“See you down there!”
We quieted as he backed up a few steps.
Every single one of the hundred or so karls went silent as well, and Ottoh’s steps against the dark stone reverberated over the waterfall, through the forest behind us, and across the clearing where the crowd now stood still, waiting for the heir to jump.
My heart thumped in rhythm with Ottoh’s stride as he sprinted toward the end of his ledge, and it leaped when he did—afeeling like it might escape my throat when he threw himself off crashing through me.
It felt like minutes passed while he tumbled through the air like the waterfall behind him, and I held my breath until Ottoh split the calm surface with a splash. Some of the karls erupted in cheers, many running up to the beach along the lake.
As the moments stretched on and the rings on the lake grew and grew until they vanished, those cheers died down one by one. If it had been quiet before, it was nothing against the thick silence that swallowed us when the lake became a blank mirror reflecting the starry sky above it.
“Did he…” Rakkel trailed off.
“No way,” Ivren muttered. “He’s too fucking stubborn.”
I wasn’t so sure of that, because after a minute passed where I counted every breath going in and out of my lungs, Ottoh still hadn’t come up. Hushed whispers drifted from the people in the field, worry and glee mingling in the darkness. My stomach, which had continuously surged, twisted into a knot so strong it might hold an entire ship.
I turned to Viljan, but just as I opened my mouth, a soft slosh sounded. We all blinked in unison when Ottoh flew out of the water, throwing his wet hair back, before he turned a triumphant grin our way and began treading water. “Top that, assholes!”
The cheers were deafening.
“Next heir.”
“Next heir.”
“Next heir.”
The rhythmic chanting resounded in my bones.
Geord was no closer to jumping. Instead, he had backed up further. Mumbling something under his breath, he continued shaking his head, his hands restlessly opening and closing.
“Come on, Geord,” Ottoh called. “You’ve been so fucking cocky so far. Time to show off why the king selected you to take Adrion’s place.”
Geord retreated further. The urge to pull himoff the ledge and jump from the lower one myself made me take a stumbling step forward. But then my mother’s disappointed eyes flashed in my mind. Next were my father’s and Lika’s faces as I imagined them at the feast in Valhalla. My sisters’ innocent smiles.
I’d brought enough dishonor to our family.
Ivren chuckled when I rolled back on my heels, although his laugh wasn’t especially contagious. Only nerves filled the sound when he walked up to Rakkel and me. The other female heir stood as frozen as her guard, and Ivren smiled weakly again as he waved a hand in front of her face.
“Come on,” he said. “We’ll draw sticks.”
I stared at him blankly.
“Are you jumping?” Rakkel asked as she rubbed the tattoo of her father’s rune on her shoulder. “This is crazy! It’s supposed to be a fun initiation, but this is dangerous. I didn’t sign up for this.” She took a step back.
I bit back the weariness trying to etch itself into my heart.
Think of your people. Think of your duty. Think of your honor.
My father’s voice echoed in my mind, and I clung to the familiarity of it as I looked from Viljan to the crowd beneath us. Ottoh was still swimming around in the dark water, his light hair trailing after him as he took strong strokes in a circle. Around him the water creased and rippled from his movements and from the waterfall feeding the lake.
A song rose from the water, layering across my skin like an invisible blanket.
If I closed my eyes, I could hear the hum of my father’s ships. I could feel the strength of the wood as it protected us from the seas and our enemies. I could smell the iron and blood and sweat that surrounded us after every battle.
A fierce sense of homesickness washed over me, but it didn’t bring tears to my eyes, nor did it force a pressure over my chest. Resolve built within me instead, and I pushed back my shoulders as it continued to spread through my limbs.
“I’ll take the top one,” I said.
