Page 164 of What Lies Within Blood & Heirs

He wasn’t actually going to?—

“Don’t,” Alora sharply warned, instantly skipping a heartbeat when he peered over his shoulder to the valley below. “Thiscan’tbe what Thalon did.”

Calm. Such terrifying calm flickered back at her. “Don’t let me die, clever girl.”

She had this horrifying feeling of the entire world ripped from beneath her feet.

One blink. One starsdamned blink?—

Starfire flared behind her back in a mighty explosion of wings. They tucked in tight as she ran to the ledge he leapt from. She didn’t have time to think. He was falling fast—too fast—toward the ground. And without Smokeshadows to save him, to dawn him away …

Without reason, Alora leapt. Cursing the bastard for having damning faith in her and forcing her to take this leap. Then again, she’d insisted on it. He was only doing as she asked.The fool.

If they lived through this …

Those wings of starlight flared and fluttered as she fell and fell and fell. Drawing closer to Garrik who wore a confident smirk even as death drew closer to his spine.

Alora wasn’t entirely sure if she was screaming at him or at the plummet, but her throat burned as raw and hot as starfire the closer she inched toward him.

‘Stop me,’ his voice replayed in her head. How in Firekeeper-filled-hell was she supposed to do that when she couldn’t do anything more than hover?

“You can do it, clever girl,” Garrik called out before he threw a withering glance over his shoulder.

I hate you for doing this,wanting to scream it, but she focused on tucking her wings in tighter, diving faster.

“That’s it,” he called as the ground … as the ground full of stones and trees and every damning thing soared closer.

Air whipped her face like sand in a dust storm. She ignored it. Outstretching her hand, determined to grab hold and fly them away.

Another inch. Just one more inch.This had to work. Ithadto.

Those wings ready to snap wide, to catch an updraft. To fly.

So close. So close!

Garrik beamed as her focus skittered to the fine details of the grass feet from his head.

Alora stretched until her hand trembled. Reaching and reaching and?—

She smacked into him with a rippling pulse of energy and the taste of metal as time seemed to slow. Maybe it was that last flash of life, a gift from the Celestials before they entered the Stars Eternal.

But it wasn’t time slowing. It was them. Seconds before slamming to the ground.

Without that shield,there would have been carnage.

Broken bones and blood. Expected to see that first glimpse into the gates of Mount Caelum—the Star’s Eternal ethereal city. Not the bastard’s face that threw himself off a cliff.

You asked for it, her mind scolded.Shut up.Being reasonable was far beyond her as she panted, sprawled on top of his warm body, uncaring if he couldn’t breathe.

Squeezing his eyes closed, Garrik gasped, “Fuck,” and let out a long pain-filled groan. “I thought that would work.”

“You…Bastard.” Alora couldn’t do anything other than slam her flaming fist into his shoulder, singeing the fabric, but not enough to burn through.Stars, if it wasn’t for his shielding powers— “You should bedead!” snapping, daring him to say otherwise.

The bastard did. “I have fallen much further than this before. And I would not have done it if there was any chance you would be injured?—”

“Like that helpsanything!” she interrupted. Even as she snarled the words, there was panic in her voice.

Warm hands cupped her cheeks before the tears started falling. She pressed her palms to his hard chest, feeling a normal heartbeat, wanting so terribly to grip and shake him, but instead shook her head inside his palms.

---