I sit up immediately, afraid that Zell will somehow follow us through. But the only thing that breaks the silence on this quiet street is the sound of our labored breathing and the occasional cricket chirp. I collapse onto my side—the side that wasn’t hit with Zell’s magic. My stylus rolls from my open palm onto the grass beside me. I try to reach it to return it to my boot, but my hand is in such pain I can’t even move my fingers. Nate takes a few deep breaths before propping himself up on one elbow. He looks down at me and says, “Of all the places in the world we could have landed after falling off that cliff, you chose to take us back to the very people who just tried to kill us?” I sit up in disbelief, blinking away the dark spots that threaten to engulf my vision. “Shouldn’t you be thanking me?” “Vi,” he says, a smile turning his lips up. “I’m just—” “You were the one who was convinced they weren’t actually going to harm us.
