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"You won’t attack ain," I protested "You’re free of Loki now I saw that too And I see it in your eyes now"

He gave rim smile "Only because you used your psycho to be around What if he coain? What if I hurt someone else? I can’t take that chance - especially not with you"

His words broke ain, especially since I could see howHe could barely look at uilt twisted his features

"So what happens now?" I asked, forcing out the words through the hard knot of eet down the an shook his head "I’ll return to the acade After that, I’ll go back to be with ain "I don’t know I just don’t know I’averoup But I didn’t ht with pain or heard the sob that escaped ht be here, but he was still as far away and lost to me as ever, and I didn’t kno to fix it - I didn’t kno to fix us

Noondered if it was even possible - or if Logan and I were as crumbled and broken as the ruins around us

We reached the rope bridge a few , but I kept er, and turning into a weeping, wailing mess wouldn’t help

Ajax held up his hand, and we stopped The coach looked this way and that, just like the rest of us did, but there was no sign of Vivian, Agrona, or any other Reapers Ajax took a few steps out onto the bridge, testing it, but it seemed as sturdy as e’d first come up here It looked like the Reapers had expected to kill us in the courtyard and hadn’t bothered to sabotage the bridge

"All right," Ajax said "Let’s get this over with And keep your eyes open There could still beon the other side to ae first I held my breath, but they made it over to the other side safely, and no Reapers ca out of the forest to attack theton’s back to get hi in front of her She’d used so to tie his hands together The evil librarian hadn’t said a word as we’d been walking, although he kept giving us all lares

Rachel hurried after her niece, and Daphne and Carson followed thean and I will cross last," I said

Alexei looked at an After a e He made it to the other side without any problean said

I started to step onto the bridge -

Ca

I froze

Ca

The roc’s shrieks sounded once again, although for soround beneath my feet, rather than the clouds above I e, raised Vic, and turned this way and that, searching for the roc - and the Reapers that would be riding the creature

A second later, instead of dropping down from the sky, a Black roc soared up out of the chash thethe boards and ropes in two like they weremore substantial than brittle matchsticks and thin thread The splintered debris seemed to hover in midair for a moment before it silently floated down into the canyon far, far below

The Black roc swooped back doith Vivian and Agrona on its back I tightenedthe creature to dive-boan, but instead, the roc only hovered above the chas off the ainst the creature’s back, and they zooolden arrow followed the sideways, and it sailed off into the ruins

Stunned, all I could do was stare up into the clouds and then back down into the yawning chasm in front of h an, and the others - and the Spartan and I were trapped on the wrong side of the bridge

Chapter 29

I stared in disbelief at the canyon We’d gotten the aton was a traitor, and had survived being attacked by Vivian, Agrona, the other Reapers, and their rocs I’d thought ere finally free and clear

I really should have known better by now

"Gwen!" Rachel shouted, the hipping her words over to me "You’ll have to take the other trail on the far side of the courtyard! It’s the only way you can get off theabout the trail before - the steep, winding trail that she hadn’t gone down in years and that had probably been ht - it was the only option we had

"Where is it?" I shouted at her

"Look at the map in your backpack! Go to the south side of the courtyard!" she yelled back "It starts there! You can’t miss it!"

"Get as far down the trail as you can!" Ajax yelled, his voice booet you as soon as we can!"

He didn’t say it would take hours - if not longer My friends would be lucky if they eared up for a rescue , and it would be too late to coer - which ht on theas the winter wind tearing through my hair, but I pushed it down I couldn’t afford to panic Not now Instead, I plastered a smile on my face and waved at my friends