It’s as though my heart has been wrenched from my chest, the pain of losing to Zara clamping around my lungs. I would accept losing to anyone else. Literally anyone else.
‘You got here first …’ The words stumble on my tongue.
‘How very observant of you.’ Zara is grinning from ear to ear. It’s not her normal smirk; it’s an actual grin, though it’s still laced with her usual malevolence. ‘What is it they call second place? Oh yes, firstloser. How apt. You know, I always thought my brother would be at my side to see me win this, but at least I get the joy of you watching me receive my gift before I kill you.’
She’s not joking. Of course she’s not.
I try to block her out. Maybe the fact that she’s here, that she’s won, will be enough to end the trial. Perhaps I’ll be sent back to wherever the magic chooses. I still expect her to come after me, of course, but at least that way I’ll have a head start.
With her upper lip still curled in a snarl, she goes to say something more, but it is the Goddess who speaks instead.
‘Welcome, child.’
The hairs rise on the back of my neck, and Iknow without a shred of doubt that she’s talking solely to me. My knees buckle as though they’ve surrendered every ounce of their strength to her.
How I could ever have mistaken this figure for Dinah is a mystery. The air around the Goddess’s body shimmers ever so subtly, and the depths of her pupils surpass any mortal man’s or beast’s. If I needed any more proof, it comes from her voice. It’s an octave lower than the woman I know and lilting with an accent lost to time.
As I look at the deity encased in my friend’s form, the Goddess tilts her head slightly to one side. The gesture reminds me of an owl, so much so that I half expect to see wings unfurl from her sides.
‘Are you both ready?’ she asks, straightening her neck.
‘Ready?’ Zara asks the same question that’s on my tongue. ‘What do you mean? I got here first. I’ve won.’
A flicker of a smile teases the Goddess’s lips. ‘The trial has not yet been completed.’
My heart leaps in my chest with such force that my entire body jolts. It’s not over. Hope roars in my ears.
‘No!’ Zara slams her sword down against the stone like a petulant child mid-tantrum. Her face is red with fury. ‘I was here first. I reached you first. That is the condition. I win the gifting.’
A flicker of anger flashes in the Goddess’s eyes and Zara’s redness pales.
A moment of silence swims around the cavern and then, without a clear reason why, both the deity’s expression and the Rettling’s objection are gone. It’s almost as though an exchange has happened between the pair that I wasn’t privy to.
‘You were the first to arrive.’ The voice that is not Dinah’s echoes around us. ‘I will agree to that. But that is all. Do you know why it’s called agifting? Why it is not a prize?’
‘Because it is a gift from you alone, Great Goddess.’ Zara’s response makes me want to laugh. Sonowshe remembers the need for deference? I wonder what she’ll choose if she wins. A power to rival the Gods, perhaps? It wouldn’t be beyond her arrogance.
‘Gifts are given,’ the Goddess continues, as though Zara never spoke. ‘This one, to a person ofmychoosing. And I have not yet decided to whom I will gift it.’
That jolt hits my chest again, combined with a sharp spike in my pulse. That’s twice she’s said it now. Twice she’s said it’s not over.
‘There’s still a chance,’ I breathe to myself.There’s still a chance.
‘Yes,’ the Goddess says, turning to me, ‘there is.’
She can read my thoughts. While not entirely unexpected – it explains why Zara suddenly went quiet earlier – it’s still fucking scary.
I try as hard as I can to empty my mind, but it’s not exactly easy. Thankfully, the moment she starts talking again, I have more important things to focus on.
‘First, I must start by asking one thing of you.’ That deep tone rumbles through me. ‘Your answer will determine whether or not you may continue to fight for the gifting.’
A final challenge. A fight? Was that word a deliberate choice? Gods, I hope not. If Zara brings back all the pain I was in after the kraken – pain that could only be muted by paparvy seeds – I might as well offer myself up to her now.
‘Of course,’ Zara replies instantly. Her grin is back in play. ‘Whatever you want. Whatever it is, Iwillbeat her.’
She shoots me a glare before turning back to the Goddess who steps forward. My skin prickles and it feels as though her entire attention is solely on me. And yet from the way Zara has stiffened, I expect she feels the same.
‘I must ask you to relinquish any powers you have to me.’
