NATHAN
I woke up on the edge of a ravine. My head ached terribly, and I think at least two of my ribs were broken. The storm wasn’t as fierce, but it was still raining heavily. In the distance, I saw the smoke rising from the crashed airship. My n, so alive and too many dead, were littered by the wreckage like broken dolls.
"Sophia," I whispered.
When lightning struck the balloon of my airship, stabbing into it like a jagged sword. That sa bolt cracked the deck. My only thought was to get to Sophia. I made it to the captain’s quarters in ti to see the far wall crumble under the onslaught of damage, gravity and the vicious rain.
Clinging to the desk was Sophia.
Until the globe I kept on my desk crashed into her skull.
She passed out and her grip loosened.
She slid toward the huge gap, rain soaking both the room and her unconscious form.
"No!" I leapt forward, landing on my stomach, and grabbed for her arm.
I barely caught her. Her feet dangled out of the hole. Her body was limp, but I could see she was at least still breathing.
I hooked my feet around the desk’s leg and tried to drag Sophia back toward .
The airship tilted forward.
Books and maps and clothing poured out of the huge hole and into the dark storm.
The rain slickened my hands and Sophia’s arms. I couldn’t hold on to her.
She slipped away and rolled toward the gap.
Outside, I saw the ground rushing up to et us. My only thought was that if Sophia died in this life again, then I would die with her.
If I couldn’t save her then I would join her on the underworld road.
I don’t know what happened after that.
Only that I woke up here.
I was now the furthest away from the ship, from my crew. I didn’t know what happened to Hune, either.
"Sophia!" I sat up, pain ricocheting through my body, and looked around. Rain slashed at . The ground was muddy, slick. I couldn’t see her anywhere.
"Sophia!" I looked over the edge of the ravine.
And damned near lost my mind.
She was on a rocky ledge that jutted out from the side of the ravine. She was unconscious. Bruises had already ford on her exposed skin.
Was she alive?
A little dead tree near the edge offered the only purchase I could find. I hooked my legs around its stubby trunk. I could feel the ground beneath it give way. I wasn’t sure how long it would hold .
I had to hurry.
I pushed my aching, pain-filled body over the rocky edge and reached for Sophia. She lay on her back, legs dangling off the ledge.
My fingers stretched.
Finally, I was able to grab her arm. I pulled her so that she was no longer in danger of falling into the deep valley below.
My broken ribs cracked, and agony shot through .
I scread because it hurt so damned much, but I wouldn’t let go of Sophia. The rain pumled us.
I held on. Hands squeezing her flesh so hard I know I was leaving bruises on her fair skin.
Slowly. Painfully. I dragged her up. Up. Up.
Until she was out of the ravine.
Then the tree bent, threatening to co free of the ground.
Damn it!
"I’ve got her!"
Suddenly, Jace Willowmarch was there. He grabbed Sophia under the arms and yanked her the rest of the way. He felt for the carotid pulse in her neck. "She’s alive."
Relief shuddered through .
I gripped the mud-slicked stony ground, trying to bring my body back up.
"Thanks, Stonehart. But I’ll take care of my wife from now on." He kicked the tree.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Saving my wife. You, on the other hand, died a tragic death after your airship crashed."
He kicked the tree again.
It pulled out of the ground, its roots stubbornly clinging to the mud.
"Don’t do this," I yelled. "It’s murder!"
Jace’s eyes flashed with malice and his lips curled into a frightening grin. "Don’t be a sore loser, Stonehart."
He kicked the tree one more ti and it popped free.
I no longer had an anchor point.
I tried to grabbed onto sothing, anything, to prevent my body from sliding over the edge.
But Jace wasn’t finished.
He kicked in the side.
Pain exploded as another rib fractured.
I slid over the edge.
Into the ravine.
***|***|***
SOPHIA
I awoke in the dark, a scream trapped in my throat.
Sweat beaded my skin.
"Help," I whispered.
My throat ached. It felt like I’d swallowed cactus leaves. Raw. Scratched.
"Help!" I said louder.
A door opened. Two n entered the room.
One was dressed in a white coat. A ... doctor.
The other one was tall, with blue eyes and dark blonde hair. He took my hand and held it tightly. "Are you okay, Sophia? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
"I ... I don’t know."
He nodded at the doctor. "Check her. She’s been unconscious for two days."
"Where am I?"
"At the village hospital. As soon as you’re up to it, I’ll take you ho so you can recuperate. Don’t worry. Our family doctor will care for you. And I’ve already hired a nurse, a nutritionist, and a physical therapist."
"You’ll need ti to recover," said the doctor. "You have a nasty head wound. You’re lucky there was no internal damage. But your body will be sore as your bruises and cuts heal."
I stared at the doctor and then at the man holding my hand.
"What happened to ?"
"The airship crashed. We barely survived."
"Airship?" I blinked at him. "I’ve never been on an airship."
"Sophia, what are you talking about? We were on Stonehart’s airship. Rember? It was storming. Lightning struck the balloon. The deck."
"I think I would rember sothing so dramatic," I said.
My head throbbed and put my hand on my hair. I felt thick gauze. "My head hurts."
"I imagine so," said the doctor. "You were struck in the skull. I don’t think there’s lasting brain damage, but given the depth of the cut ... you’re quite lucky Mrs. Willowmarch."
Willowmarch?
I felt my heart turn over in my chest. Wait. Wait. Sothing was wrong.
Very, very wrong.
"Who are you?" I asked the man hovering anxiously next to .
He shared a look with the doctor. Then he frowned. "I’m Jace Willowmarch. Your husband."
"My ... husband? Then ... then ... who am I?"
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