Page 69 of Chained

I stumble on the answer. I don't know why.

"Because no one deserves to die alone. Not after everything they've endured in these walls."

It's the first honest thing I've ever said to her, and I mean every word.

She pauses, eyes dropping to the ground below her as she weighs her options. Making a decision I knew she'd make in time.

"I just…" she pauses, words catching in her throat, "I want the feeling of him on my skin to leave. I want his voice to get out of my head." Tears well in her eyes as she returns to my gaze, eyes locking. My heart beats a little faster, chest matching the pace of hers.

"Get down from the ledge, Amora. This doesn't make you strong. Enduring it, surviving it—that's the real strength. Don't let him win."

The silence is heavier than anything else as her face crumbles.

"Okay."

I let out a breath that had been trapped in my throat. "Okay?" I ask again.

"I'll come down."

I jump from the ledge and back onto the balcony, the sting in my thighs now screaming at me from this morning's training. I should be exhausted, but I'm more awake than ever before.

She shifts, turning her body to face the railing, hands gripping the cold stone as she lifts one leg over. Slow. Careful. Like every part of her is fighting the part that almost didn't come down at all.

"That's it," I say, keeping my voice steady, even though my heart's hammering hard enough I can feel it in my throat. "Just like that."

She gets her second leg over, both feet now on the narrow ledge on my side of the railing, her hands still braced against the stone. For a second, I think it's done. I think we're through it.

Then her foot catches.

I don't know if it's the cold, or the damp stone, or just exhaustion finally catching up with a body that's been running on nothing for days, but her balance goes sideways all at once. Her hand slips off the railing as a sound rips out of her, sharp and startled, nothing like the flat voice she's been using all night.

"Ace, please!" she pleads, hands gripping against the rail of the balcony.

Fuck.

I rush to the ledge, dragging myself up on the vines, not caring if they snap. Pure panic and urgency courses through my veins as she keeps screaming my name.

"Just hold on, okay? I got you. I'm coming," I call out, but I don't think she hears me.

"Please, please don't let me die," she begs.

I leap across, not bothering to look before I do. Not giving a fuck about the drop. My boots thud on stone as I land, and I scramble towards her. Hands gripping her upper arms, my thighs continuing to scream as I use the strength in my feet to hold myself upright while keeping a hold of her. My hands sweat against her dark skin. Fuck, she's slipping. It's now or never.

"Ace!" she screams into the night as I pull hard, giving it everything I have. My boots push against stone, my chest screaming as I finally pull her just enough to grip her waist with my hands and drag her over the railing. I lose my footing as we fall back onto the ground, the cold stone hitting my back, pain flaring through me. She lies still, her chest moving rapidly against mine as she lies on top of me.

For a minute, time suspends. The air stills. There's nothing in this moment. She lifts herself up, eyes fixed on mine. I can barely breathe, and I'm not sure if it's the adrenaline crash or the way she's looking at me. I breathe her in—her beauty, her resilience. A sight I hadn't really noticed before. If I had, I didn't acknowledge it. I study her face, waiting for her to bolt, to run. To see me for who I am, but she doesn't. Instead, she breaks. Her face drops, pressing her face against my bare chest as her body rattles with sobs she'd been trying to hold.

"I've got you…" I say through a breath. I mean it. Every word. My hands move to her hair, gently stroking each curl slowly while her tears fall on my skin.

Her chest sags, a heavy breath escaping her, but then she stills. Her body completely stiffens under my touch before she jerks up, pushing herself far away from me.

"Don't touch me." Her voice cold, eyes wild as she clings her arms around her chest. "Don't ever touch me."

"I was just—" She stops me in my tracks before I can even finish the sentence.

"Thank you for what you did." She swallows. "Just…don't touch me, not again. Not like that."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what he did, but I can guess." I pause, and before I can stop myself, the most stupid question falls from my mouth.