Nita was lucky. She hit the water feet first and lost her grip on Ronan's hand. If it hadn't slipped out of her grasp, they would have both been dashed against the rocks. Water pummeled her exhausted body from all sides as she kicked for the surface. There was time only for one gasping breath before the current sucked her under again. She forced her eyes open and saw to her horror, that Ronan had been less fortunate than she. The force of the current had him pressed unconscious against a boulder, and he was bleeding from the head, his face ashen.

Nita didn't give a thought to her burning lungs as she dove. She barely felt the sting of the bitingly cold water. There was only the current, and her battle against it as she swam for Ronan. At last, she reached him, wrapped her arms around his chest, and swam for the light above her. Her vision was beginning to go black at the edges but there was only five feet of water between her and salvation...three...two...

Her head broke the surface, and she took a great greedy gulp of air into her lungs, swallowing a lot of water in the process. She surrendered to the current, letting it carry her swiftly away from the waterfall. Frantically, Nita took hold of Ronan's wrist and felt a pulse fluttering there. She sobbed with relief and terror and utter exhaustion, struggling not to succumb to unconsciousness. At last, when Nita didn't think she could take it anymore, the water calmed. The roaring ferocity behind them died away, and Nita relaxed, trusting herself to the water, which soon deposited her and Ronan on a riverbank. With the last feeble ounce of strength she possessed, Nita dragged herself and Ronan onto the warm sand. She put her shaking hand to Ronan's temple and said the last word of the healing spell that she reserved for emergencies. And then she fainted.

The next thing Nita heard was voices. She burrowed deeper into her blankets and tried to block them out, resting her cheek against the cool silk of her pillow. But it was no use. They were whispering, but it had been enough to wake her. Strangely, as Nita listened to them speak she felt the aches in her body fade, because these were the most beautiful voices she'd ever heard, so lyrical and soft. Nita felt that she could listen for hours, and maybe she did, because it was a long time before occurred to her to listen in the Speech. When she did, what she heard puzzled her.

"...had no right. You know as well as I do, Dameon, that what they did was wrong, and goes against everything the old ones warned us about!"

"That may be true, Andrea, but that doesn't mean I want to go up against the council! They'll tear us apart, and then what will become of your precious Resistance?"

"Then you are a coward."

"If I wasn't, I'd be dead already."

"Maybe so. But I won't stand by and watch them do this. I can't. There is a time for caution, but this is not it. I know and you know it, and you won't admit it because you care more about saving your own skin than you do about-"

"That isn't fair, Andrea."

"Is anything? These are dangerous times, Dameon."

"I've been trying to tell you that for months now but you won't listen to-"

"Hush. The girl stirs."

There was a pause, and then a tired sigh. "Well, they've dragged her into this now. We'll have to tell her everything."

"Everything?"

Andrea sounded shocked.

"Yes, everything."

"Dameon, we need to protect her!"

Nita was sick of being talked about as if she weren't there. Her eyes flew open and she quickly scanned her surroundings. She appeared to be in a modest wooden cabin with a dirt floor and several cots. There was a fire crackling in a sort of pit in the center, and a large wooden table, and sitting at the table were two of the most beautiful people Nita had ever seen.

She spent a moment puzzling over them until she realized that they weren't – couldn't be – human. They were too tall, for one thing, their slender limbs overlong, their proportions wrong. The woman had golden hair that fell to the small of her back and green eyes so bright they glowed. The man's hair was black, his blue eyes piercing. The woman smiled kindly, and her small, perfect set of white teeth struck Nita. Self – consciously she touched a finger to her own braces, and the woman – Andrea – gave a tinkling laugh. The man joined her.

"Take it easy, girl. We won't hurt you." He tilted his chair backwards and shot Andrea an amused look that Nita did not appreciate.

"Where's my friend? The boy I was traveling with. Where is he?" Nita struggled not to let her desperation show, but her voice faltered a little. Her hands shook.

"He's all right. He's with Quinn right now." Dameon again.

"Quinn? Who's that?"

"The healer. He's just tending to his head injury, but don't worry, he'll be along any minute. You should rest."

"No way."

Andrea stepped forward. Her green eyes locked on Nita's brown ones. "Too many questions?" she asked softly.

"Yeah." Nita said, and swallowed hard. When she spoke again, it was without a trace of fear in her voice. "Yeah. Like, who the hell are you?"