Ava held her breath as Sabriel and Aro followed.
Casimir waved the group forward. “It appears secure. Let’s get going.”
The soldiers began to cross, pressing into the wall and keeping as far away from the edge as possible. The tension in the air was palpable as each person ventured to the other side.
Casimir stepped onto the rock, holding his hand out behind him to help Ava up. Raine, Maeryn and the remaining members of their party followed. Ava hugged the wall, trying—but failing—not to look down.
Now that she was above it, she could see the texture change in the sand, the way it dipped and shifted with the breeze. It remindedher of an antlion trap, where the insect would lie in wait at the bottom for an ant to fall into their pit, only to be devoured. When she was a child, she would put a blade of grass in the trap, trying to get the insect to grasp onto it with its pincers and reveal itself.
But this wasn’t a tiny antlion. This was an oversized monster that would easily overcome them should they fall in.
A rumble started in the distance, growing louder with each passing second. The entire canyon began to shake.
“Is that another earthquake?” Raine asked from behind her, panic in his voice.
“Yes. Quickly now!” Maeryn called.
It took all of Ava’s effort to stay balanced as the stone trembled beneath her feet. Casimir moved faster, but part of the bridge crumbled and his foot slipped. Cursing under his breath, he regained his balance and continued.
The trembling grew stronger, Ava’s nerves on fire as she kept going.
“Heads up!” someone shouted.
A massive rock tumbled from above, headed straight for the group.
Ava scrambled back. The boulder crashed into the exact spot she had been standing, breaking a hole in the bridge in front of her and cutting off the path forward.
“Imsel!” Casimir shouted above the noise. “Can you repair it?”
“I’m trying. But the earthquake is making it difficult for me to control the rock!”
Ava grew vines from her hands, extending them to the other side, but the edge of the bridge crumbled every time she tried to find something for them to latch onto.
Casimir tried sending his own across, but another small boulder tumbled and broke them apart. “You’re going to have to jump!” he shouted, holding out his hand.
“Jump?” she shrieked. “I can’t! It’s too far.”
Leaning into the wall, she tried to catch her breath, evaluating the distance between where she and Casimir stood. Another tremor and her entire body swayed as she almost lost her balance.
“Come on, love. You can do it. I’ll catch you.”
“Go Ava,” Raine said. “Hurry. Before the rest of this bridge collapses.”
Steeling herself, Ava crouched and faced Casimir. Not allowing herself time to overthink it any further, she leaped forth, landing on the stone with a thud and crashing into his chest.
“Perfect,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. “I have you.”
The ground released yet another large tremor. They lurched forward, trying to remain on their feet. Another jolt. Ava could hardly stay upright. Casimir gripped her arms. They took a step. Then another.
A massive quake shook the entire canyon.
The bridge crumbled, the rock giving way beneath their feet.
Ava screamed. Casimir hollered.
Ava threw her arms out, scrambling for purchase, for something to hold onto. Anything. She tried using a vine but couldn’t grasp anything. People shouted their names but she could barely hear them over the rumbling.
The breath was knocked from her lungs as she hit the sand with a thud.
