Just enough to give me energy, but not enough to make me hurl.
There was nothing more disgusting than throwing up underwater. I’d learned that the hard way. Thankfully, Mers weren’t prone to stomach upset. Now and then, you’d get a bad oyster, but usually, you could sniff them out. Once, though, I’d gotten a bad one. I’d spent hours draped over a rock, trying not to let the vomit wash back over my face.
It had kind of worked. I’d still found some in my hair a few hours later. Gross.
I swallowed, determined to keep my food down and my pride intact. I put my food away.
Hopefully, Dane would talk to me again.
I sighed and leaned forward as we formed a line, my chest even with the other competitors. A horn sounded and we were off. All I saw was the finish line. It didn’t seem all that far away.
I didn’t think, I just moved. It was over before I knew it.
I looked around stupidly, making a full circle. There was no one here. I looked back to see several Mers approach the finish line.
Whoa. I hadn’t just won. I’d obliterated them.
A slow clap behind me made me turn.
Rip and Juno were watching me, along with the girl with the spikes. Rip’s eyes were warm with admiration. But the other two . . . a shiver went down my spine and I could have sworn my scales stood on end.
Starla finished in the middle of the pack during the next heat. I waited for her before heading to the next Trial. I hadn’t seen Dane in hours. I had to assume he was ahead of us, kicking tail, most likely.
Next up was an obstacle course, with Mers swimming through woven tubes of kelp, over rock formations, and through caves. I wasn’t all that worried about that one, but I was still on my guard. The race I was really worried about, the mystery race, was still to come.
The second race was a little longer, with more Mers in each heat. I was up against twenty Mers, including Rip and the girl with the spikes, whose name turned out to be Jaynelle. A pleasant, innocuous sounding name for someone so terrifying. She was just as unfriendly as she looked when Rip introduced us, not even deigning to shake my hand. I didn’t see Dane or Starla, but I assumed they were okay.
No one had died yet, though a few Mers had been injured on the first day.
I waited for the horn to sound and once again shot forward without a backward glance.
The course was harder than it looked. I wondered briefly if this, too, was magically matched to our abilities. Then the path turned and I stopped thinking at all.
I dove under a low archway, narrowly avoiding sharp rocks below. They seemed to reach up toward me, ready to snag a fin or cut into a soft belly. But I had no choice. The path ended abruptly with a sheer cliff just ahead. This time, I had to swim directly toward the surface, though that was far above. It was always harder to swim straight up because gravity was a factor, even under the sea.
Next, I swam into a series of tubes. It was harder to negotiate, without much room to flip my fins. Almost immediately, I was fighting off a feeling of extreme claustrophobia.
It was a maze with walls made of woven kelp. It twisted and turned and then divided into two paths leading in opposite directions. I made a choice instinctively, taking a sharp left. It felt like I was going forward, with the start of the maze behind me. I prayed I was right.
I redoubled my prayers to Triton as I maneuvered under a large net that partially blocked the tube. I pitied the Mer who got caught in the tangled mess! It looked like it would be impossible to get out of. The tube narrowed even more. I squeezed through, wiggling my hips frantically. I heaved a sigh of relief as the maze widened and I was once again in open water.
I was out.
I saw the finish line up ahead. There were hoops made of different elements leading the way. Each one was at a different height, forcing the swimmer to zig and zag all over the place. They were also different sizes, with some looking sharp, or jagged, and there was one particularly wicked hoop that even looked as if it was made of lava, kept liquid and scorching hot with the help of magic.
Magic. It was quickly becoming my least favorite word.
I took a deep breath through my gills and dove in, using all of my abilities to keep from snagging a fin on a jagged metal hoop, and then a tiny hoop I barely fit through that looked incredibly sharp. My eyes widened as I passed through. It wasn’t just sharp! It was a sword that had been shaped into a circle. I went as quickly as possible until I came to the lava hoop.
I stared in horror as a drop formed at the top of the hoop, dangling dangerously in the center. I waited for it to fall and then sped through, trying not to think about what was happening above me. I felt the heat against my skin and my scales, crying out as I felt one of my fins get singed.
I was close to weeping as I crossed the finish line. I was first, but it did not feel like much of a victory. I was treated by a waiting Medic, who applied a salve to my burns, and then directed to the final race. I swam across the campgrounds toward a group of nervous looking Mer, including Dane and Starla.
“Hey.”
Dane nodded to me in greeting. Starla gave me a half-hearted smile. She was nervous about something. I was too exhausted to even think about what might be next, truth be told.
“What’s going on?”
“We’re waiting for our turn.”
I looked around.
“I don’t see the start line.”
“That’s because it’s down there.”
I followed Starla’s finger past the edge of camp to the shadowy line that indicated deep water ahead. Not just deep water. The deepest.
I peered into the darkness, suddenly fearful. The final Trial of the day was someplace I’d spent most of my life avoiding.
The last race was in the trench.
Chapter 15
I plunged down into the darkest water I’d ever swum in. I’d never seen darker, even very late at night. There wasn’t the faintest hint of light, other than the glowing orb behind me that marked the start of the race. Not even the waning rays of the sun could reach us down here.
I was really in the trench. The one place I never wanted to see. I might long to see all the waters of the world, but not this bottomless place. Not ever.
I could sense movement around me, other Mers thrashing and panicking as the oxygen got thinner. Yes, even a Mer could drown underwater if we went deep enough. If our gills did not get oxygen-rich water, we might as well be human.
Well, except for our tails.
I shuddered at the thought.
“Katriana!”
I froze, throwing my head to the left to listen. Someone had screamed out my name. Starla. I should have stayed closer to her. But once we dove into the dark water below the ledge, I’d had an overwhelming instinct to flee. Just go, and get out. That’s what every other Mer was doing. Or at least I had told myself that.
Hearing her frightened voice changed everything in an instant.
I changed direction, swimming toward the soft cries.
I bumped into something, hard.
I heard a low voice curse in the darkness as hands reached out to steady me. A familiar voice with a proclivity for colorful two-legger language.
“Dane?”
“Tri? Is that you?”
I couldn’t see a damn thing, but I could sense him in the dark. And just like that, I didn’t feel so alone.
“Yes. I heard Starla.”
“Me too.”
“Starla? Can you hear us?”
“Here! I’m caught in something!”
I reached out and touched something. It was a rough hemp rope. A net. Whether it was left here deliberately or not was unclear.
Either way, we had to get her out of it.
“Okay, try and hold still. I’ll get you out.”
“We’ll get you out.”
I sighed, rankled by the sour tone of Dane’s voice. Apparently, he was still mad at me. It wasn’t as if I had encouraged Rip! Or chosen my damn dress!
I wanted to tell him that, but I didn’t. I also wanted to ask him why he was so angry with me. Like a little girl, I just wanted things to go back to normal.