A chunk of the rock gave way, pitching down, and I yelled out a warning.
“Christ.”
“Whit! Are you all right? Whit!”
He coughed. “I’m all right. Inez, let go. The rest of the staircase has broken off—I can’t climb up to you. Please let go!”
“It’s too high—” I choked out, gasping. Another chunk of the stairs broke off with a thunderous crack. I heard Whit scrambling out of the way and then shuffling back to stand directly beneath me.
“Inez,” Whit said, his voice calm, working against the panic rioting in my chest. “I’ll catch you. Now,let go!”
I squeezed my eyes shut, afraid to trust his words. Afraid that he wouldn’t be there at the end of my fall. That I’d end up like Isadora, sprawled across the stone, staring blankly upward, limbs twisted unnaturally.
“Inez, you are the love of my life,” Whit roared. “I will not lose you now.”
My gaze returned to Whit’s. He stared at me steadily, face tilted upward,arm still outstretched. He nodded, reassuring me. “I’m right here. Please let go.”
I let out a shuddering breath and shut my eyes. I opened my hands and let myself fall. It was only a moment, but it felt like forever. My skirt rippled against my legs. Air whipped around my hair—then the hard collision against Whit, his arms wrapping tight around me as I knocked him into the ground. He rolled us again and again as rocks fell, a lethal downpour of heavy stones. Dust rose around us in a plume.
“Inez,” he whispered hoarsely as he pulled me on top of him, away from the jagged rocks surrounding us. His lips moved against my throat when he spoke again. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
I inhaled deeply, joyous disbelief making it hard to form a word, a thought.
He gently shook me. “Answer me, sweetheart.”
“Are we alive?” I managed after a moment.
“Of course. So dramatic.” Whit pushed the hair from out of my face, cradling my cheeks in both hands. “Are you hurt?”
I nodded, my vision blurring. Dust coated his face, and he nodded back. His eyes slid shut and panic stole over me. “Whit. Whit!”
He lay still and unmoving. A deep-red puddle pooled underneath his body.
“Whit!” I screamed. “If you die, I will never forgive you.”
He opened his eyes, dazed and blinking rapidly. “I’m fine. I was just resting.”
