“My name. My friends call me ‘Tri’. And yes, I am more than ready.”
I squared my shoulders and swam into the arena.
Chapter 5
Trumpets blared as the competitors swam slowly in an ever-shrinking circle until the arena was filled with a spiral of healthy young Mers. The array of costumes and armor was staggering, as were the different varieties of Mer.
Unlike our two-legged cousins, we reflected the colors of the sea. Mers came in all shapes and colors, many of them shocking pink, blue, and yellow. And that was only their hair!
I stared around in wonder, forgetting to be nervous. Forgetting for a moment that they were sizing me up just as I sized them up.
A large Mer towered over the rest, where he bobbed gracelessly in the center of the spiral. I remembered that we’d been ranked. As late-comers, Dane and I were at the absolute bottom. We hadn’t been judged on size and merit, but we were at the bottom all the same.
“I suppose there’s no place to go but up?”
I cocked a jaunty eye at Dane. He forced a smile, but I could tell he was nervous. Only a fool would not be.
And apparently, I was a fool.
All I felt was excitement. Excitement and wonder. I was eager to begin. Even with no sleep and no food in my belly, I was ready to begin the great race that traditionally started the Trials. I would have to wait until tomorrow though. I wondered if I would be able to sleep at all.
And then my stomach rumbled. Loudly.
Dane raised a brow.
“Let me guess, they forgot to feed you as well.”
I nodded with a wry smile.
“That’s okay. I know how to scavenge. If you’re hungry, you can come along.”
His face showed his surprised pleasure.
His eyes twinkled. “I would like that very much . . . Tri.”
I nodded and waited for the opening ceremony to begin.
Chapter 6
The crowd was screaming, cheering for their favorites as they took their places in the stands. I stared up at them, feeling a mixture of pride and scorn. Everyone in the stands was too young or too old to participate.
Perhaps there were some cowards as well, disguising themselves and planning to lay low during the first Trial.
I scanned the crowd, wondering if I could spot Lila, or even my stepmother. Dane elbowed me.
“Looking for someone?”
“My friend Lila.”
“Probably better to size up the competition.”
I cast him a sidelong glance. He was right, of course.
“You’re smarter than you look.”
He grinned widely, flashing perfect white teeth.
“Don’t I look smart?”
I’d been about to say that he was too pretty to be smart, but only as a joke. But now, he clearly knew that I thought he was pretty. I glared at him, my cheeks hot. I deliberately moved my attention to the other competitors. We were toward the back, so on either side of us were the youngest and frailest. Nothing to worry about here. In fact, I had the urge to wrap an arm around the scrawny girl with dark green hair who hovered beside me.
But if you looked toward the center of the arena, things got exponentially more . . . menacing.
Bigger and meaner looking Mers swam in place there. Exquisite armor and costumes and hairstyles adorned many of them. But dead center was the largest Mer I had ever seen.
Dane must have seen him too.
“By Triton! Is he real?”
I nodded slowly.
“Unfortunately, so.”
The brute floated head and shoulders above the swarm of Mers. He must have been seven feet from tip to tail! And he was all muscle.
He did not have fancy armor. In fact, he barely wore any. Shoulder guards and a helmet, along with the straps. Straps that held a large assortment of wickedly sharp looking weapons, mostly looking like they were scavenged from two-legger ships.
On his back was a massive hatchet that made me swallow nervously.
“His name is Juno.”
I glanced down at the tiny Mer swimming by my side.
“Aren’t you too young to be here?”
She shook her head and I frowned.
“They should have a height requirement.”
Dane let out a guffaw at that, earning a swift kick from my fins. He rubbed his side, raising his brows.
“What? She’ll lose the race and be safely on the sidelines.”
“Maybe so. But people don’t always survive the race.”
He looked at the young Mer, then back at me. He nodded.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. But what can we do?”
“I could swim with her.”
“You’ll lose!”
I chewed my lip.
“What’s your name?”
“Starla.”
“Are you a fast swimmer, Starla?”
She shrugged.
“I am for my size.”
“Well, do me a favor.”
She smiled at me and I felt like a horrible Mer. I wasn’t offering to help her. I was just giving her some lifesaving advice.
“Don’t swim fast tomorrow.”
Her jaw dropped.
“I don’t understand. I have at least a chance of finishing the race.”
“No. You don’t have a chance. If you keep up with the bigger Mers, you could get hurt. Or killed.”
Her eyes grew wide. I pointed at the competition.
“The really big Mers won’t swim that fast. You could get stuck in the middle, with him on your fins.”
She visibly gulped. I pointed at a tall young woman with white hair whose armor was covered in wickedly sharp-looking spikes, hooked so that they angled upward. If she swam into you . . .
“Or her.” I wrinkled my nose. “What if she tries to hug you?”
Starla let out a startled giggle. She sounded so young, so innocent. It nearly broke my heart in two.
“The people at the front will be busy trying to win, but unless you are sure you can keep up . . .”
“All right. Thank you . . .”
She let the end of the sentence dangle.
“Katriana.” I smiled. “You can call me Tri.”
She nodded, smiling shyly.
“I will. Thank you, Tri.”
We waited there until the procession started to move again. We pooled our notes on whom to look out for. Other than Juno and the girl with the spikes, there were still many terrifying Mers to avoid. One of the largest boys smiled at me as we passed, so Starla and I marked him neutral on our mental list.
Dane snorted and I turned to him.
“What?”
“He’s not neutral.”
“How do you know?”
Dane shook his head slowly.
“He’s not neutral unless you look like you.”
Starla laughed, agreeing with him.
“You think he has a thing for spotted redheads?”
Dane looked at me thoughtfully.
“Is that really how you see yourself?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Fine, maybe he likes scrawny, spotty redheads with no armor. In fact, maybe he was smiling because I looked like easy pickings. Starla, we need to change ‘Smiley’ from neutral to possible threat.”
When I turned back to Dane, his eyes had grown wide.
“You don’t have armor?”
“Can’t afford it.”
“No helmet?”
I shook my head distractedly, craning my neck to see what was happening. I swished my fins just enough to bob slightly upward so I could see. Dane was muttering something under his breath. It sounded like a litany of two-legger curse words. I stifled a laugh as I floated back down.
“I think it’s over. The center of the procession is heading toward the exit. Tsunami! That means all the good beds will be taken!”
Dane looked distracted.
“I need to go. Meet me at the front in an hour.”
“You’re going to cut the line?”
“I won’t get caught. I’ll find you later, okay?”
“Okay.”
He stared at me for another moment, then he darted out of the line toward the wall and disappeared. Starla and I continued ranking the competition as we followed the long line.
We saw a slender girl who had extra fins on her tail, making her look as though she could swim and maneuver better than most. She had icy blue hair and an unfriendly look on her pretty face. We decided that she might just be nervous but to keep an eye on her.