She grinned in triumph as her fingers closed around it, carefully dislodging the small wrapped bundle before securing it against her chest. “Got it!” she called down.
Kaius gave a curt nod. “Good. Now get down before you break your neck.”
Raya rolled her eyes but started making her way back down, moving with caution. The tree was old, the bark brittle, and she knew one wrong move could send her tumbling. She was only halfway down when she felt it, the sudden shift beneath her foot.
The branch she had stepped on gave a loud crack.
Her heart stopped.
For a split second, she had no time to react. The world seemed to tilt around her as the branch splintered beneath her weight, and then she was falling.
She let out a sharp, involuntary cry, her eyes squeezing shut as she braced for the im
