Chapter 10 · Blood on My Mouth

"Help!" Amy's voice cracks over the river, and I'm already running.

My boots slide down the muddy bank. Her yellow-flower scarf is snagged on a branch below, and one small hand is locked around a root while the current tries to pull her loose.

"I can't—" Her head vanishes under the water.

I hit the river before she comes back up.

"Amy! Grab my arm."

She surfaces coughing and reaches for me. Her fingers clamp around my wrist.

"Please! My leg—"

"I've got you. Stop fighting the water."

Her leg is wedged between two rocks and a pile of dead branches. The river only reaches my thighs, but it doesn't need to be deeper. Amy's tiny, hurt, and the current doesn't care.

I tear at the branches. One sharp end rips through her dress and opens her shin.

Blood spills into the cold water.

The smell hits me.

Sweet. Warm. Human.

My hands stop moving.

"Qin?" Amy gasps. "It hurts!"

"Don't look at me. Look at the bank."

"I can't—"

"Look at the bank, Amy!"

She squeezes her eyes shut. I wrench the branch away and pull her leg free.