The reality of the situation sinks in just as the distant sound of a helicopter’s rotors pierces the silence.
We both freeze. Kallister’s attention shifts to the sky, but his gun remains trained on me. Steady.
The noise grows louder, echoing off the cliffs, and then I see it.
My heart speeds up. “We have to go,” I tell him. “That’s a Command bird.”
Kallister hesitates.
The lights from the chopper flood the cliffside, momentarily blinding us, and that’s all I need.
I rush him, slamming my shoulder into his chest. He stumblesbackward but doesn’t lose the grip on his gun. Just the opposite, in fact.
He fires.
The crack of the gunshot is deafening. Searing pain explodes in my arm, and I reel from the shock. I’ve never been shot before. Thathurts.Blood pours from the wound, dripping down my arm and onto the dark earth. I grit my teeth, trying to stay upright, but the pain is nearly unbearable.
Another shot rings through the air. For a terrifying second I brace myself, expecting my entire world to disappear as I die from a bullet in the head, but he’s shooting at the approaching helicopter. He fires several times. Bullets ricochet off metal, pinging through the air, but it doesn’t stop the chopper’s descent.
Cursing under his breath, Kallister turns back to me, but I’m already lunging again. We collide, the impact knocking the wind from my lungs and sending another burst of agony through my arm. I lose my footing, and Kallister takes advantage.
He slams me backward.
I try to catch myself and fail.
I cry out as the ground disappears beneath my feet, and I’m falling over the side of the cliff. I’m in the air, weightless for several terrifying seconds before gravity takes hold of me.
With the wind howling past my ears, a surge of adrenaline snaps me into action. My fingers scrape the rocks, catching the edge of the cliff, and my entire body jolts as I slam into the ledge. My arm screams with pain as I dangle there, gripping a protruding piece of blue daggerstone with all my might.
My pulse thumps violently in my ears. Blood trickles down my arm. When I hear the eerie whoosh of a hovercraft humming past my head, I realize Kallister is flying away. Coward.
I twist my head, watching the craft rise in the night air before it disappears into the misty horizon.
I’m panting, struggling to hang on.
Don’t look down.
My muscles burn, begging for relief. I hold on for dear life. My mind is racing.
And then I hear it.
Footsteps.
Terror pummels into me as a shadow looms above me. A moment later, a hand appears.
“Give me your hand.”
I freeze.
It can’t be.
“Give me your hand, Dove.”
My heart leaps into my throat.
It’s Cross.
Chapter 62
