Page 124 of Wicked Sea and Sky

“I won't—” I choked back a sob. “I won't die here.”

“Mare, look at me,” Gavin's voice cut through the panic as he forced my chin up.

But I couldn't see him.

Mist and dust blurred my vision. The screams swelled, pressing against my skull.

They were dying. We all were. I was next. Bones cracking. Screams silencing one by one until there was just a flatline of silence. The darkness crept closer, waiting to bury me beneath jagged rock.

Another shriek ripped through the fog. The creature dove again. Gavin hunched over me just as claws scraped across his back.

He hissed through his teeth, but didn't fall.

Didn't even loosen his grip.

“You are never going back,” Gavin rasped low in my ear. “You hear me?Never.”

I flinched. “I won't…” I whispered, "die here, either.”

My vision snapped back into focus. The water vanished. This wasn't the mines. I wasn't alone. Gavin was here, fighting for me. Bleeding for me. I couldn't lose myself in a nightmare of the past.

I straightened my trembling knees, dragging in a bracing breath filled with dust.

“I'm here,” I gasped, closing my fists to silence their tremors. “I'm okay.”

He pressed a harsh kiss to my temple. “You've got this. You can get us out of here.”

This man believed in me with a reckless faith that always made me pick myself up. Always on my heels. Always at my back.

I nodded, wincing as a shadow swept overhead. “I wrote down the turns.”

Another screech echoed nearby. Then another.

I dug into my satchel, my hands still shaking as I fumbled for the sound darts. The mist was thick enough. The sound could trick them, lure them away, and buy us a few precious seconds.

“Here. Use these.” I shoved a few into his hand. “They can mimic our footsteps.”

“That's my girl. Which way first?”

I glanced down at the charcoal marks I'd scribbled on my arm. “Right. Left. Another right.”

“Okay. On the count of—” He paused, gripping my wrist just tight enough to hold my attention. His green eyes locked on mine. “Wait for me this time.”

I cracked a shaky smile. “Three, got it.”

“One… two… three.”

He threw a dart into the mist. It whizzed away, echoing the sound of boots pounding against stone. A gargoyle lunged after it, smashing into a wall with a thunderous crack.

We ran the other way.

The ground splintered beneath my boots. Brittle branches snapped, stone crumbled. The sound of shattering rock roared in my ears and vibrated in my bones.

Gavin threw a frantic glance over his shoulder as he raced ahead. I pushed myself harder, matching his movements.

We banked right. My ankle twisted on a crumbling ledge. Pain streaked up my leg. I kept running.

Hard left. I leapt over a gap. Another jolt of pain made my eyes water. The air was tight in my chest. My vision blurred from dust and debris.