#Chapter 126: “The course of true love never did run smooth.”

Kadeem saw her drop in his mind's eye just before it happened, time wrapping around him like an Einsteinian puzzle. With zero emotion and no conscious awareness of it, he reached out, catching Ardal’s wrist with a lightning fast reflex. She dangled haphazardly in the air, but didn't cry out. A brief, dark thought occurred to him. Did she want to fall? Panic filled him and the normal force of time came hurtling back. He wrapped one arm tight around the towering trunk of the tree to secure himself. With every ounce of strength in his body, he began to heave her back up, before she was close enough to grab her other hand without toppling forward himself, sending them both plummeting to the earth. One of her hands started to slip. Barely breathing, his muscles burning as he strained against gravity. He continued to lift her until he could wrap both arms around her and pull her into his lap, pressing her small frame hard against him. Every muscle was exhausted and shaky from