‘Really? It feels like so much longer than that.’
His brows furrow slightly as he starts to say something, before cutting himself off with a gentle shake of his head. I have stunned him into silence. Finally.
I scuff my shoe into the dirt of the path as we continue to wait for the queue to move along. ‘There are no eels in that stupid lake,’ I mutter.
‘Eels are everywhere, princess,’ he says lightly.
A laugh gets caught in my throat. ‘Trainee solicitorandan eel behaviourist? I really won the lottery. Have you prepared a lecture for me on eel culture?’
He stares at me, mercilessly silent.
‘Just let me know if you have so I can at least take a seat. Or go drown myself in the lake.’
He shakes his head again in disbelief, lips twitching. ‘You’re really something.’
‘Right,’ I quickly say, unsure of how to respond to this. ‘So whatisthe next clue?’
I’m practically hopping on the spot, my desire to move unrelenting. It also helps to distract me from the sight that is his bare torso.
He casts his eyes around with distrust before leaning closer to me to speak in a low voice.
‘There was a message scribbled on the post. It just said: Trees, drums, and pounding beats. It would help to look up at the sky, and not at your feet.’
I’m instantly nonplussed. I cannot think of a single relevant Queen Ego lyric or idea that links to any of this. Elliot shrugs in agreement.
‘That could just be nonsense, are you sure it was a clue?’
‘Well, it had the Queen Ego logo next to it so I can only assume it was a legitimate clue.’
‘Shit,’ I hiss.
I’ve got nothing.
Elliot is shaking his head in bewilderment too. ‘Don’t suppose that’s given you any ideas?’
Desperately reaching into the deepest crevices of my brain for any information or suggestions, I find myself without even a glimpse of an idea.
‘Nope,’ I say grimly.
‘We might just need the others for this one, hopefully we’ll find them soon. They should at least be on their way over here.’
Doubt has already begun to creep over me, settling on my shoulders like a weight. I knew the hunt had started too easily, and now the beginning of the end is already in sight.
‘This isn’t over yet, don’t worry,’ Elliot offers, bumping my shoulder gently with his own. I appreciate the sentiment, but continue to nervously fiddle with one of my curls as I run through lyrics in my head.
I hear a familiar yelp as I’m almost knocked over by an unstoppable force. Tight arms wrap around me and the smell of Hennie’s musky perfume reaches me; I grab hold of her with relief.
‘Hey, team,’ Owen calls out as he approaches.
Josh’s wolfish grin beams as he comfortably rests one arm on my shoulder and the other on Elliot’s. ‘So what’s the good news?’
Elliot recites the clue quietly, and Owen and Josh immediately shoot each other a look.
‘Now that’s got to be the Jungle,’ Owen says confidently.
‘Agreed, hidden somewhere up high?’ Josh adds.
‘Well, that’s seems pretty straightforward,’ Hennie says with a shrug.
