Edge of the Falls (After the Fall) Read Online Free PDF Page A

he says, his tone superior and full. I hate him when he’s like this.
    “Of course I don’t,” I retort. “None of us do. She takes the briars and vanishes into her study for weeks. What the hell am I supposed to think?”
    But my thoughts aren’t on the Mistress and her betrayal—I’m used to that. They’re on Berg. How can he choose her, defend her, when he knows how furious I am? Is it simply that he doesn’t know how to cope in the face of my anger? It’s unusual, for me. I am the steady one—I always have been. He is the one prone to bouts of high emotion, to tears and rages. But this seems different—the defense is personal.
    “I am allowed to be afraid, Berg. I raised her—she’s
mine
,” I whisper, and turn away, trying not to focus on the distance that separates us. When did it get so big?
    He catches me at the door, his hand gentle, and the pity in his eyes hurts. So does the silent apology, the one he will not speak. “Don’t go, Sabah,” he whispers, pleading.
    I resist his pull, wanting to escape. “What do you know about the Mistress’ plan for us?”
    He releases me and steps back, suddenly tense. “What do you mean?”
    I stare at him, silent, and he huffs. “She wants me tested at the University. You know I’ve always done well with studies.”
    “So does Spiro, but she isn’t offering him a life in the City,” I answer, mildly. “What about me?”
    “She hasn’t said,” he answers, too quickly. Something tightens in my belly and I force down the anger.
    “Do you remember Hawke?” I ask, looking at him from under my lashes. He stiffens and I smile. “Oh, you do.”
    “What does he have to do with this?” he snaps.
    “The Mistress wants me to wed into the tribes. Hawke seems the logical choice, since we have history.”
    His eyes darken and narrow, and he reaches for me, catching my wrist. I smile, mocking and hard, as he pulls me close. He catches my free hand, holding both of them behind my back, leaving me little room to move.
    “No. You’re mine, Sabah.” His voice brushes my neck a heartbeat before his lips, and I shiver, sudden desire warring with simmering anger. I force myself to remain stiff as his other arm comes around me, cradling me against his warm body. It is so familiar—more than Hawke ever will be—and without wanting to, I relax into him. He murmurs, a soft noise of encouragement as I twist free, clutching his hair. I jerk his head down, finding his lips in the darkness, and it feels right. I kiss him, harsh and demanding, trying to push my future away, to drown out choices I don’t want to face. His hand tangles in my hair, tilting my head back and he nibbles at my neck. And for a moment, as his lips make my heart race, and his fingers fumble with my buttons, I feel nothing but him, not anger or my constant worries, not even the blinding fear for Kaida. For a heartbeat, an hour, a breathless eternity, there is nothing but him and me and nothing separating us.
    When he lies still at last, sweat covering his back in a sheen that I lazily rub, a pair of eyes flare in my vision. I gasp, and he looks at me. I shake my head, and hide in his chest, and he holds me.
    I wonder in silence, why, with Berg so near me, the golden eyes of a ban-wolf fill my mind.
     

Chapter 5
     
    The rain is a mixed blessing.
    I can’t see clearly, which makes it almost possible to ignore why we’re here. Mistress gave the children over to Cook after a light breakfast of oats and honey toast. Then she led our small procession—herself, Berg, me, Gwen, and little Kaida—into the icy cold.
    A small weathershield protects Gwen and me as we watch Berg strap Kaida into her rigging. Watching propels me into memories—I feel like I am being strapped in again, waiting to swing over the abyss. I can feel the sting of the alloy metal that Mistress bought on our first trip to the City when I was four, the straps cutting into my thighs.
    It’s older now—the shine has faded,