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“He doesn’t seem reckless to me, more…calculated.” I look up at the stars, and Kelter invades my thoughts. How many nights did we climb the metal ladder to the roof of my room and curse at the stars? How many nights has it been since he’s seen them? Will I ever see him again?

“He has no regard for his life and makes rash decisions, like stealing a prisoner without a plan.”

“And you go along with it.”

“He’s Eli.” Kaleida catches me staring up at the night sky, and her tone softens. “I’m glad you’re with us, and not the Centress.”

My gaze drops from the sky to her, then I turn away, not knowing how to respond, and there’s Eli—white shirt and black pants, suspenders fastened and slingshot hanging out of his back pocket—scaling a tree like a child. He’s fearless. He climbs fifteen feet to the first large limb extending out over the gaping emptiness and proceeds to slink out onto it, reaching all the way to the center of the ravine before returning to the trunk of the tree and shimmying down with a hefty rope in his hand, braided and frayed.

“Who’s first?” he says, catching my eye.

“Oh, that’s me.” Milo steps forward and wraps his legs around the fat triple knot at the end of the rope.

“What is hedoing?” I hiss at Kaleida.

“Crossing.”

My stomach clenches at the thought of sailing over the death drop below. Eli pulls the rope as far back from the edge as he can, holding it by a thinner rope tied around the knot. Step after step, he moves deeper into the thick of the trees, then releases it. The rope sails out over the ravine with Milo clinging to it andhowling into the night, the thinner rope whipping in the wind. He reaches the opposite side and lets go, free falling into the darkness behind the line of trees.

I let out the breath that I was holding, the thrill rushing over me despite my two feet planted safely on the ground.

“Who’s next?” Eli says, grinning as he reels in the smaller rope until the knot is back within reach.

Sypher goes next, then Kaleida after handing me back to Eli. Their successful trips don’t calm the even fatter knot tying in my stomach.

Eli holds the rope out to me. “You’re up.”

“I’m not getting on that thing.” With all the visions of falling to my death over the years, nothing could make me clamp my legs around that rope.

“Yes, you are. Sypher is terrified of heights, and he does it.” He lowers his voice a notch. “I mean, it took him three years to work up the balls, but…” He trails off when he sees the look on my face, a hint of a smirk jesting at the side of his mouth.

“I will not be working up anyballstonight.”

“Not even mine?” He straddles the knot, one hand holding the rope, the other pulling me toward him.

“No, you—” I lose sensation. A vision hits, flashing and slashing through my brain.

My fingers slipping. My silent scream. The rushing air deafening me. The ground nearing with sickening speed. The tumbling and diving of my stomach.

More visions hit fast, one after another. Eli frees my arm and swoops his own around my waist. The feel of his hand flexing on my side calls me back. I shred through the vision and open my eyes to find him inches from my face. But it fights its way back in. I slip away again, watching myself from above.

Impact. Bones cracking. Air forced from me. My mangled body in the rocky river. My eyes staring into nothingness, staring at me. Then Kelt appears, doubled over in grief.

I grip Eli’s hand on my waist, harder and harder, trying to squeeze the vision from my mind. I keep his eyes captive until the remaining flashes let up. He stares back, unblinking.

And I’m not alone.

Life after death—I feel everything. My senses attack. Eli releases the rope and raises a hand to my face. I jerk my head back, but his slow advance is unfaltering, space slipping away inch by inch. He runs a cold thumb down my cheek then pulls it away, inspecting the wetness.

A tear.

He sucks his thumb into his mouth and pops it back out. “Hold me tight,” he whispers, then grabs the rope, backs up and launches us over the ravine.

I hike my legs up and around his waist, anchoring them in place with crossed ankles, and hurl my arms around his shoulders. He’s as cold as the night air biting my face. Here, with one arm wrapped around me—one that held my arms above my head only hours ago—soaring over a lethal drop, clinging to as much of him as I can, I’m torn. I’m torn between an illogical sense of safety and freedom, and fear and shame for the way he cracks me open…and the way I embrace every splintering strike. I bury my head in the crook of his neck and curse at him as my stomach somersaults all the way across.

“Let go,” he yells.

The words make it past the wind lashing at my ears, and I coerce my limbs to surrender the body they cling to. Eli unravels himself from the rope, and we fall together, landing on our feet. I open my eyes. Kaleida, Milo and Sypher are in front of me, the latter ripping me apart with his glare.