had transformed from just a floor covering into the most frightening and precarious platform on the planet. It also appeared to be the only way out of this pit.
“Get on!” Rio instructed.
Kewyn paused for a moment, glancing at the fuel with longing. Rio tugged on her shoulder, and she sighed, closing the box.
The three of us dashed for the rising platform. It was up to my hip by the time I scrambled onto the freezing metal platform. Rio made sure I was steady before moved toward the other side of the platform, checking the integrity of our only escape. Kewyn gripped the grate in tight fists, kneeling and staring in horror as the ground moved further and further away.
The fight below us did not stop. Levent was not going to make it if he allowed the platform to rise much higher.
I crawled to the edge of the grate, holding on tighter as I realized just how much it would hurt to fall on my face from here. Not wishing to get the dragon-kin killed inadvertently by distracting him, I waited until Theteau took a step back before I leaned over the edge and yelled. “Levent! ”
He did not turn. Theteau attacked again, spinning his blade in an attempt to disarm the kin. I noticed with a sinking feeling that Levent was still only using one of his blades, the arm attached to his wounded shoulder hidden under his cloak. I did not know how he had even managed to get this far, but he feinted out of harm’s way and managed to deflect the smaller dragon-kin into a wall.
For a moment I thought he was not going to make it. Levent spent a moment looking down at Theteau. The shorter kin had been knocked unconscious by the blow, but I could see he was already stirring.
“Hurry!” I shrieked, reaching a hand out toward him. I had not come all this way to let him sit down here and battle this dragon-kin until death. That was all Theteau seemed to want though, and I was not about to let that jerk have anything what he wanted.
Levent looked up at me, his mouth in a tired frown. His eyes were dim, looking up at me without hope. He was contemplating it, letting us go without him, and that scared me more than anything else.
“Come on,” I whispered through clenched teeth, stretching my hand toward him.