“Okay. I’ll sneak back as soon as I can.” I glanced at Starla, who was donning her armor and sliding her knife into her belt. “Ready?”
She nodded, a Mer of few words. I liked that about her. I grinned, feeling hopeful again.
“Let’s go.”
I lifted the throwing spear provided, trying to get a feel for the weight of it. We were not allowed to use our own weapons today, and it was a good thing too, I thought as I looked around. Many of the Mers had weapons of a caliber I had never seen before. Even though we couldn’t use them, hardly anyone had actually taken them off.
Weapons of every sort were strapped and tied to the young Mers milling about. Human-made weapons that had been salvaged. But I could have sworn that some even looked as though they’d been made by humans for Merkind. Deliberately. But it was forbidden to expose our secrets to two-leggers. Perhaps they were forged by powerful magicians instead.
I grimaced at that thought. Something new to worry about. I had to wonder how many weapons were infused with deadly magic.
Today, though, I did not have to worry about fighting off a magical attack. Today was just about individual skills. I simply had to hold my own to not get thrown out of the running.
I knew this was one event I could not win. I didn’t have a chance. I was pretty much just hoping to not embarrass myself. There were some sprints coming later in the day, as well as some others I might do well in.
But this? This was an exercise of pure brute strength.
I rubbed my shoulder and stretched before lifting the spear again. I was waiting behind ten or so Mers who were going to throw before me. I was just observing and trying to prepare. Dane and Starla had already thrown and gone off in search of food. Dane had excelled in the individual Trials so far. Especially the spear throw. No one had come close to beating him yet.
“You look nervous.”
I swing around, finding myself face to face with the thick-jawed Mer who had smiled at me during the opening ceremony and then spoken to me during the race.
No, not spoken. Warned. I blinked as the realization hit me.
He had warned me, hadn’t he? I hadn’t thought about it until then.
“Watch it.”
He gently grabbed the tip of my spear, which I had accidentally pointed at him when I turned around.
“Sorry.”
He grinned again, his pale green eyes twinkling.
“No worries. I’m Reese, but you can call me Rip.”
“Rip?”
“Yeah.” He leaned in as if he was about to tell me a secret. “Short for Riptide.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. He was so outrageously flirtatious.
“How did you know?”
“How did I know what?”
He was still smiling, thinking I was flirting back. I shook my head impatiently.
“Yesterday. How did you know there was an obstacle up ahead?”
“Oh, that. I knew we must be coming up on one soon. Once the crowd thins out. That’s what my dad told me.”
“Your dad?”
“Dante.” He puffed his chest out a bit. “He’s a Messenger.”
I nodded. I saw the resemblance now.
“Mine was a Messenger too.”
“I heard that.”
“You . . . heard about me?”
“Of course.”
“Why would anyone talk about me?”
He laughed as if I’d said something hilarious.
“You’re holding that spear wrong. Here, let me show you.”
Before I could protest, Rip was floating close behind me. His breath fanned my ear as he guided my arm back and forth in a throwing motion. It was hard to pay attention with him so close, but what he was showing me actually made a lot of sense. Plus, I refused to break out in goosebumps on principle.
“Now rock forward with your whole body when you release.”
I let my body relax and flow with my arm as the focal point. He abruptly moved away, and I glanced back at him in question. But he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking over my shoulder. I followed his gaze.
Dane.
I felt myself flush, feeling inexplicably as if I’d been caught doing something wrong. But I hadn’t. Had I?
“Rip was just showing me how to throw a spear.”
Dane didn’t say anything. But I could see the muscle in his jaw ticking. Uh-oh. He was mad at me again.
“Of course, you could probably have done that, but you didn’t offer.”
Once again, he didn’t reply. His glare got more intense. He tossed something to me.
“Lunch. Starla said you missed breakfast.”
I caught the rolled kelp and pulled back a flap to look inside. It was fresh crab meat. My stomach rumbled. There was a lot, and it was already out of the crab! Not a little crab either, but a big, juicy one!
“Thank you.”
My eyes felt suspiciously watery as I looked at him. He was looking out for me. And this was a meal fit for a Royal. I could hardly believe it.
Nobody had ever prepared food for me, other than the bare-bones meals we were given at my stepmother’s palace. Not since I was a child. I swallowed and looked back at him, not sure what to say.
But Dane was gone, already swimming away to the next event. Starla remained, looking sheepish.
“You don’t have to wait.”
She looked down and shrugged.
“I don’t mind.”
I smiled.
“Suit yourself.” The line moved forward. Rip was still behind me but I ignored him. “Looks like I’ll be up soon.”
I took a bite of my crab but I was too nervous to enjoy it.
“Is that your boyfriend?”
“Huh?”
“The big Mer with the attitude.”
“Oh. Um. I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“You sure about that?”
“He’s a friend.”
“Whatever you say, Katriana.”
“I never told you my name.”
He laughed.
“Like I said, I heard about you.”
I glowered at the smirk on Rip’s handsome face. He wasn’t a total jerk like I had first assumed, but there was something so smug about the guy. Sure, he was big and strong, and yes, he was good looking, even though I hated to admit it.
But so was Dane, and he didn’t give off the kind of arrogant vibes that Rip did. Dane was even more handsome, if I was honest!
Besides, it was the truth. I didn’t have a boyfriend. But if I did, I’d want him to be someone like Dane. I just hoped I hadn’t lost a friend because Rip was overly flirtatious and I was too polite to brush him off. If Dane did like me, I could see how that might annoy him. But I hadn’t encouraged the flirtatious Mer at all.
Had I? Ugh.
I’d thrown well, I decided as I swam to the next Trial with Starla. Nowhere near as far as Dane, but well above average. And now I was waiting for the start of the first of several short races. The first was simple speed, the second an obstacle course, and the third, something mysterious that no one who had already gone through would reveal.
However, I had seen a few Mers looking extremely shaken. And I knew it wasn’t from the net unravelling contest. One I had excelled in, unsurprisingly.
I’d salvaged hundreds of nets in my time, reusing them and trading them for other goods. I patted my handy net bag in appreciation.
Yeah, I was pretty certain I’d squashed that. And this one was another Trial I was confident I could win.
This was the speed Trial.
I rolled my shoulders and took another bite of the crab. I chewed thoughtfully before wrapping it and stuffing it back into my bag. Yes, technically, something like that could slow me down, in terms of drag. But I was too attached to my belongings to set them down for a moment.
It’s not like I could replace any of them. No, it was far better to keep the necessities on hand, so to speak.
Without my weapons, I stood no chance at all in the rest of the Trials. And without my lunch, well, I would go hungry. Or perhaps not hungry, but I would miss out on this incredibly delicious crab meat.
Not to mention, Dane had brought it for me. He’d even picked the meat out of the crab. Or maybe he’d simply paid for it. Either way, it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me, other than Lila. I was too nervous to eat it all in one sitting, but just having a few bites between events was keeping me steady.