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“We need to go,” he said against her ear “Trust me If you can’t believe that I wouldn’t let you die, at least believe that I wouldn’t let me die”

He had a point She nodded, and he released her mouth

“No noise,” he hissed

She nodded again, and he gently cupped her cheek

“I promise you, I will keep you safe”

Her face tingled under his touch, and for one endless second, the world faded to the man in front of her He wasn’t like anyone she’d ever known, and much to her own shock, she wanted to trust him

“Desperation,” she whispered her reasoning aloud

His lips twitched “Probably” He stepped away frorabbed her hand, and turned toward the canyon depths “Coed her forward, down the narrow, rocky path that led to the bottom of the ravine

And to the scorpions

Voices echoed through the night Floodlights ca sharp shadows on the canyon walls They hurried doard as the sheer rock face rose up either side of theht be a strea to walk through the water to safety?

She clutched Striker’s hand when he dragged her past an official warning sign Even if there hadn’t been a huge skull-and-crossbones on it, or the word Danger hadn’t been written in large red letters, the photos would have sent her running Two boards detailed what a scorpion sting would do to a person, showing photos of corpses that had been stung multiple times It was horrific

But instead of running at the sight, she felt a strange calnized it instantly She’d experienced the sas were out of her control It was acceptance Either she would die in the canyon, or she wouldn’t There wasn’t a whole lot she could do about it One thing was for sure—she wasn’t going to climb out of the canyon and take her chances with Enforce to die, she’d do it on her own ter to be free

The path narrowed and twisted down to the bottohts froht wouldn’t be able to reach them, and she would be left in the dark—with the scorpions Her breathing beca to Striker’s hand as though it were a lifeline Their descent defied logic There was no evidence, in over a hundred years, that anyone had survived this trip And yet, here she was, desperate and terrified, getting deeper with each passing step

It didn’t take long to reach the bottoht But what it lacked in grandeur, it made up for in atmosphere There was an eerie stillness thataiting—watching and thinking in the dark nooks and crannies

Scorpions