She picked up her pace, pushing past the spinning in her head, her heaving chest taking in oxygen as she begged her feet to move.
They knew what she was.
She didn’t want to think about what they could do to her, how they could use her.
She reached the opening of the tunnel, allowing her eyes to adjust to the bright sun. An arm’s length away she saw the falls that spilled from the highest cliff above to a rippling body of water below. A steady current pushed the waves down a wide channel.
She whipped her head to look back. None of them was pursuing her.
She could do this, she could escape.
She chose the left path. It was wider than the right, more room to balance. She hugged the rock wall, taking small steps as the rushing falls roared in her ears and mist peppered her body. Her side steps were methodical as the spray soaked through her clothes. Her teeth chattered from the freezing water as a loose rock broke free from under her boot. She stumbled, finding purchase again as she gripped the slick, icy stone. A soft whine escaped her as she reassessed the distance between her and the water below.
She took a deep breath through her frigid lips and released it through her nose. She heard Adriel’s voice in her head.
“Focus on your breaths. It’s all in your head, kid. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
She used to think his coaching was so silly, but when she was alone, it was the only thing that quieted her nerves.
She could do this, she could get out of here alive.
As she released a third calming breath, a bloodcurdling growl blared from the opposite cliff, past the tunnel opening. A wet, hungry sound.
She turned to face a colossal beast of cobalt blue. Long ears pointed toward the sky above its wolflike head. Razor-edged teeth and elongated canines gleamed in the sunlight. A spine of spikes lined the middle of the beast’s back, from its head to the tip of its tail.
Bloodred eyes peered at her curiously, as the creature prowled forward.
A syren hound.
A real syren hound was before her.
The vibrating rumble of the falls was nothing compared to the earsplitting beat of her own raging heart. The pictures in her books did not do the size of this thing a shred of justice.
There was no way out. She was going to die here.
Those daggerlike claws could easily rip her scrawny body limb from limb. There would be nothing left of her to find, no body to bury. Not like her family would know where to look for her remains anyway. Did they even know she was missing? That she hadn’t made it to the deserts?
She doubted they cared.
The beast stalked closer, snapping at her with a guttural snarl. She thought for a second that there was no chance this lanky beast could possibly fit on this narrow walkway.
She was wrong: The hound was well-balanced and unbothered by the terrain. It was coming for her—fast. Its jaws snapped again, teeth missing the edge of her sleeve by an inch. She let out a yelp, plastering her chest to the rock, trying to inch away without falling.
Die by hound or by drowning, she had to decide.
This was not the ending she had envisioned for herself. She had wanted it quiet and quick that night in the tent, not like this.
Another clack of snapping teeth. This time, the hound snatched loose strands of her unbound hair. She shrieked at the ripping pain in her scalp as her head bucked back. She fought to reclaim her footing, but it was no use. The rock was too slippery, her fingers too frozen.
The water was a cleaner death anyway.
She scrunched her eyes as tight as she could, and let the wind take her backward into the falls—into certain death.
The hound darted out its paw to seize its prey. One of its hooked claws connected with her forearm, taking a scrap of flesh before her body fell away. Her strangled scream was swallowed by the forceful air as she whirled through the sky. Her arms flailed in frantic circles as her stomach leaped into her chest. She felt nothing but the sprays of cold water and biting wind at her back, saw nothing but wisps of tangled hair around her face.
Then there was a devastating impact, like the side of her body had cracked against solid earth. The collision between her and the freezing water stole the air from her throat.
By some twist of luck, the fall hadn’t killed her. She managed to stay conscious—she was alive. She silently thanked the gods Adriel had taught her to swim as a child, then began kicking toward the surface.
