Page 96 of A Thief to Die For

‘I said.’ Gasp. ‘Get off of him.’ Gasp. Then with every ounce of strength, I break into a limping run. Soren releases one hand to punch Ryland’s temple, just as I snap my whip. The tail booms into the air, cracking against Soren’s face, throwing him back.

He lands hard on the ground, hand gripping his cheek. His shocked face melts into rage as he pushes to his feet.

‘Ryland,’ I call. Why isn’t he moving?

Soren stalks forward, attention now on me. I make the whip lash out again, faster than he can dodge. It strikes him in the chest.

With a cry, he drops to his knees. I use the moment to catch my breath.

But before I can get more than a lungful, he comes at me again. I swing, but the timing’s wrong. His arms collide with my waist, tackling me, and we land hard on the ground. Pain explodes in my wounded back.

My training kicks in, and I wrap my legs around Soren’s waist. I keep my hold on the whip – I’m not losing my weapon. Not when we’ve both been trained in grappling by the same man.

Soren rolls us, and my heart screams at how dangerously close we are to the edge of the cliff – the highest spot in the whole Notting perimeter.

A split second before he swings at my throat, I notice that he still has his knife. I block him using my whip clutched between both hands. The serrated edge sinks into the leather. I scream as I fight to hold him back, knowing I can’t do it for much longer.

Ryland ploughs into Soren, throwing him off me, and nearly over the cliff. Soren claws at the ground, his legs dangling perilously over the edge. ‘Help me!’ he calls.

I freeze.

‘Marian!’ he shouts. His gaze flicks to me. Begging. Pleading. ‘Please, I’m sorry. Help me.’ He slips a little more and makes a feral sound as he grimaces, fighting to hang on. ‘Come on – it’s me. You know … you know I love you. I’ve always loved you. That’s what this is all about.’

His confession arrives like a slap. ‘How dare you say that.’ Not after hurting me. Leaving me to die in the fire. Love would never do the things he’s done.

But there is something about his desperation that sinks its teeth in me. It reminds me that he’s human. He’s the boy I once gave my heart to. My first kiss.

I won’t deny he’s a terrible person – the kind who would leave people to die. But that’s the difference between us: I am not. Before I know it, I crawl forward and extend my whip, refusing to get close enough to give him my arm.

‘Marian, no!’ Ryland shouts.

Soren manages to grab on, and his weight drags me closer to the edge.

Ryland lands on my legs, holding me down. ‘Marian, let go!’ I feel another person – Rufus – grab my feet.

My arms scream in agony, and my hands slip.

‘Pull harder,’ Soren yells. Then he lets out a single hard laugh in victory as he finds a foothold on the side of the cliff. He reaches and grabs my arm. I cry out as he uses both my body and our holds on the whip to pull himself up.

It feels like I’m ripping in half.

‘I knew you’d do it,’ he says in my ear. ‘You’re so patheti–’

Suddenly, the whip snaps, exactly where his blade cut it. His body slips back, losing ground, then swings wildly from our connected arms, dragging me with him.

Ryland lets out a beastly growl as he fights to keep me from going over the edge. Then, in the blink of an eye, Soren’s grip breaks.

Time pauses a beat. Soren’s arms pinwheel as he tumbles backwards through the air. And knowing that this time there’s no saving him, I tuck my head and look away.

Ryland pulls me back from the edge, and once I’m out of danger, he drops back down, hugging my hips like he doesn’t trust the ground – or me – to stay put. ‘Are you okay?’ he asks, his chest rising and falling harshly against me.

The answer doesn’t make it to my mouth.

He lifts his head. ‘Marian?’ He crawls up my body and gently rolls me over. His concerned face is damp with sweat and specked with soot.

In a burst of movement, I sit up and hug him to me.

He grips me just as fiercely, his hand cupping the back of my head. ‘I’ve got you.’