CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

VESPER

T he bridge cracked away to nothingness under my feet. The glass plummeted down like raindrops falling from the sky, and I followed it.

Air rushed over my body, and everything spun around in dizzying circles. My arms and legs instinctively flailed, trying to grab onto something that would stop my fall, but I forced my mind to reach out for Kyrion's telekinesis. His power threatened to slip away, but I clung to it as tightly as possible and used it to propel myself toward the ledge that I'd seen through the bottom of the bridge—

Smack!

My left shoulder clipped a rock jutting out from the waterfall, then slammed into the stone ledge below. Pain exploded in my body, so intense and white-hot it blotted out everything else, and I couldn't even draw air into my lungs . . .

Vesper . . . get up . . . get up now!

Kyrion's voice roared in my mind, and my eyes snapped open. Some of the hot, agonizing pain receded, ebbing like a tide being pulled away from the shore, and I could breathe again. I blinked away the white stars flashing in my eyes, and the realization that I was still alive flooded my body.

My crazy plan had actually worked.

More sensations washed over me. The rough scrape of stone against my cheek. The cool mist from the waterfall gathering in my hair. The wind whistling up from the chasm below.

My fingers twitched, and the familiar weight of my stormsword settled into my right palm. I propped myself up on one elbow, then dug the point of the blade into the stone like a crutch and hoisted myself upright.

My mind spun around, and I swayed back and forth on my feet for several seconds before everything settled into focus.

I was standing on a long narrow ledge that curved around this section of the cavern like a crescent moon. The waterfall was only a few feet away, and the mist had already soaked my hair and seeped into my clothes. My body was cold and numb, but that might be for the best, given my abrupt landing.

I glanced down, but the bottom of the chasm was hundreds of feet away and lined with sharp, jagged rocks, as though I was staring into the gaping maw of a monster. I shuddered and looked away. Next, I glanced up, but I'd done an excellent job of destroying the permaglass bridge, and nothing of it remained, except for some metal support beams that were out of reach. The cliff face itself was slick with water. Even if I'd had the strength to climb up, I wouldn't have been able to get any foot- or handholds on the wet surface.

Once again, I was trapped.

An angry snarl sounded behind me, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I slowly turned around.

Esmina had also landed on the ledge, and she was picking her way over to me. She was still clutching her dagger, and the lunarium blade blazed a little brighter with each step she took.

"You crazy bitch!" she yelled. "You almost killed us both!"

"That was the idea! I'd rather be dead than let you hurt Kyrion!"

Esmina growled and lifted her dagger. I snapped up my sword. Esmina took another step toward me, and I braced myself for her attack—

Crack.

Crack-crack.

Crack.

Beside us, bits of stone tumbled down, and the cliff started splintering. Jagged openings appeared, and water seeped into the empty spaces, pushing more bits of stone out of its way.

My stomach sank. The ledge had been weakened by the bridge debris battering it, as well as the force of Esmina and me landing on it. Now the waterfall was going to finish the job and wash the rest of the stone away—and us along with it.

Esmina spun toward the cliff face. She stabbed her dagger deep into the stone and tried to hoist herself up, but even more of the stone crumbled away, and she slid right back down onto the ledge.

Her eyes widened, and she stared at the rocks as if she couldn't believe what was happening.

"What's wrong?" I called out in a mocking voice. "Didn't see this coming?"

She shot me an angry glare and stabbed her dagger into another spot, once again trying to hoist herself up. I didn't bother doing the same thing with my sword. I didn't have the strength to drive the blade deep enough into the stone, much less pull myself up. Instead, I glanced around, searching for another way off the ledge.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted several flickers of movement. Somehow Asterin had gotten into this chamber and was running down a set of stairs. Zane was following along behind her, with Kyrion right on his heels.

The three of them reached the bottom of the stairs, rushed forward, and skidded to a stop at the edge of the chasm.

"How can we reach her . . ."

"Why didn't someone bring a rope . . ."

"So sorry I forgot to pack that in my bag of spelunking supplies, my lord . . ."

Asterin and Zane sniped at each other, but I only had eyes for Kyrion. Blood, cuts, and bruises covered his face and hands, and he looked as battered and exhausted as I felt, but he was still alive.

His gaze locked with mine, and our thoughts and feelings flowed back and forth through the bond more easily than they ever had before.

I assume you have a plan for getting off that ledge before the water washes it away? Kyrion asked.

I do now that you're here—but you're not going to like it.

A wry grin tugged up the corner of his mouth. Do I ever like your plans?

I grinned back at him, then focused on Esmina again. The other seer was still trying to pull herself up, but her frantic motions made even more of the cliff face crumble away. Water was gushing out in spurts now, and the ledge started cracking under our feet.

I slid my stormsword back into the slot on my belt. "You know what your other problem is?"

Esmina turned her angry glare to me.

I smiled. "You don't have anyone to catch you when you fall."

She snarled and lunged toward me, her dagger whistling through the air in a deadly strike. I waited, waited, waited—and then stepped back.

A burst of water gushed out in the spot where I had been and hit Esmina in the side. She shrieked in surprise and stumbled toward the edge. Her right foot slipped off the ledge, and she frantically windmilled her arms trying to regain her balance.

Her gaze locked with mine, and the gold flecks in her eyes sparked with magic. Panic and fear blasted off her, and I knew exactly what she was seeing, because I could see it too.

Her death.

Esmina sucked in a breath to scream, but even more water rushed out of the cracks in the rocks. The blast of water hit her square in the chest and knocked her off the ledge.

Grim satisfaction filled me. I might still die in this cavern, but at least I'd taken her down with me.

The water gushed out faster and faster, washing away more and more of the ledge. The rest of the stone disintegrated under my feet, and I too started to fall.

"N o!"

"Vesper! Vesper!"

Asterin and Zane shouted, and air and water rushed over my body again, but I wasn't afraid. Sometimes you needed to save yourself, and sometimes you needed to let other people help you. I trusted in myself and my abilities—and I also trusted in Kyrion's.

I plummeted downward, the bottom of the chasm rushing closer and closer. Five more seconds, and I would be splattered all over the rocks.

Five . . . four . . .

Three . . . two . . . one . . .

At the last instant, a telekinetic wave of magic grabbed me, as though a giant hand had snatched the back of my jacket. The abrupt motion jerked me to a stop, making my mind rattle around inside my skull again.

Below me, Esmina kept on falling. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, and her arm stretched up as if she was trying to use her telekinesis to grab hold of me, even though she was rapidly running out of time and distance—

Splat.

Esmina hit the jagged rocks below, and her body bucked and heaved. My seer magic surged to life, and an image, a memory, flickered right beside Esmina: Micah hitting the rocks like she just had. I didn't know if it was my magic at work or the last thought running through her mind, but a moment later, the image vanished, and Esmina stilled.

She was dead. I closed my eyes, but a few tears snuck out from beneath my lashes and trickled down my cold, numb face.

A jerk jolted my body, and I realized I was going down instead of up. Kyrion might have caught me with his telekinesis, but he was losing his grip on his power—on me —and I was too exhausted to try to shore up his power with my own magic.

I dropped a foot. Then two. Three. Five. Every downward jolt came a little quicker and lasted a little longer, and before I knew it, I was plummeting toward the jagged rocks again—

A second wave of magic dove down to meet that first one, as though another, different hand had also latched onto me. Together those hands hoisted me up, one taking over whenever the other faltered, and I slowly started to rise.

I wasn't sure how much time passed. A minute, two, maybe even three or four. But I steadily rose higher and higher into the air as though I was as light as a feather, although I could feel the combined effort it took to lift me up.

Eventually, I reached the top of the chasm. Those invisible hands hoisted me over the rim and flung me forward. I landed on my hands and knees, and I had never been so glad to feel stone scraping my palms.

"Vesper! Vesper!"

Kyrion grabbed me around my waist and set me on my feet. I pulled him closer, or maybe he pulled me closer. I didn't know, and it didn't really matter. In an instant, we were locked together. His frantic gaze searched mine, and I drank in the sight, feel, and strength of him.

Kyrion's body slowly relaxed, although his fingers clutched my waist a little tighter. "You were right. I despised your plan." He arched a chiding eyebrow. "If letting yourself get washed off a ledge into a chasm is actually a plan ."

A laugh burst from my lips. "I love you."

He froze for a heartbeat, but then heat flared in his eyes, and a soft smile spread across his face. "I love you too."

I curled my fingers into his jacket. Kyrion leaned down and rested his forehead against mine, both of us just soaking up the warmth, love, and comfort of each other's presence.

Someone pointedly cleared his throat. "As touching as your reunion is, you're both still bleeding. You might want to fix that before it gets any worse."

Kyrion growled, but a smile curved my lips.

I drew back and looked over at Zane. "I didn't realize you were so pragmatic."

My brother shrugged. "I didn't go to all this trouble to help you save Kyrion, and then help him save you, just to watch you both slowly bleed out."

"Zane is right," Asterin chimed in. "The two of you both need multiple skinbonds. Here. I have some."

She plucked a couple of injectors off her belt, stepped forward, and jabbed one into my shoulder. Then she turned and did the same thing to Kyrion.

Zane stepped in front of her. "And what about me?"

Asterin gave him a sweet smile. "You can suffer, preferably in silence, although I know how difficult that will be for you."

He sniffed. "No one ever suffers in silence, especially not someone as loquacious as me."

Asterin opened her mouth to snark back at him—

In the distance, footsteps thundered, and yells rang out. Kyrion drew his stormsword and stepped in front of me, as did Zane, while Asterin raised her blaster.

A few seconds later, Siya and Rigel ran into view on the chamber's upper level, along with more than a dozen Hammers. They quickly pounded down the stairs and spread out. Siya snapped her hand up into a fist, and Rigel and the other Hammers skidded to a stop.

Siya's gaze shot over to the shattered bridge, while Rigel peered over the side of the chasm. He let out a low whistle and gestured for Siya to join him. Her eyes widened when she spotted Esmina's broken body lying at the bottom.

Siya whirled around and stabbed her finger at me, Kyrion, Zane, and Asterin. "What in all the bloody moons happened here?"

I sighed and exchanged a knowing glance with Asterin. Once again, we had a lot of explaining to do.