Then, she calls out to the competitors, “Ready yourselves!”
I shake my head and refocus, following Niko’s and Jack’s lead as they line up at the edge of the dock. Just as doubt tries to overwhelm my mind, a horn blares from the shore.
There’s no turning back.
The signal is still ringing off the trees when I jump—feetfirst—into the water.
Other mythics stopped by our training sessions to help prepare Niko, Jack, and me for the competition. Our coaches included all the Shelly witches and the MacNamaras. Someone mentioned that obstacles could come at you immediately or there could be a calm before the storm.
When I come up for air, treading water, then pushing myself forward in an ungainly head-above-the-water freestyle with nothing stopping me, I assume we have a moment to get our bearings.
But then I hear the cursing. And when I glance around, I spy giant chunks of white that must have been hidden under a glamour a moment ago. And that’s when I realize that the fire in my chest is steadily burning, not from excitement for the race, but to keep my body temperature regulated.
The water is freezing.
I pause and tread water, searching in front, then behind me for my teammates. I assumed they’d be far ahead of me and I’d have to try to catch up. But I spot Niko not far from the dock, his lips fading to blue, his jaw quaking. Jack has his friend by the arm, pulling him forward, but the wolf doesn’t seem to be doing too well himself.
I can help them.
The realization is euphoric. Every moment they spent with me training for this, I thought of myself as a charity case. What help could I be to a powerful werewolf and a water mythic?
But neither of them has fire in their veins like I do.
In this, I am the powerful one.
I swim back to them as fast as I can, reaching the two mythics quicker because Jack is still managing some forward momentum.
“Give me your hands,” I shout above the roar of the crowd.
Both men listen without question, slipping their frigid fingers into mine. With a gentle internal push, I guide the heat from my body into theirs—a skill I wasn’t even aware I had—and watch with joy as their faces regain a healthy color.
“Thank the gods,” Niko groans. “ I knew Jack-olia was a good idea.”
“Let’s go.”
The wolf doesn’t have any use for hanging around to chat. And I find I don’t either. My thoughts of weakness and unworthiness are gone. I’m ready to start competing.
The three of us arrow back into the competition, dodging other competitors going stiff from the cold. Any other day, I would stop out of concern, but Owen informed me that the Gauntlet wasn’t meant to be deadly. If a competitor goes down past the point of recovery, they’re removed from the course and taken care of by the on-call healing witch.
As we weave through miniature icebergs, the water slowly loses its frigid edge.
“Get ready!” Niko calls out. “Something new could pop up at any moment—ah!” The kappa’s head disappears.
“Niko!” Jack dives forward, then lets out a curse as he’s sucked into whatever grabbed his friend.
I consider trying to swim another way, but a current is drawing me forward, and I’m not a strong enough swimmer toget out of it. There’s a tug on my body, a drop of my stomach, and then I’m falling over a waterfall I didn’t realize was in front of me.
Oddly, the cascade of water and even my scream as I plummet into the pool below is silent. The sound of the world around me suddenly switches off in the middle of my yell. I resurface noiselessly, spluttering water until I can breathe again. A small corner of my brain is proud because only a little bit of the liquid went up my nose.
Then, I forget about my improved swimming ability when something knocks into my leg.
Something very large.
17
BRODERICK
Everyonearound me is having a grand time, drinking and cheering. Meanwhile, I’m sweating through my clothes, watching as a gigantic metal fish circles the woman I love.
