Page 39 of Death

Chapter 9

It’s so cold.

The wind washes over me so quickly I can hardly breathe. I can’t tell which part of me is upright. I don’t dare to even open my eyes. I focus everything on our hands. One little slip could mean the death of me.

Or could it?

Have I forgotten whose hand I’m holding?

“Tannis.”

I hear his voice in my head, not my ears. It blares over the crushing winds, soothing me with a simple laugh.

“Open your eyes.”

I shake my head, I think. My hair slaps my face. My skin feels so dry and hard I fear it might crack if I move.

I’m gonna die.

Or am I?

“Tannis.”

Ari pulls me closer. I feel his other hand curl around my hip and I bury my face in his chest as I cling to his jacket.

“Ari!”

“Shh,” he whispers in my ear, a laugh on his breath. “Open your eyes.”

Somehow, I obey. My lids flick open and I think to instantly close them again, but... I don’t. I raise my head and turn my neck, looking up and down and side-to-side.

We’re falling but I don’t scream. The ground is rushing toward us but I feel nothing.

No, that’s not true.

I feel safe.

I tilt my head up and Ari smiles. He doesn’t say a word. No gloating remark or I told you so. He just gazes back at me and I nearly forget everything else.

The wind begins to ease up. I take a deep, easy breath but my heart doesn’t stop pounding. I look down at the incoming treeline but I don’t jolt in Ari’s embrace. We keep falling, slower and slower, until I could easily reach down and touch the soft grass beneath us.

Ari lies me down on the earth and I exhale, sinking even deeper into it with tears in my eyes.

“Ari—” I choke in my dry throat.

“It’s okay now.” He caresses my cheek. “You can relax.”

No.

No, I can’t.

I can’t do anything.

I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I can’t believe I just did that.

The only thing I can do is... is...

I pull him down and kiss him on the lips.