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Panic welled inside of her. “We have to keep moving.Adriel!”
A loud bang had them suddenly crouching low as the ground convulsed violently. Shockwaves rippled through the rugged terrain, and a shudder raced up her spine. Dane slipped in a landslide of mud and leaves as Juniper clung to the wide trunk of a tree, now realizing what was wrong.
“It’s him! He’s here!”
She yanked Dane to his feet as a storm erupted from the earth under the clear black sky.
“Don’t worry about me. Go find Adriel!”
Trees thrashed wildly, their branches lashing out like frenzied tendrils as the earth buckled and heaved beneath their feet. Juniper’s palms slammed into the wet ground, her nails clawing into the mud for purchase.
The relentless force sent rocks tumbling. “Watch out!”
Boulders careened from the bluffs, pummeling the trees as if they were nothing more than pipe cleaners. “We have to get away from the cliffs!”
Dane caught her by the ribs as she lost her footing. “Hold onto me.” Hands linked, they raced to the gorge's edge and looked down. Rapids slammed against the rocks.
“There’s nowhere to go!”
A chasm parted the forest floor, and they jumped onto a moss-covered slab, sliding until they both went down. Dane caught the brunt of their weight, breaking their fall and landing hard on his back.
Juniper scrambled to her hands and knees, panting and searching for other options. There weren’t any. The ground split open. Landslides crumbled the ancient stone walls, washing away years of vegetation.
“Watch out!” Dane yanked her back from the edge just as the earth gaped open.
She looked up at him in horror. He’d just saved her from falling to her death.
“This way!” he yelled, and they crawled to the nearest wall.
Amidst the chaos, the gulches opened into pits and sinkholes. The falls rushed faster and louder, flooding the banks and carving mudslides through the upturned trees. The mountain moaned, and water surged with newfound ferocity.
Dane lost his footing and slipped, his body sliding down too fast for Juniper to catch.“Dane!”
He grunted as he landed hard on his chest, his hand clinging to a slick vine. “Go! I’m right behind you!”
She couldn’t leave him. “Don’t move. I’ll pull you up!”
She searched for another vine, but every root she grabbed was too slick to hold her weight.
“June, use your magick!”
Panic had made her forget her power, but the moment he said it, she tapped into the energy swirling around them. Her hands shook violently as heavy rocks fell around them, plummeting into the once-calm waters now raging below.
“I can’t!” She was too scared of being crushed.
“Juniper, look at me.”
Overwhelmed and unsure, her stare found Dane’s as he clung to the vine. His grip was slipping, and his face pinched in pain. A nasty cut bled from his eye, and his clothes were drenched in mud. He strained to hold on.
“Listen to my voice and block everything else out. My left arm is hurt. I can’t hold on much longer. You have to concentrate. You can do this. Don’t let him scare you. That’s what he wants.”
He was right. Her fear was unprecedented. Cerberus was trying to block her the way she’d blocked him.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she called on the energy of her ancestors and forced the protection spell back in place. Calm encircled her and Dane, and her legs steadied. “I’ve got this,” she whispered, holding out her palms and thrusting her arms into the air.
Dane propelled skyward just as the earth crumbled and the vine he’d been holding fellaway. She lifted him with the ease of a balloon and set him on the ground beside her. As soon as he was safe, she lunged at him, hugging him tightly.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why it took me so long to figure that out?—”
