Cadence was falling, and there was nothing in the world anyone could do about it. For all of their superpowers, their strength, speed, power, ability to heal, or make things fly, no one was close enough or could react fast enough to save her.
She hung in the air for a moment as Aaron watched, frozen, staring into each other’s eyes, before she started to plummet. He didn’t see fear there, though. Only regret—and sorrow. She’d taken it a step too far, pushed a little too hard, followed her instincts over the side of a cliff, and now, all anyone could do was watch and pray. Her mouth moved in a silent message before she dropped below the wall of rock.
The rest of his team seemed to be reacting at full speed whereas his feet, once they started moving, were failing him, dragging him closer to the ledge but not as quickly as some of the others. Whether it was the terror at seeing her down there and knowing she was beyond help or the fact that he hadn’t been there to protect her, he couldn’t say, but Jamie and Elliott both reached the ledge seconds before he did. Jamie didn’t slow at all, catapulting right after Cadence, either confident in his ability to heal himself or knowing Cass had him. Once he was able to, Aaron looked down and followed the Healer’s trajectory. It was evident by the way he was falling that Cass was actually lowering him. Aaron’s eyes searched the ground, not sure whether or not he wanted to see Cadence, and part of him was relieved when he couldn’t, though the tattered state of the trees directly below where she’d dropped from the horizon let him know where they would find her.
“I’ve got you, Aaron, if you wanna go,” Heather said in his head. He didn’t bother to glance over his shoulder to know she had moved and was close enough to lower him down. Cassidy may have said something similar to Jamie, or maybe he just didn’t have to stop and think about it the way that Aaron did. Blood, broken bones, splintered bodies—all of those things were clinical to Jamie under normal circumstances. Maybe the doctor could turn that part of his brain off and not think about who it was he was trying to put back together. Aaron didn’t think he was capable of the same.
But he would go. He had to. There was a chance Jamie had gotten there on time. He had to believe that. The fact that it was Daunator who caused her to fall would mean there was the possibility she’d already be gone before the Healer could do anything at all. But not going wasn’t an option, so Aaron took a step off of the ledge, not really caring if Heather caught him or not.
She did, and the ground approached at a much slower rate than it would have otherwise. When he reached the forest floor, he stood perfectly still for a moment, hearing Jamie’s voice in front of him, between trees with thick branches that hid the sight from where his feet met a carpet of leaves. Behind him, Cassidy, Brandon, and Elliott touched down. The little sister was sobbing quietly, and Elliott’s palm on Aaron’s shoulder felt like a sledgehammer, jarring him back into reality. He moved forward first, bracing himself.
Jamie was there, of course, a soft blue light emanating from his hands as he bathed her from head to toe in his powers. He was talking, saying something Aaron couldn’t understand, begging her to do something... anything. Cadence was so still, like she was sleeping. Her chest didn’t seem to rise and fall at all. Her hands were folded neatly over her abdomen, her hair tossed out around her shoulders. It reminded him of a photograph he’d seen a long time ago, one Cadence was familiar with, too. Right after Elliott had died, she’d mentioned it, while they were on top of the headquarters building in Reno.
"Hey, how about you get down off of that ledge before you pull an Evelyn McHale, huh?" she’d said, sneaking up behind him. He’d known it was her, though, knew she was worried about him. He’d been sitting there for so long, pondering the state of the universe, how he could go on without his best friend, wondering if he should utilize the Blue Moon Portal to bring him back, regardless of the consequences.
"I'm not going to jump," he had told her. "I'm probably not even going to fall."
"Probably not, but I really don't want to carry you around in a mason jar for the next six months while your body decides how to solve the Rubik's Cube formerly known as the Guardian Leader. Come on." She’d grabbed him by the arm and thigh, spinning him around so violently, he remembered warning her that she might just make him fall after all. A few moments later, he’d kissed her for the first time in a long time, really kissed her, let her know she was the only one he ever wanted to be with for the rest of forever. She’d broken up with Cale, they’d made love for the first time, and then he’d done something ridiculously stupid. But she’d been there to save him.
Now, she was the one who had needed saving, and he hadn’t been there to do it. None of them had. He should’ve known better than to leave her with Christian. He should’ve let the others handle the Vampires and went to her side. Of course, he logically knew there wasn’t anything he could’ve done differently. But standing there looking at her lying on the ground so still, so beautiful, it seemed like there had to be a way to go back and make things different so that she was still standing on the top of the mountain, victorious, after ending the most dangerous Vampire in the history of the world.
