Still, now was not the time for a rehash. He’d checked her rope three times. It was secure and she was strapped in tight. He’d covered all his bases.
He breathed a sigh of relief as she heaved one arm and leg over the edge and started to slide onto her belly.
No need to worry, after all. He could—
His rope snapped.
Acting on instinct, he grabbed hold of the nearest rock tip. The jagged surface cut into his skin as he dangled by the single handhold.
“Grif!” Nayla threw herself forward, seizing his free wrist with one hand while she gripped her rope as an anchor.
She tugged, trying to pull him up. All that happened was that she slipped forward a few inches, his weight dragging her down.
“It’s okay.” Blood seeped beneath his hold, making his grip slippery as his legs stretched, searching for a ledge that didn’t appear.
He saw Lana and Cam on top scrambling toward him. He heard Zale’s and Quil’s shouts from below. But most of all, he observed the cracks spreading through the rock beneath his grip, small pebbles already pinging their way down the cliffside.
“Hold on.” Ears twitching, Nayla tugged harder.
“Let go.” He reached for the rope at his hip.
“What? No!”
“My handhold is disappearing. When it goes, I will drop. I’m not taking you with me.”
“No. Others are coming. They help me pull you up. Sharluff help, too.”
“Not in time.”
“Th-then, I help swing you to my rope.” She sounded frantic. “We do together.”
The crack in the rock lengthened. “I’m too heavy. All that will happen is you fall with me. That I won’t allow. Let go. I will loop my rope around a stronger rock.”
“Th-that won’t work and you know it!”
“It’s the only option I’ve got. Let go.” If he failed, Ryker would make sure Nayla was safe. He would succeed where Grif had fallen short
“No. We a team.” Determination flared in her iridescent gaze. “If you go to Void, I go too.”
She seized hold of his wrist with both hands, leaving her body dangling over the ledge.
“Nayla, no!”
“Together.” She threw her body to the side, giving him no choice.
With a roar, he used the extra momentum to launch his body toward the rope.
He caught it—barely—propelled by terror and the image of her body broken on the rocks below. His hands closed around the thick strand just as she tumbled over the edge, her hands still locked to his wrist.
He held tight, fighting gravity as he yanked her upright and flung her back over the edge.
Gripping the rope with two hands, he scrambled up behind.
She was already shoving to her knees and launching herself into his arms. A triumphant glow on her face. “You safe. We did it.”
Her voice sounded as if it came from under water, but he knew it was just the roar of adrenaline muffling everything else. The faint, relieved shouts of his crewmates also echoed in the distance.
Grif wrapped his arms around Nayla and held tight.
“Don’t ever fucking do something like that again.” His voice was a low growl, his fury and fear a sharp blade in his chest
If he hadn’t been fast enough, if he hadn’t been as strong, if she hadn’t been so light, she would be dead.
Empty green eyes flashed in his mind, sharper and more vivid than before.
He’d thought losing his sister would be the most agonizing thing that happened to him, until now.
“You’re hurt. Sharluff has paste. I be right back.”
She slipped from his hold, leaving his arms as empty as the widening hole inside his chest.
He rubbed at his sternum and noticed the tracks of crimson snaking from his forearm and dripping into the dirt. The cut had to be deep. It was another reminder he’d been lucky to hold on as long as he had. Lucky too he’d been able to grip the rope and catch her at the same time. If not, he might have lived, but Nayla would have died.
Died. On his watch. While his heart still beat and his pain and grief swallowed him whole.
“Grif? Are you okay?” A worried-looking Lana sank onto her knees beside him. Cam stood sentinel behind, a silent, dark-eyed presence. “Nayla has gone to get some supplies to bandage your hand.”
Neither female had spoken to him directly since that night at the fire. He’d gotten his share of dirty looks, but neither was looking at him with anger now, only concern.
“What happened?” Lana sounded breathless, her eyes full of fright. She examined his hand as she spoke.
“My rope snapped.” Whether it was more bad luck or deliberate, he couldn’t say until he’d examined it. The bulk of it lay in a heap at the bottom of the cliff, but a shorter portion still dangled from the rock where he’d initially secured it. He’d be taking a look at it the moment his legs started working right.
“Do you think it was the ghost?”
“No.”
Both of them seemed surprised. Lana’s hold on his palm tightened while Cam’s lips pressed tight and her scar whitened.
“No stranger could have slipped in and done that.” He left the rest of his words unsaid.
But both understood, their eyes growing wide.
“I don’t… I can’t… Well, it must have been an accident then.” Lana nodded as if the question was decided. “It was very brave of you both to do what you did.”
“You’re lucky to be alive,” added Cam.
“True.” He forced himself to meet their gazes head-on. It had always been hard for him when it came to Cam. Even now, she reminded him of all he hadn’t been able to do, and the fact that Melody and Hope’s mother was still out there.
Another female he’d failed to save.
Nayla had almost been another.
Zale and Bain, having finally made it to the top, hustled over. So did the rest of the crew. He waved them away with the assurance that he was fine and the gruff order to get the tents set up. The last thing he wanted was more people fussing over him. He also wanted to be alone when he examined the rope.
“It would be good if you checked Nayla out when she comes back.” He extracted his palm from Lana’s hold and tried to pretend the monster inside him wasn’t clawing to break free and do something. Vanquish something. Break something. Battle something. Just so he could feel less out of control. “I had to toss her fast. I suspect she landed hard.”
“Yes. She’ll clearly do anything for you.” Lana paused and he knew they were finally getting to the real reason she and Cam had come. “I hope you’re willing to do the same.”
He sat taller. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”
“I don’t mean risk your life. Or perform some physical feat or battle some danger. I’m talking about letting her go. Being with you only seems to put her more and more at risk.”
The female was relentless.
Cam said nothing.
“Nayla can tell me what she wants,” he told them both. “She is very clear on the fact that she knows what she needs. Whatever you may think of the outcome, my intent has always been to put her first.”
Though he’d almost failed. Despite everything, he’d almost let it all slip through his fingers.