chapter 27

Bella pov

As I took a desperate dive off the cliff, my head slammed into a rock, knocking me unconscious. Involuntarily, I shifted back to my human form, the force of the water slamming my body against the rock roughly, carrying me further downstream. I was too weak to move a muscle or attempt to swim against the powerful current. Instead, I closed my eyes and surrendered to the relentless flow.

Hours later, I regained consciousness to find myself floating in the middle of a river, disoriented and weak. Gasping for breath, a sudden thought pierced through the fog in my mind—JACE! Panic surged within me like a tidal wave, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Jace!" I shouted into the wilderness, the sound of my own voice echoing off the surrounding cliffs. But there was no response, only the rushing of the water as it carried me farther away from the waterfall where tragedy had struck.

Desperation clawed at my chest as I struggled to stay afloat, my mind racing with fear and uncertainty. Te