I nodded, swimming gracefully behind her. I wondered if I would need to return the dress now. I wondered what tomorrow’s trials were.
I wondered if Dane was still angry at me, and why.
She opened the tent flap and I felt something swirl around me. I glanced down and found myself wearing my own clothes, right down to the borrowed armor.
“Having magic must be nice.”
She smiled at me.
“I’m sure you will find out.”
“Good night, Annaruth.”
“Sweet dreams, Katriana.”
Chapter 14
I screamed, water rushing into my lungs. I thrashed wildly, feeling the tentacle wrap around my torso. I was not going to make it. This was it.
I was going to lose.
The elongated head floated above me, giving me the stink eye with one of its enormous black pupils. I’m going to eat you, that eye said. You’re dinner.
Like Typhoon I am!
I struggled as I tried to get a handle on what I was fighting. It was even bigger than the octopus I had faced in the opening race, and I didn’t have my weapons. Icy terror filled my veins when I saw what it was. It wasn’t even just a giant squid. It was a behemoth, a legend of the deep.
And I was merely a young, mostly average Mer. Not particularly strong. Not very big. Not used to fighting for my life, despite all my time practicing in the cave.
I didn’t stand a chance and I knew it. But that wouldn’t stop me from trying. Every instinct I had came rushing to the fore.
I kicked out, one leg landing a solid blow against the squid’s head. I tried again, my feet hitting it again and again. I was losing air, but if I could just get away . . .
Feet? Legs?
I woke up and sat upright on my cot. I looked around without recognizing anything. It took a few minutes for realization to set in. I wasn’t under attack after all. I’d been dreaming. And yet, my heart continued to pound.
Gradually, my heartbeat slowed.
Beazil was snoring, upside down on the other side of the tent. Even half-asleep and disoriented, I saw the humor in the situation. At nearly twenty feet long, he was the other side of the tent.
I turned my head to see Starla sleeping peacefully on the pallet next to mine.
A dream. It was just a dream, Tri.
But . . . legs? I could still recall the shock of staring down at the pale ivory limbs, so foreign-looking. So odd. And yet, they’d felt entirely real.
What kind of dream was that? It made no sense at all. A Sea Spark regained their tail in sea water. It was the most treacherous part of their journey. Magic or no, we simply could not hide what we were when the sand met the sea. From what I had heard, returning to the water was best done by jumping off a cliff, far from people, or rowing yourself far from shore before submerging.
So even if I became spark, there was no way I could have legs underwater. Only natural-born humans did. I was pretty sure that even taking a shower, another odd human habit, would cause a Spark to change.
But if I were a true two-legger . . . what would I do to survive? My mind went into problem-solving mode. Going limp sometimes confused a predator. They’d let their guard down. Relax. Get ready to eat. Never mind that they were about to eat you. Getting them into chill mode was vital.
I shuddered at the thought.
And as for air . . . the underwater caves near the cliffs were full of air pockets. I’d even found some in shipwrecks and inside artifacts. There were strange shimmering pools of air under coral and inside giant shells.
None of that was easy to find and not the best solution, but it was a possible way to survive underwater without gills. And as for weapons . . . I stared at my fingernails. They weren’t wickedly sharp, but they weren’t nubs either. And my teeth, not to mention my elbows, fists, and bottom half, be it legs or tail.
I did have weapons, two-legger or not.
I shook my head. It was only a dream, though it had felt incredibly real. Trying to solve the dream after waking was an old habit. It made me feel better about whatever I’d dreamed about. But this felt different somehow. I’d never had a dream so vivid or realistic.
Well, realistic other than the whole ‘having legs’ part.
It must be from eating all that food, I decided, staring at the ceiling and feeling the time tick past. I was restless, keyed up from the dream battle. Maybe a quick swim around the camp would help me fall back asleep.
I slipped outside, careful not to wake my bunkmates. The water was dark, but not too dark with the waxing moon above. I could see well enough to take a quick swim.
I wove silently through the rows of tents for a little while, not going fast enough to create waves. That was a real skill, to keep the water from moving around you. Predators could sense movement, so I had learned to glide when I wanted to keep a low profile. I was mindlessly heading back toward the far side of camp when I saw them.
Annaruth. Her tall and slender figure was unmistakable, as well as her dark burgundy hair. The person she was talking to was familiar as well. He shook his head and I recognized him immediately.
Dane.
I stopped short, sliding sideways to conceal myself behind the edge of a tent.
“ . . .irresponsible, reckless, dangerous . . .”
Annaruth was taking Dane to task, scolding him like a mother might. Or a teacher taking a naughty student to task. Not a lovers' quarrel then, I thought with a surprising blast of relief. Were they related?
Her head jerked as if she’d heard me. She held her finger to her lips, and I cursed, swimming swiftly away. How could I forget her magical abilities? She had sensed me. Of course she had.
I slid back into our tent, wondering at what I had just seen and if she would tell him I’d been listening. There was a chance I’d accidentally made an enemy of either, or both, of two people I’d already come to care about. Dane had already seemed angry at me. Could I really blame him for hating me?
I lay down, staring at the ceiling until just before dawn. The camp was just beginning to stir as I finally fell into a fitful sleep.
The horns woke us early, just as they had the day before. I yawned and stretched, not even remotely close to rested. I moaned, realizing the disadvantage I’d put myself at with my midnight excursion. If I hadn’t seen Dane with Annaruth, I would have eventually fallen back asleep. As it was, I’d be facing who knows what on a handful of hours of sleep.
“Typhoon, I forgot about breakfast. Now there’s no time.”
Starla shrugged. I’d brought her a piece of cake last night. And for once, I wasn’t all that hungry either, considering I’d stuffed myself silly at the banquet in my honor.
“We’ll get something later. Between the trials. I heard they were individual events today.”
I opened my eyes wide.
“Who told you that?”
She smiled.
“Your boyfriend, who else? He treated me to dinner too.”
“Dane?”
“Who else?”
“He’s not my boyfriend. He doesn’t even like me,” I muttered, remembering how he’d glared at me when he saw me in my dress.
“Sure, his eyes popped out when he saw you last night because he doesn’t like you.”
“By Triton, I’m tired!” I stretched with a yawn. “I barely slept.”
“Indigestion? You aren’t used to rich food.”
“That’s an understatement,” I said, not answering the question directly. Yeah. I wasn’t used to eating well to begin with, especially not that well. But it hadn’t been indigestion. More like worrying about the people I thought were my allies, thinking about my father, praying to do well enough to become Spark, and fear about some of the deadly challenges that would most certainly lie ahead.
I just forced a smile and watched Starla comb her hair with a carved shell comb. I glanced at Beazil.
“You should stay out of sight. We’re a real target now.”
He gave me a sour look.
“I’ll bring you food. Or you can go out through the trench.”
His eyes widened. The trench was a scary place. But sliding under the tent wall was the only way out of here without drawing undue attention.