He knew that the ground was rushing up to meet them at any moment – that there probably wasn’t time for words. But his cheek brushed the side of her neck as he tightened his arms around her, and he knew that his feelings would flow to her through the mate bond – the thing that connected them to each other, made them belong to each other.
It goes beyond words,Ethan thought as they fell.It goes beyond everything –
His back met the ground with a solid, almightysmackthat definitely signified broken ribs, and he had a moment of confusion – he’d been sure that there was water at the bottomof the gorge, but apparently not, because clearly he’d slammed straight into solid stone.
His vision swam, his eyes bleary, and he took a moment to wonder if this was where he was going to die – and, more to the point, whether Chloe was okay – before he realized that the swirling patterns in front of his eyes were actually the churning of the river, and what hadfeltlike solid rock beneath him had actually been the water’s surface knocking all of the breath out of his body.
Time seemed to lose all meaning. He honestly couldn’t tell whether he’d been in the water for a minute or a millisecond, or whether he was going to smash into the riverbed or continue sinking forever.
All he knew was that he was freezing and he couldn’t breathe – he could barely move. And that Chloe was with him, still cradled in his arms.
Protect our mate,the pegasus gasped, seeming almost as confused as Ethan felt, all of its consciousness reduced to the one thought.Protect her at all costs.
Ethan could feel Chloe’s terror through the mate bond – which was at least somewhat reassuring, in that it meant that she wasalive.
I have to let her go, so she can swim to the surface –
The ground – therealground, this time – met his back with full force a moment later, and any air that may have still been in his lungs after the first impact was well and truly gone by now, quickly replaced by ice-cold water as he gasped in a breath reflexively.
Choking as his panicked lungs tried to breathe in air and just breathed in more water instead, he thrashed about, unable to tell which way was up.
Heknewhe needed to get out of here. He was still alive – if only just – and Chloe needed him.
Get up!his pegasus snarled.Move, you idiot!
And he was going to – really, he was. He just needed a moment to get his breath back. It reallywashard to breathe right now, for some reason.
Above him, a murky shadow moved, its swirling hair haloed by a distant light far above.
An angel,he thought dizzily.
The angel moved closer, its face twisted in rage and fear. Even through the water and with its mouth closed, it seemed to be screaming at him toget up, its eyes wide.
An angry angel. I wonder what I did to piss it off.
And then the angel was wrapping its arms around him and doing its best to haul him upward.
Ethan flailed a little, recognizing that it probably wasn’t quite his finest moment, but still not quite sure what was happening.
Our mate is rescuing us while you flop about,the pegasus hissed.You are shameful. I want a divorce.
I don’t seeyoudoing anything to help out,he snapped back, before finally gathering enough mental clarity to fully comprehend what was happening.
He was drowning, and Chloe was saving him.
Determined not to make this any harder for her than he already had, he flung out one aching arm and scrabbled at the rocky wall of the gorge, managing to find a tiny outcropping that he was able to grab on to. His broken ribs protested the movement, but he didn’t care.
After that, he wasn’t aware of much of anything except for how he was gagging and hacking about fifty gallons of water out of his lungs – that, and Chloe’s wide, wide eyes.
Once he’d finally regained the ability to breathe, he closed his eyes for a moment, leaning his forehead against hers and just letting her hold him.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “For saving my life.”
“Thankyoufor saving mine,” she said, before pushing him backward, her eyes full of fire. “And don’t you everdaredo that again!!”
He stared at her dumbly, still feeling a bit muddle-headed. “Save your life?”
“Save it likethat!” she exclaimed, splashing him angrily. “Leaping off a cliff! What the hell is wrong with you?!”
