Chapter Sixteen
he water is colder than I expect. It shocks me through to my bones as IT sink deep under the surface. The open wounds on my hands and the welts on the insides of my thighs burn like I’ve been dipped in acid when they make contact with the salty sea. I want to scream. Instead, I screw up my face, wincing and willing myself not to pass out from the pain.
The rope is tangled around my arms and legs, and I frantically try to kick myself free, knowing I only have a matter of moments before those swirling dark shapes come for me.
I force my eyes open, feeling the sting of the seawater. Two murky shapes swim towards me, sinuous and lithe, making a circuitous route and taking their time. Soon, they’re close enough I can finally see what they are. Half
Fae, half fish. Mermaids? But these are no long-haired beauties from a fairy tale.
Their hair is long, but it’s tangled and gnarled, floating around their heads in nests of black and blue and green. Their bare torsos and arms are covered
in mottled blue skin that shimmers softly. Their eyes are nothing but bright blue orbs with no whites, and their teeth are so sharp they look like they could grind me down to raw beef.
A scream rises in my throat as one of them lunges and then swims back without touching me, its thin black lips spreading into a vicious smile. They do it again, together this time. Swimming for me, they come so close, I feel a
current pulse against my skin as they pass.
They’re taunting me. Playing with their supper before they sink their teeth in for a juicy bite. With the rope still gripped in my hands, I attempt to fend them off, but I’m quickly running out of air. When one of them lunges again, I dive for it, catching the creature off guard. Its hiss vibrates through the water.
The monsters lunge for me again, but then something distracts the one to my left, and it shoots away, disappearing into the depths of the sea. I don’t have time to wonder what’s happening. I’m just grateful I only have to face down one of these things for a moment.
Air. I need air. I kick to the surface, bursting into the atmosphere and
inhaling a ragged breath. It’s barely a sip before I’m yanked back down into the water, coming face to face with the creature, its sharp teeth bared in the imitation of a smile. Digging into my endurance, I cock my arm and punch the creature in the nose so hard its head snaps back.
I hear its howl shudder through the water as it grips its face and writhes, a
small puff of crimson dissipating around its head. Taking advantage of the distraction, I pounce, wrapping the rope around its throat and squeezing its neck. I maneuver so I’m floating behind it, and the creature thrashes its
gangly arms, attempting to scratch me with its claws while also trying to slice through the noose cutting off its air. I squeeze tighter and tighter. Can you
suffocate something that can breathe underwater?
Its chest moves in and out and I take that as a sign it breathes something.
Emboldened, I pull on the rope with every ounce of strength. Eventually, the creature’s movements begin to slow until its body finally goes limp and it starts to sink. I let go of the rope, hoping it’s enough to keep this thing down while I swim for safety.
I kick for the surface, exploding up for a gulp of cleansing air. For a few seconds, I pant, my chest tight and my limbs quivering. I’m exhausted, my body worn and broken. I turn to head back to shore when I notice Marici is no longer hanging on her rope. After a quick scan of the beach, I realize I can’t make out her bright white head of hair. Fuck. That’s what distracted the other creature.
Did she lose her grip, or did they move on to the next question without even bothering to see if I survived? Something tells me it was the latter. I dive under the water, desperately searching for her, but I can’t see anything.
Swearing under my breath, I plunge into the water again, hoping the creature I choked doesn’t return. I swim further, but I’m so weak and tired.
What am I doing? I should just save myself. I’ve already lost the challenge, and if I make it out of the water, I can at least go back to Tristan and Willow.
I don’t owe my life to anyone in Aphelion. But Marici is one of the few people to show me any kindness in this place. I can’t just leave her here.
Despite my initial mistrust, her help was genuine last night.
Finally, I spot a dark blur in the distance and, after another gasp of air, I swim for it like my feet are on fire. I don’t have any rope this time. What do I
think I’m going to do? I slip through the water, hoping a brilliant plan somehow materializes.
The creature has its hands wrapped around Marici’s neck, its face close to hers like it’s offering a lover’s kiss. Marici’s legs kick feebly and it becomes obvious that her strength is dwindling. It feels like it’s been an hour since she fell, though I know it has to have been only minutes. Her movements continue to slow, her limbs going slack. Panic spirals in my gut and I jet forward.
Thankfully, the creature doesn’t notice me coming. With what little strength I have left, I ram into it, elbowing the back of its neck and pulling on its hair hard enough to rip out a clump the size of my fist.
The creature lets out a high-pitched screech. I feel the sound ripple around me as it reaches for its head and, thankfully, releases Marici. She’s fainted and is sinking fast, so I aim a pointed punch at the creature’s windpipe, silently giving thanks to Zerra that my years in Nostraza taught me to fight. I might not know who the thirty-seventh king of Aphelion was, but at least I know how to throw a fucking punch.
The creature crumples, bending in half, its hands circling its throat as its mouth gapes open and closed. I snag Marici around the waist and begin to
kick frantically for the surface. My muscles ache and my bones creak from the effort. My toes and fingers are completely numb. There’s a movement in the corner of my vision and it’s with horror that I see the first creature has recovered and is now streaking through the water. We’re finished. This is it.
Kicking harder, I know there’s no chance I can outrun it this time.
My heart skips as I swim with every bit of my flagging strength anyway, praying for a miracle from Zerra.
Suddenly, the monster stops in its tracks, like a fishhook has embedded
itself in its torso. It snaps back, its limbs and head jerking with the movement like a rag doll. I don’t pause to wonder what just happened. Instead, I kick
even harder.
Once again, we break the surface, and I gulp a deep breath before I start paddling across the cove, focused on the shore. My lungs burn and my legs feel like they’re made of clay.
Marici remains prostrate, and I pray she isn’t dead. Black spots form before my eyes as I kick and kick, my head spinning. I need healing and rest
and someone to save me. I lost and I’m out of the contest, but the last thing I’ll do before I’m thrown back behind the wet stone walls of Nostraza is get Marici home alive. Leaving her out there would have meant lowering myself to the same level as the Fae who’ve done this to us.
Finally, I feel the sandy bottom of the ocean and press my legs against it while I choke on a cry of relief. With a heave, I drag Marici along the sand and then turn around to hook her under her arms. With my back to the spectators, I lug her inch by inch until we finally reach the safety of the beach.
I collapse, falling onto the wet sand, my cheek pressed to the ground as I hack on seawater and the adrenaline screeching through my veins. Marici is
so pale it’s as though colors have forgotten her existence.
“Someone help her,” I whisper, my voice thick and raw. “Someone. Help her.”
As the healers descend on Marici, I feel a swarm of bodies around me, calling out instructions to one another. I lie on the beach, my head spinning,
while I pray to Zerra for a miracle. I’m too weak and tired to move, pain echoing across my body. My eyelids are so heavy they feel like iron curtains.
I groan, my cheek pressing harder into the sand. It’s rough and scrapes against my skin, reminding me I'm still alive.
Then my eyes drift shut, and the world disappears.
