Arrows—so they didn’t care if the target got injured. That obviously meant bad news for Mikhail and Luce.
Mikhail gripped Luce’s arm tightly and started running ahead. The forest blurred past them in streaks of green as they picked up speed. Mikhail glanced back to check on Luce, who was struggling to keep up, his brows furrowed in pain.
Still, if they could find the river, this seemingly endless escape might finally come to an end. Mikhail looked toward the direction Luce had pointed. Through the trees ahead, a patch of clear, blue sky peeked out.
“Wait!”
Luce’s voice rang out from behind.
What? Mikhail turned his head without stopping his sprint. But the warning came a moment too late. The next step Mikhail took found only empty air. There was no ground left beneath him.
Shit…
Unable to brake in time, his momentum sent him pitching forward into the air. His eyes squeezed shut. It was a cliff. Given they had followed the sound of rushing water, the river had to be below.
And then—
An arm caught his falling body. It was Luce’s, of course. A sharp tsk followed, then a powerful tug hauled him back. Mikhail’s feet, which had briefly hovered in midair, hit solid ground once more.
“…Thank you.”
Straightening his wobbling torso, Mikhail offered Luce a faint smile. Luce, looking annoyed, shook his head from side to side.
“You really should—”
—watch where you’re going, he had been about to say, but the words cut off as Luce’s line of sight tilted.
Huh. The ground was unstable here, too. Luce had been about to deliver a life lesson to Mikhail, but stopped himself. He didn’t exactly have the right to preach after making the same mistake.
Even in that brief moment of falling, Luce glanced sideways at the rushing river below.
Is this it? I’m gonna die like this? He bit his lip in frustration. Then again, a human could swim, right? Maybe even survive a fall like this. Maybe… maybe this was his chance to disappear, to pretend he never heard Mikhail’s wish.
Hmm. As Luce stared down at the river below, lost in thought—
“Luce!”
Their hands slapped together in a desperate grab.
A grimace twisted Luce’s face as he suddenly felt the full weight of his body hanging from his arm. His muscles screamed, begging to let go.
“Ugh…” Luce groaned, wincing hard.
“I’ve got you! Pull yourself up!”
Mikhail, from above the cliff, was straining to haul Luce up. But the strength in Luce’s grip was fading. Both of them had been running flat-out, and exhaustion was taking its toll. The waterfall beneath them continued its furious roar, churning and crashing below.
From the direction they had come, voices speaking in a foreign language grew louder.
[We heard something over there!]
[If they went that way, it’s a cliff. They’re cornered—might as well call it a done deal.]
Luce, unable to see the situation above or understand their words, squinted in frustration.
A stone from where Mikhail had planted his knee came loose and dropped right beside Luce. His eyes narrowed. The edge of the cliff he clung to was unstable. At this rate, they’d both fall—it was only a matter of time.
Fortunately, the river flowed directly beneath the cliff. They wouldn’t die. Grim, but survivable. Luce raised his head and opened his mouth.
“Mikhail.”
“Don’t.”
Mikhail cut him off sharply, clearly knowing exactly what Luce had been about to say. His trembling eyes revealed he was at the limit of his strength. Ignoring the command to stay quiet, Luce spoke again.
“…At this rate, we’ll both fall. Maybe it’s better if—”
“I told you… to stop talking.”
Luce clamped his lips shut at the seething anger in Mikhail’s voice. Mikhail’s crimson eyes blazed with fury as he bit out the words.
“We made a promise.”
From the corner of his eye, a single tear slipped down his cheek, tracing a line along his face.
Soon after, one of Mikhail’s tears fell onto Luce’s cheek, the very hand he was holding onto. That drop of heat slid down along Luce’s face as if it were his own tear. Feeling that warmth, Luce tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on Mikhail’s face.
Mikhail was crying. Or… was that what a crying face looked like? It didn’t really seem like he was crying, more like—
“Use that breath to climb up here instead!”
—he was furious.
Splash!
As if in response to Mikhail’s outburst, a massive rock broke loose from the cliff and vanished into the waterfall below. The sound of it crashing into the river was drowned out by the deafening roar of the water.
“…I’d like to, but I can’t feel my arms anymore,” Luce murmured weakly, still dangling from Mikhail’s grasp.
Mikhail clenched his teeth at that, glaring down at him. In that desperate moment, even Luce’s face, still completely expressionless, made Mikhail want to scream.
Shit.
The bitter taste of blood filled his mouth where he’d bitten down on his lip. His grip on Luce’s arm was weakening. Mikhail shot a glance toward the path they had come from. Judging by the voices, the pursuers were close. Far too close.
He stared at that path a moment longer, then slowly turned his head and looked down the cliff.
“I imagined this moment so many times,” he whispered. “Over and over again.”
Of course it made no sense… but it was a thought that had haunted him ever since the day Adrian Heather disappeared. The endless chain of regrets and self-blame that always began with If only I had…
His eyes, now a burning red, were clearly visible to Luce from where he hung below.
“……”
Luce said nothing. He could still feel the trace of that tear clinging to his cheek and jaw, the heat of it lingering unnaturally long.
What was he trying to say just now, with that face? What did he mean by that moment?
Luce glanced at Mikhail’s trembling hand, then lifted his gaze again. Mikhail’s lips were pressed tight, as if debating whether to speak. Then, as if coming to a decision, he bit down and forced the words out.
“Yeah, maybe you didn’t want this.”
A cold, twisted smile flickered across Mikhail’s face. Luce, still hanging from the cliff, stared up at him blankly. The phrase the Ordinas used to describe humans who defied their fate—greedy—passed through Luce’s mind.
Mikhail curled his lip bitterly. Fine. If this feeling made him greedy, so be it. Call it that all you want.
He opened his mouth again and tossed out his next words—
“If that’s what fate is, then I refuse to follow it.”
Then he slowly began to slide down toward the cliff’s edge.
“What…?”
In that brief instant, Luce muttered in disbelief, unable to process what was happening. He couldn’t comprehend why Mikhail would willingly let himself fall.
And then he felt it—Mikhail’s warmth wrapping around his body.
In midair, Mikhail had pulled Luce into his arms.
Why? Luce blinked, staring at Mikhail’s arms tightly wrapped around his shoulders. But he didn’t have long to wonder.
Splash!
The two of them hit the water, sending up a massive spray. But the sound was immediately swallowed by the roaring current.
[What the—? There’s no one here either.]
[Keep looking. See if there’s another way down.]
[I swear I heard voices just a moment ago…]
The men who arrived at the cliff peered around and muttered amongst themselves. But none of that mattered to Luce anymore.
Bubble, bubble…
Underwater, Luce’s vision swam in a hazy blur. Since he had fallen into Mikhail’s arms, he hadn’t felt the impact at all. He quickly spotted Mikhail’s limp body drifting further below and swam toward him.
Dead, or unconscious—there was no question.
Mikhail couldn’t swim at all. But Luce wasn’t in much better shape; without magic, he could barely keep himself afloat. The lack of air hit him first. Then the numb stiffness in his arms and legs, a result of clinging to that cliff for so long.
Mikhail’s body beside him began to lose all tension, going limp. Holding his breath, Luce tilted his head to glance at Mikhail’s face.
Eyes closed, his body was helplessly buffeted by the current.
Seriously… someone who can’t even swim, why would you…
Expressionless, cold as ever, Luce stared silently at Mikhail, who clung to him like a lifeless doll. A small trail of air bubbles escaped Mikhail’s lips and rose toward the surface.
Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about this.
Luce kicked his frozen legs and sliced through the cold water, swimming fast toward the surface.
