He was at his limit.


    Be calm, she told herself. Stay calm!


    The chaotic shouts from above told Evangeline she couldn''t pin all her hopes on them.


    She scanned her surroundings, desperately searching for a ledge, a foothold, anything that could offer them a temporary reprieve. But there was nothing. The cliff face was sheer and unforgiving. The branch Finn was clinging to was the only anchor point in sight. A chilling thought crossed her mind: how had he managed to ovee his fear and navigate this treacherous cliff to save her at the perfect moment? But there was no time to wonder. She saw Finn''s arm begin to tremble uncontrobly.


    Evangeline bit her lip and finally, with a sense of grim resignation, said, "Finn, let me go."


    She couldn''t let him risk his life for her any longer. It was better for one of them to die than both. She had no family left in this world; her life didn''t matter. But he was different. He had no reason to be taking this risk.


    "The Lockridges still need you," she said.


    Finn could no longer maintain hisposure. He clenched his jaw, fighting through the pain and the burning fatigue in his arm. "But I need you," he gasped out. "Evangeline, don''t even think about it. I''m not letting anything happen to you."


    Then, his voice raw with desperation, he roared upwards, "Soren! What the hell is taking so long?!"


    "Almost there! Just hold on, don''t you dare let go!" Soren''s frantic shout echoed from above. Finn let out a bitterugh. As if he needed to be told. He was holding onto the life of the woman he loved.


    "Just hurry up!" he yelled back.


    If he didn''t know Soren also wanted Evangeline to live, he might have suspected this whole thing was a setup to get rid of him.


    Suddenly, a sharp *crack* echoed from above. Both Finn and Evangeline heard it clearly. Evangeline felt her body drop slightly, and her heart plunged into an abyss.


    It was the branch. It wasn''t thick enough to support theirbined weight.


    What now? She tried to look up, but even the slightest movement caused another faint cracking sound from above. She froze. The branch, is breaking," she said, her voice trembling with fear.


    "It''s okay," Finn said, though she could hear the same fear in his voice.


    He wasn''t confident. He was gambling.


    Faint shouts drifted down from the clifftop. "A dead knot?! Why is it a dead knot?! Find a way to cut it!"


    Thest glimmer of hope Evangeline had been clinging to was extinguished.


    "Let go, Finn," she pleaded. "If you don''t, we''re both going to die."


    He bit his lip so hard that a bead of blood appeared. Failing to save her would have been one thing, but letting go now, after he had caught her felt like killing her with his own hands.


    He couldn''t do it.


    Evangeline heard his silence and understood his decision. She said nothing more,


    but strained to reach a hand behind her back.


    She felt a knot, but unlike the dead


    knot they were struggling with above, hers was a slipknot. She gripped the short end of the rope and closed her eyes


    *Crack!* The sound of splintering wood was louder this time.


    She looked up at Finn. "Live a good life," she whispered.


    Before Finn could process her words, the weight on the rope in his hand suddenly vanished.