Page 50 of Raven

But none of it mattered.

Because I saw her, clinging to a thick branch that jutted from the cliffside, her face pale, streaked with blood and dirt, her eyes fluttered open at the sound of my voice.

“Beatrice!” I shouted down again, the wind trying to steal the word from me. “I’m coming. Just hold on!”

She tried to smile, but her lips trembled. “Took… you long enough,” she whispered, I barely heard her.

I bit back a chuckle and a sob at the same time.

“I’ll never stop coming for you,” I said. “Not now. Not ever.”

The closer I got, the more I could see how bad it was; my eyes roamed over every inch of her. Her right arm looked useless—swollen, possibly broken. Her body was half-draped across the branch, legs hanging limp. She hadn’t moved in hours or days.

If that branch gave way…

I shoved the thought down. Not an option.

I braced myself and slowly, anchoring just above her. That branch and her sheer willpower held her up.

Her voice was a whisper. “I thought I was gonna die here.”

“You’re not,” I said.

She blinked at me. “Thank you.”

I wrapped the harness rope under her arms, my hands trembling as I worked. “I’ve got you.”

“Tell me this is real,” she whispered.

“It’s real. You’re going home.”

As I secured her to the rig, the branch creaked again, groaning under our combined weight.

“Troy!” I yelled. “Pull us up—now!”

The rope went taut as they began lifting.

Beatrice winced, her breath hitching. “My arm…”

“I know,” I said gently. “I’ve got you. Just a little longer.”

Hand over hand, the team hauled us up. Every second felt like an eternity.

They pulled us over the edge, and I collapsed onto my back beside her, gasping.

Beatrice was in my arms before as soon as they pulled us up and over the edge, clinging to me with her good hand, her face buried in my chest.

“I thought I was going to die alone,” she whispered, voice breaking. “I thought no one would find me.”

“You’ll never be alone again. I swear it.”

We carefully loaded her into the truck. I never left her side—not even for a second.

“She needs a hospital,” Dan said, gripping the wheel.

“After she’s safe, I’m going after the one who did this,” I said. “We will have the police meet us at the station.”

We all knew who I meant.

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