The fall seemed endless. Wind screamed past her ears, icy shards biting her skin. Rhaëlya held onto Ivy with both arms, her mind racing too fast to think.
The faint glow of Orion flickered beside her, trailing streaks of violet light through the blinding descent.
"Host!" It cried, voice sharp and urgent, "Brace for impact!"
She twisted midair, pulling Ivy close and turning her body beneath his to take the brunt of the fall. The moment they hit, the world erupted in a burst of snow and pain.
Everything went still.
A long moment passed before she opened her eyes again. Snowflakes drifted lazily from above, glowing faintly blue from the thin shaft of light filtering through the collapsed opening far above them.
They had fallen into a ravine. Narrow, deep, and lined with thick layers of ice.
She winced, sitting up slowly. Pain throbbed through her ribs, but nothing felt broken. Ivy lay beside her, breathing fast, his fur damp with frost.
'Ariel.' She thought quickly.
