Page 556 of Reign

Elena’s name tears out of me as the ground disappears beneath us.

We hit the embankment at an angle.

The passenger side drops first. Branches rake across the windows. The seat belt locks over my chest as the SUV pitches forward, sliding through wet earth and shattered brush.

I reach for Elena.

My arm catches across her chest an instant before the front of the vehicle slams into a tree.

The airbags explode.

Everything turns white.

Sound disappears beneath a violent ringing in my ears.

For half a second, I don’t know which direction we’re facing.

Then the airbag deflates.

The SUV rests nose-down against the tree, tilted toward Elena’s side. Dust hangs in the cabin. The engine gives one broken mechanical groan before dying.

“Elena.”

She doesn’t answer.

Pure terror hits me.

I tear my seat belt free and turn toward her.

Her eyes are open.

Wide.

Fixed on nothing.

“Elena.” I reach beneath the collapsed airbag and cup her face. “Look at me.”

She doesn’t move.

Her breathing is shallow, but it’s there. No blood on her face. No broken glass. The side curtain protected her head.

“Elena.”

Nothing.

She’s frozen.

I know this response. I’ve watched her disappear inside herself before, but never with gunmen above us and seconds narrowing around my throat.

A car door slams somewhere on the road.

Then another.

Voices.

Four, possibly more.

I unfasten Elena’s seat belt.