What if I’m too weak for this?
What if I’m better off hiding away?
Those self-deprecating thoughts batter at my brain, trying to overwhelm me with self-doubt and set off a panic attack.
“Here.” Jack hands me a water bottle. “Rinse and spit.”
At this point, I welcome the simple directions. Easy steps to follow. I slosh the water around in my mouth to get rid of the acidic taste of my sick.
“I’m going to hold you guys back,” I confess. “You can leave me behind. I won’t blame you.”
Jack gives me a hard look, and Niko scoffs.
“No way. We’re allies. We agreed that as long as we’re in sight of one another, we help each other. All the way till the end. You won’t get rid of us that easy.” The kappa offers me a kind grin.
It takes me a moment to realize this warm, comforting feeling of connection must be friendship.
It’s nice. Hopefully, I don’t die in this magical competition before I get a chance to make more of them.
The three of us head toward the mouth of the inlet, where we were instructed to line up by noon. If you’re late, then you’ve already lost. As we weave through a stand of trees, I pick out an almost-indistinguishable shimmer in the air.
“Wards,” Niko explains when he notices the direction of my gaze. “Not a wall. We can walk through them. Ame said we should brace ourselves.”
“For what?”
A moment later, I know.
Once we pass through the magical barrier, noise fills the air. A massive crowd stretches along the banks. Everyone cheers so loud that I expect the ground to start shaking. Somehow, above the cacophony, I hear my name.
A certain red-haired witch jogs up to me, a supportive smile on his face. Broderick scoops me into a hug, but the moment I realize his mouth is heading toward mine, I slap a hand over mylips, getting a kiss on my knuckles instead. His brows dip in the center.
“I’m sorry.” He sets me down as his uncertain expression deepens. “I didn’t mean?—”
“I threw up!” I blurt from behind my fingers. “You can’t kiss me until I thoroughly brush my teeth.”
Broderick fully frowns now, though he doesn’t retreat from me anymore. “You’re sick?”
“Just nervous.”
“You’re going to do great,” Niko announces as he sidles up to us. “Come on, teammate. Time to line up.”
It’s almost noon, and on a stretch of floating docks, a decent number of other competitors wait for the start of Galen’s Gauntlet.
“He’s right.” Broderick speaks the words against my hair before pressing a kiss against my tight braid. “I’ll be watching from the sidelines. Cheering for you the whole time even if you can’t see me.” He steps back, his hands braced on my shoulders. “You can do this, firebird.”
The nerves don’t disappear, but they become easier to ignore in the glow of Broderick’s confidence.
“I can do this,” I agree, then step out of his hold and head for the starting line.
Niko and Jack flank me, and we end up on our own floating platform.
The mythics around us look vaguely familiar. I see a lot of people I recognize from collecting recycling all over town. But I realize now how rarely I talk to anyone. Not even to offer my name. I still give in to the learned instinct to curl into myself.
But not anymore.
Today, there’s nowhere to hide.
A siren soars overhead, the midday sun glinting off the bright white feathers that cover the wings stretching from her shoulder blades. The sight of her flying freely briefly stuns me.
