She gasped, a scream trapped in her chest, her hands clinging tightly to the swaying ladder, her pulse pounding in her ears. Then she realized that she hadn’t fallen at all, not an inch. Connor had caught her, just like he’d said he would.
“You’re okay,” she said to herself. “You’re okay. Keep going.”
She moved faster now, confident that Connor would keep her safe. Another rung broke, but she kept going.
The river was so loud at this point that she wouldn’t have been able to hear Connor if he were to call for her.
Just a little farther.
Another step and another and another.
Relieved to be almost down, she looked up—and saw a man falling headlong toward the ground.
Connor? God, no!
He flew past her, landing on stone with a sickening thud.
Not Connor, but a soldier, his throat slit.
Panic hit her veins with a rush of adrenaline.
The soldiers had found him. They’d found Connor.
He was fighting for his life, and there was nothing she could do to help him.