Barely.
Dust streaks her face. Blood stains the bandage at her ribs again. One hand braces hard against the rock beside her to stay upright.
Still standing anyway.
Of course she is.
“About time,” she mutters weakly.
I’m across the space between us in two strides.
My hands close around her shoulders immediately.
Checking.
Scanning.
Alive.
“You okay?”
“No.”
Honest answer.
Thank God.
At least she stopped lying to me.
Her knees wobble slightly.
I catch her instantly before she can fall.
“Easy.”
“I’m standing.”
“Barely.”
She starts to argue—
Stops halfway through when pain flashes across her face.
Good.
Maybe now she’ll stop pretending she’s indestructible.
Gunfire echoes again above us.
Closer.
Too close.
“They’re coming,” she whispers.
“I know.”
I glance toward the collapsed slope above us.
