Chapter 43

She was in free fall.

Her stomach was in her throat, and for a moment, even terror couldn't catch her. Part of her knew that she was going to die, but the rest of her hadn't caught up with the idea yet.

And then she hit something. Hard.

Not the floor of the canyon - she was still well above that. But the side. She grabbed, her fingers reaching for anything they could catch. Her leg twisted hard enough to make her wince.

And then she slowed. Managed to grab an outcropping of rock.

Her fingers screamed with the strain of her weight, at least until she managed to get her feet beneath her again. She was in an awkward position, and her left leg - the one she'd twisted - throbbed with pain, but she was alive. And clinging to the side of the canyon. The wind was even stronger here, whipping around her, and she was grateful her hair was still tied back in its braid. She needed to be able to see. And think.

She glanced up. She could see Xavier's shape above her, but the gunman was nowhere