My lips parted as my eyes widened, watching my fingers curl for a better hold, but there was nothing for them to hold onto. I was leaning too far back, anchored by my legs that were still twisted in the fabric that had slipped free from my fingers. Without my hands securing me, I felt it loosen from around my legs at the lack of a firm hold. I reached out, trying to grab it again, but only the tips of my nails grazed it, the brush of contact taunting me as I continued to fall back.
As the sensation of being weightless washed over me, for a brief moment it eased my tired muscles, giving them rest while chasing away every one of my worrying thoughts. One, brief and fleeting, moment.
Then, I was falling.
The scream that had been building at the base of my throat slipped past my parted lips to pierce the air as gravity dragged me down. I could barely hear it with wind whipping past my ears. Or was that my blood rushing through my veins? My eyes slammed shut against the sting of the cold air and strands of hair that lashed at them. I felt the warmth of tears be released down my cheeks, wetting a fraction of a path before violently being whisked away. Much like gravity had done to me the moment it had the chance it needed.
With the rushing wind drowning out my cries and my shut eyes blocking the sight of my own demise, I waited for the pain to come from reaching the end of a drop I hadn't planned to make from quite so high. Especially not head first.
Broken legs, busted kneecaps, and shattered hips were all injuries I could bounce back up from, although it would be difficult and I would need a few months if Rowan kept his abilities to himself again. This? Landing backward with the back of my head leading my descent? The only thing that was going to bounce back from this, was my head from the cobbled path below. Then, it would be lights out. Forever.
I felt a sob catch in my throat. I wasn't going to meet Ash again in this life.
Or Silas.
Despite my situation, I hadn't known it was possible to make it worse until the name passed through my head with a barrage of final thoughts and regrets. I wasn't going to see Silas again. I was supposed to have until I found a way back with him. Now... I had nothing but the ground I was rushing towards.
But, it seems, in this world, nothing loved to go as accordingly. Even my death when it was fast approaching and clear to me and anyone who was watching me fall.
Expect those who could do something about it.
Instead of feeling a split second of pain before everything turned black and I felt nothing like I was hoping, I felt a blast of stinging air before two steel beams bent to cradle my body, pressing me against a hard surface. The sound of violent winds whipping away everything was replaced by my terrified and shocked pants. They grew muffled in one ear when I felt my body shift until the stinging and numb skin was pressed against something soft.
Another faint and even noise joined my loud and unsteady breaths. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
"The last time you attempted to escape, I gave you a warning. What was it?"
The words had the hard surface I was pressed against vibrating. My eyes snapped open at the question that was spoken with a calm that was just as threatening as the warning it was inquiring about. I looked up to meet unyielding hazel eyes that were alight with fury. My mouth grew impossibly dryer as I tried to shrink away from it. Expect... I didn't have anywhere anywhere go. Rowan's arms firmly held me against him.
The thought of fighting him and struggling free momentarily crossed my mind, but I remained still and pliant. I wasn't stupid despite occasionally making stupid decisions. If I couldn't see the rage thinly lining his features due to years of practice searching for it in others, I would have felt it in the way he held me so tight to him. It was a hold that made me aware of just how thin the line between love and hate truly could be. Just a loosening of his grip and softening of his expression would be all it would take to change the meaning of his harsh hold.
