Henry pulls Brooke aside and whispers something into her ear. She glances at me again and then nods. She gives my hand one final squeeze. “I’ll meet you at the beach.”
When she’s gone, Henry and I stare up at the flowing lava.It’s moving quickly over the steep terrain, and I doubt we have more than a couple of minutes. I look back at Theo. His shoes slide against hardened magma as he drops back to the ground.
He growls in frustration. “You need to go, Wren.”
I grind my molars. “No. We’re getting you out.” I look at Henry. “Hold my feet.”
He digs his heels into the ground and braces himself, wrapping his wrists around my ankles and holding tightly to my calves. I crawl over the edge of the hole and dangle against the side of the wall, arms outstretched. My head swims.
I close my eyes. “Send him up!”
My hands close around two small, hairy paws. Comet thrashes against the wall, his back paws scrambling for impossible purchase. I look down. Theo has his hands under Comet’s butt, pushing him up toward me.
“Got him?” Theo asks.
“I think so.”
Henry starts to pull us up, but gravity immediately drags Comet back down. He’s whining and twisting and so, so heavy in my arms. “Be still, boy. Please be still,” I beg as his nails dig into my palms. My heart throbs painfully against my rib cage. “He’s slipping.”
Comet whines, his brown eyes wide with fear.
“You’ve got this,” Theo says, but I don’t feel like I do. I’m so tired, and everything hurts so bad.
“I don’t,” I sob. One of Comet’s paws slips from my sweaty hands, and all ninety pounds of him transfer to my injured arm. My second hand gives out, and Comet falls into Theo’s waiting grasp. Blood trickles out of my torn stitches.
“Listen to me, Wheeler,” Theo yells as he secures my thrashing dog. The steam and ash are so thick in the air that I can barely see, and breathing feels impossible. “Can you hear me?”
“I’m sorry,” I cry, and I can’t believe it’s come to this. All we’ve been through, and this is how it ends. Caught in a freaking volcano, and I’m not strong enough to save the person (and pup) I fell in love with. I was so stupid to ever even daydream a happy ending for us.
“What did you say in your wedding vows?” he asks.
The blood rushing to my head makes it hard to think. “All dogs are worth saving?” I sob harder.
“No. Well, yes, but no. You said you owe me one, and I’m cashing in the favor. And what did I say inmyvows?”
This one is easy; the words are burned in my mind. “You said we were fate.” I don’t know if he even hears me over Henry screaming and Comet barking and the world ripping apart.
“I said I won’t give up on you. You are the strongest person I know, and youcando this. Now save your dog.”
His voice cuts through the chaos and I hear every word clearly. Theo pushes Comet up into my arms and with Henry pulling on my legs, I summon every ounce of strength left in my body and drag him over the edge. He flops on top of me, his weight knocking the breath from my chest, and licks the tears off my face.
“Ready to go again?” Henry asks. I nudge Comet off my belly and pull myself back over the edge. Theo’s hands reach for mine, the tips of his fingers just barely grazing.
“I can’t reach,” he says.
“Try again,” I insist.
“The lava is coming,” Henry warns from above. “We’re running out of time.”
Theo freezes, and even through the ash and steam, I can see panic in his eyes. “You have to go.” His voice is pure rasp.
“Try again!”
He walks back as far as he can in the cramped space and then runs forward, placing his foot on the wall. He scrambles up and I reach out, grabbing his hands like a flash of lightning. Gravity drags him down, pulling me with him and nearly dislocating my shoulder. Henry shouts as he slides forward, feet slamming into the dirt and stopping all three of us from crashing back into the lava tube. Slowly but surely, Theo uses my hands as an anchor as he walks his way up the wall.
I scream as my sutures tug against swollen skin. Theo releases my injured arm and grips the edge of the lava tube with his free hand. He pulls himself up, his biceps straining with the effort. We collapse next to each other on our backs, gasping for fresh air that doesn’t exist. Theo looks at me and places a scratched and bloody hand on my cheek. He leans in and kisses me. I don’t realize I’m crying until I taste salt on my tongue, but I don’t care. I’ll kiss him while the world burns around us.
Henry clears his throat. “Wereallydon’t have time for this.”
