“You cantankerous bastard!” I shouted as I flipped end over end, struggling to right myself. But the kretos got its bearings before I did, and it hurtled toward me, jaws wide open, fangs aimed straight at my chest. Unable to get out of the way fast enough, I did the only thing I could think of—I grabbed both fangs at once, then braced my feet on its lower jaw to keep it from swallowing me.
The creature shrieked in protest, trying to snap its jaws shut. My arms and legs shook as I fought to hold its mouth open, and I kicked away before it could ensnare me with its forked tongue again. But that dastardly tail was waiting for me, and instead of smacking me away like it did before, it ensnared me, coiling around my body in a tight grip that threatened to crush my ribs.
The kretos hissed as it brought me to eye level, its forked tongue flickering out between its still-bloody lips as it raked those malevolent silver eyes over me. There was no mistaking the gloating expression on its reptilian face—the bastard thought it had won.
And maybe it had won the battle, at least.
But I refused to let it win the war.
Without breaking eye contact, I yanked the kraken tooth Prentis had given me from the sheath I’d strapped to my thigh, then stabbed it straight through the kretos’s hide. The beast let out an unearthly scream as the tooth pierced its tail, and I gripped the edge of the scale I’d loosened, ripping it free right before the beast smacked me away once again.
Prepared this time, I flipped through the air twice, then braced myself, preparing for an attack. But the kretos seemed to have had enough. Letting out one more infuriated shriek, it disappeared back into the rift, leaving a bloody trail in its wake.
Utter silence settled across the expanse as I turned to face the crowd. They stared back from behind the rocks with shell-shocked expressions, as if they couldn’t believe what had happened. The queen looked particularly dismayed, not that I could blame her. I resisted the urge to sketch a bow—the gesture would come off as insufferably smug.
Adara was the first to jump up from behind the rocks, clapping and cheering with such enthusiasm, the rest couldn’t help joining in. Before I knew it, the merfolk were swimming up to congratulate me, patting me on the back with their webbed hands and praising my performance. Even Prentis and Cascada seemed pleased—though not nearly as proud as Adara.
“You did incredible,” she crowed, almost bowling me over with a hug. “I knew you could do it!”
“Did you now?” I teased. “I don’t remember you saying that yesterday.”
“I don’t remember anything about yesterday,” she said, breathless. “All I can see is you here, now. Alive and victorious.”
The world faded away for a moment, and her head tilted up as if she were about to kiss me. But before our lips could touch, a hand alighted on my shoulder, and I turned to see the queen looking at me, a bemused expression on her face.
“I cannot decide if I am angry with you for using the kraken tooth or not,” she said. “But it is plain to me that even if you agreed to serve me, it would be a service of the flesh alone. Your heart is devoted elsewhere.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “But it was an honor to compete in one of your traditions, nonetheless.” Bowing my head, I offered her the scale in one hand, and the kraken tooth in another, but she shook her head.
“No, you have earned those, good warrior.” She smiled, then stepped aside. “Now go, all four of you. And may the currents guide you to good fortune.”
26
Adara
“Do you think the priestess will be angry we’re arriving a day late?” I muttered to Prentis as we swam up the incline path that led to the temple. The escort the queen had charged with accompanying us through the mermaid kingdom had mercifully abandoned us outside the gates, leaving the four of us to traverse the path to the temple on our own.
“Oh, most definitely,” Cascada chimed in from behind us. “She’s a fastidious creature, one of those types that prefers everything just so. And she won’t appreciate that you’ve brought a dragon with you, either. Might have been better if you’d left Einar in the village with the mermaids after all.”
“Cascada,” Prentis snapped, shooting a glare over his shoulder at her before giving me an apologetic look. “The priestess won’t be happy with our tardiness, but it’s unavoidable given the circumstances, so she’ll understand. Either way, Lady Axlya has commanded her to assist you with the ritual preparations, so it’s not as if she’s going to refuse you simply because we were delayed. The ocean is fickle, and no journey either under or across it is ever straightforward. She knows this better than anyone else.”
Prentis held out a hand to indicate that we should stop, and we halted about five yards from the temple. It was a great silver dome, with small rectangular windows lining the base just below the roofline. Personifications of the five water spirits were carved into its walls, but the most interesting thing about it was the strange, purplish force field rippling through the water.
“We come with the tides,” Prentis intoned in a deep voice, bowing his head.
I was about to ask who he was talking to when a figure stepped from the force field, as though conjured from thin… well, water, I guess. I stifled a gasp at the sight of a water fae dressed from head to toe in aquatic green armor, similar to the wetsuits we wore, except for the sacred symbols of the ocean currents stitched into a circle in the center of her torso. Her expression was serene in the way one might expect of a temple attendant, but the javelin she held in her right hand told me she meant business.
“Lord Prentis,” she said in a voice like rippling water. “We expected you yesterday.”
“My apologies.” Prentis inclined his head. “We were detained by the mermaid queen.”
The temple guard said nothing as she looked at each one of us, her piercing jade eyes scanning us from head to toe as if she were searching for any sign of corruption or ill intent. She lingered on Einar the longest, and I held my breath, wondering if she was going to deny him entry for being a dragon.
But after a moment she shrugged, then turned away. “Follow me.”
She stepped through the force field and we followed, crossing through the barrier and into… fresh air. My gills vanished, and I sucked in a gulp of fresh air as the ocean water sluiced off us, pooling onto dry ground. The silver dome was still in front of us, but the illusion of bare ocean rock had given way to an herb and vegetable garden that appeared to spread across the entire circumference of the temple.
“What is this?” Einar asked, bewildered.
