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I went down hard, my cheek hitting the rock and pain exploding across my face. His weight was on me, but I managed to elbow him in the ribs and maneuver myself onto my back. He quickly straddled me and started to strike my ribs and face. I put my hands over my face to block the blows, but I could not stop all of them. High-pitched screaming was buffeted by the rushing blood in my ear.
Jess’s head appeared behind his, and she flung her arms around his neck. Her eyes were wild, and she was screaming. That’s when it hit me that she was trying to pull him off me. She was trying to save me.
Dom’s mouth gaped and his eyes widened, and he reared back and clawed at the slender arms crossing his throat. I took that opening to push him off me and scramble to my feet.
Jess clung to his back, her feet dangling as he spun around and hit at her arm to loosen it. When she saw that I’d gotten up, she released her grip, but the momentum of Dom’s twisting sent her sprawling backward. She landed unevenly on her feet and as she tried to right herself, she danced closer to the edge of the overhang. Her eyes went wide as she lost her balance and realized that she was falling.
With a roar, and without thinking, I dove for Jess. We both went over the side. My body hit hers hard, and I wrapped my arms around her as the wind rushed around us, and we plunged from the high rock to the churning water below. I used every bit of momentum to spin her so that my body was beneath hers just before we hit.
The impact sent more pain arrowing through me, but it was the freezing water that snatched my breath from me and made everything go dark.
Chapter
Fifty-Eight
Jess
Ididn’t know what was more shocking, Torq showing up and threatening Dom, or learning as they grappled that Dom held a serious grudge against Torq for something Torq’s brother had done. I stared at the two Drexians lunging for each other with a new sense of clarity. As charming as Dom had seemed, his act had been just that. It hadn’t been real.
I’d sensed something insincere and manipulative when he’d held me. As much of an ass as Torq was—and I did still believe he was a prize-A asshole—he had never felt wrong to me. Dom had felt wrong. His touch had made me jittery, not excited, and when he’d held me I only wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
It wasn’t that he was unattractive. He was as big, broad, and gorgeous as all the Drexians. But he wasn’t Torq.
I moved out of the way of the fight, hoping they would land a few blows and pack it in. But then Torq caught my eye and I couldn’t stop myself from holding his gaze. For a beat, the waterfall and mountains behind us disappeared. I no longer felt the cold air or heard the rushing water. There was only the two of us.
Then I spotted Dom running at Torq. I started to scream but I was too late. Dom flattened Torq and started to punch his face and body. Panic surged in me. I couldn’t stand by while Torq was beaten to death. I swiveled my gaze to see if there was any sign of other cadets, but there was no one. Only me.
I ran and jumped on Dom’s back, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling back on his windpipe. If I could distract him enough for Torq to get up and defend himself, that would be enough. Dom grabbed at my arms to loosen them, which meant that he was no longer hitting Torq. Before I could release my grip, Dom bucked up and dislodged me with such force that I flew back. I managed to land on my feet, but the momentum sent me stumbling farther, until I could feel myself teetering on the edge of the rock overhang.
I held my breath as time seemed to stand still and I wasn’t moving or falling. Torq saw what was happening and was diving for me, but he would not reach me in time to pull me back. Then I realized that he wasn’t trying to pull me back. He meant to go over with me.
I squeezed my eyes shut as his body impacted mine, and all the air rushed from my lungs. Then time sped up as we plummeted over the edge and toward the water, the wind whipping and the sound of the water making it impossible to hear the thundering of my heart. Torq was wrapped around me, but even his large body couldn’t protect me from the shock of the freezing water as we landed in the pool and went under.
The cold arrested my breath, which was good since I was submerged in the water, but as I broke the surface I gasped for air. My lungs screamed and my chest hitched, as I kicked to keep myself afloat. I coughed a few times and spit out a mouthful of icy water before realizing that Torq hadn’t come up with me.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” I said, as I swept my gaze across the pool being fed by the waterfall, but there was no sign of him.
I sucked in a breath and dove under, kicking hard to push myself down and keeping my eyes open. I spotted him a few feet below, but he wasn’t moving, and didn’t look conscious. I cursed more in my head as I swam to him, got underneath him, and put one arm across his chest. Then I kicked as hard as I could to the top. He was so heavy that my lungs were on fire and my legs were thrashing furiously trying to get us both up.
When we broke the surface, I drew in a greedy breath, but I was aware that Torq wasn’t breathing. My legs were rubber as I kicked us to the side and managed to crawl out and then drag half of his body from the pool.
He was on his back, but he wasn’t breathing. Shit shit shit. I tipped his head back, opened his mouth, and started breathing hard puffs of air into him. Then I paused and pumped my hands on his chest. “Come on, you cocky, Drexian asshole. Don’t you dare die on me.”
Then I blew into his mouth again. When I pulled back to do more chest compressions, he heaved up a mouthful of water and started coughing.
“Thank you for not being dead,” I said, as I helped him roll onto his side, and I gave him a few hard whacks on his back. “I did not need that today.”
“You are welcome.” He managed between coughs.
His serious response made me grin, but then I realized that I needed to thank him for something more important. “And thanks for going over with me. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did.” Water streamed down his face as he blinked at me. “You might not have survived hitting the water, but I knew I could.”
“Sweet, yet still cocky.” I shook my head. I guess some things never changed. “Why were you there in the first place? Were you following me?”
“Yes.”
Okay, I guess he wasn’t going to hide it. “Why were you following me? This is supposed to be a competition of the schools. Why are two Blades, who aren’t even supposed to be competing yet, out here getting in brawls with each other?”
