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She would possibly be better off with him than except him.

She glanced down at her feet. The short moist ledge under them ended where she was once standing, dropped off into nothing. Between her shoes, some thing caught her eye, a shimmer in the rock that made her blink. The floor was shifting . . . softening . . . swaying below her feet.

Lawrence appeared at the back of her. The slab of rock was once crumbling, all the way to the wall of the cave. She stumbled, teetering at the edge. The ledge jerked below her--harder--as the particles that held the rock collectively commenced to wreck apart. The ledge disappeared around her, faster and faster, until fresh air brushed the backs of her heels and she jumped--

And sank her proper hand into Chis extended claw. They shook in the air.

How do we get out of here? she cried, grasping tight to him now fo