Page 51

I look up.

Oh, fuck.

The boulder is enormous—far bigger than it looked from down here, and it's already hurtling down the cliff toward the clearing, smashing against the rock face as it gathers speed.

Vera looks up, her eyes widening in horror. She jerks Toto backward, dragging her closer as though the woman we love can protect her from several tons of falling rock.

Straight toward Vera.

Straight toward Toto.

“NICK!” I roar, turning toward him.

But he’s already moving. One second, he's standing beside me, and the next, he's a blur racing across the clearing.

Vera barely has time to turn her head before Nick reaches them. He catches Toto around the waist, wrenching her free of Vera's grasp with such force that Vera staggers sideways, her fingers tearing loose from Toto's hair. Her wand scrapes across Toto's neck as Nick pulls her away.

“NO!” Vera shrieks, swinging her wand toward them.

But Nick is already gone. He has Toto cradled against his chest as he races toward the tree line, moving so fast that I can barely follow him.

Vera turns back toward the cliff, running for her life.

Too late.

The boulder crashes down with a deafening roar. The impact sends a shock wave through the clearing, knocking me off my feet as dirt and shattered stone explode into the air. I throw an arm over my face, coughing as dust fills my lungs.

For several seconds, I can't see a damn thing. I don't know where Nick went. I don't know whether he got Toto clear. All I know is that the last time I saw her, Vera's wand was pressed against her neck.

“Toto?” I stagger upright, my ears ringing. “Toto!”

Nothing.

My heart hammers so hard that it hurts.

“Nick! Answer me, damn it!”

I stumble forward, waving at the thick cloud of dust obscuring the clearing. I can't see a damn thing. The boulder is an enormous dark shape through the haze, and all I can think about is how little time Nick had. How horribly wrong our improvised plan could have gone.

“Please,” I whisper, searching desperately through the dust. “Please, please, please.”

“Granger.”

I spin toward his voice.

Nick is standing near the tree line with Toto clutched against his chest. They're both covered in dust. Toto's hair is tangled, and she has a thin red scratch along her neck where Vera's wand caught her.

But she's alive.

They're both alive.

For a moment, my legs threaten to give way. Then I'm running toward them, practically crashing into Nick as I wrap my arms around them both.

“Jesus Christ,” I whisper, pressing my face into Toto's hair. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

Toto’s small hands clutch at my shirt. “I thought—” Her voice breaks. “I thought she wasn't going to let me go.”

Nick tightens his arms around her. “She wasn't,” he says quietly.