Page 129 of Indigo Ridge (The Edens 1)

He’d be chasing us down the mountain.

My knees ached as she pushed, and I braced each time my heel landed, worried the last shreds of my strength would unravel and I’d fall forward.

“Stop.” Rain’s hand wrapped around my elbow.

Her gaze whipped behind us, checking to see if we were alone.

So focused on jogging forward, I hadn’t kept track of where we were on the trail. The slope beside us was the steepest along this path except for the cliff itself. The face wasn’t a sheer wall of rock like it was at the top, but the vertical drop was enough to make my stomach plummet.

Bushes cluttered the slope, their leaves gray against the growing moonlight. They’d hurt but they probably wouldn’t kill me. No, it would be the rocks hiding beneath those shrubs that would break me.

Rain would push me over, then race to the bottom and disappear before Briggs or anyone else could catch her.

Her knife came to my side. She nudged my arm, sending another wave of searing pain through my body as she eased in close, her voice a whisper in my ear. “Think you’ll fly, little bird?”

“Fuck you,” I whimpered.

“Let’s find out.” Her knife left my side and her free hand pressed between my shoulder blades, ready to shove. She was fast.

But I was ready.

Summoning every ounce of my strength, I twisted away, my feet sliding on the dirt path. My arms were heavy and my legs tired, but I managed to kick at the back of her knee, forcing her off-balance.

“Goddamn you,” she shouted.

But I was already moving, stumbling to my feet and pushing my legs to run.

“I will catch you,” she threatened, the sound of her footsteps close behind. Her hand reached out and brushed my hair.

I slipped, skidding more than running, but the momentum was in the right direction as I rounded a slight curve.

A new light flickered in the distance. Headlights.

I pushed faster. Harder. If I could just get to the bottom, Briggs would—

Rain’s hand clamped on my scalp. One of her fingers slid into the sticky, slick gash above my temple, and the pain was so blinding there wasn’t anything to do but slow.

And fight.

I whirled on her, my knee raised. Years of training came to my rescue. My kick snapped fast, right into her stomach.

I wasn’t dying today. I had things to live for. I had to move into Griffin’s house. I had to learn how to ride Jupiter. I had to spend more sunsets in his rocking chair and nights curled in his bed.

Rain grunted but kept her balance. She swung out with the knife, slicing toward my belly.

I dodged, barely, my footing unsteady. My second attempt at a kick missed her hip by inches.

And when she swept the knife again, her strike was true. Agony erupted through my stomach. Red seeped through my shirt, hot and wet.

“Winn.” Griffin’s voice sang through my mind.

“No.” Rain stabbed again, the blade sinking into my side.

I gasped, the pain blending with the rest.

She took my wrist and pulled, hard, dragging me past her body in an attempt to fling me over the edge.

I dropped to a knee, my skin tearing against a rock.