Or at least I make the motion. Whatever sound comes out doesn’t reach my ears before the wind pulls it away. Gusts of air tear me in every direction as I tumble in messy circles. It’s all a blur, an endless abyss of navy blue. Second freefall in as many days. Only there’s no Drifter to save me this time. Cassius plummets behind me, a dark lump against the stars. I can’t tell where his face is. I can’t see anything. Every passing second the atmosphere pulls me in a different direction until I’m not even sure I’m falling anymore. I’m flipped over and the world is upside down—long stretches of gray, an endless wasteland. My ears pop. It feels like they’ll burst and bleed all over the place. I tuck in my arms, but nothing stops the pain. The sky does its best to rip me apart. It doesn’t matter if I’m the Pearlbreaker, not if there aren’t any Pearls to break. The wind twirls me back around so that I’m staring at the vessel of Ridium.
