Page 132 of Only Cold Depths
“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.
“No!”
“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.
