The fall is shorter than it feels, but that does not make it gentler, and the impact drives the breath from my lungs in a sharp, humiliating rush as my shoulder clips rock and my hip slams hard enough to rattle bone. I roll instinctively, scraping skin and tearing fabric, and come up tangled against the ravine wall with my heart pounding so loud it drowns out everything else for half a second.
Then the bond surges.
Not pain. Not panic.
Command.
Adam’s fury crashes through the connection like a physical force, hot and focused and terrifyingly controlled, and it steadies me faster than breath ever could. I push myself upright, ignoring the scream from my hip, and flatten against the stone as movement shadows the edge above me.
A rogue leans over the lip, teeth bared, eyes bright with th
