I was happy for her, even as it made my insides twinge anew.
“Let the games begin!” a voice boomed, and the field filled with cheering. “Relay racers, take your positions.”
Tears welled in my eyes as Gwen high-fived Faith, a big smile on her face. I wanted that for her. It was a strange duality, being happy for someone while wishing circumstances were different. When Iris came back to my side, I was still wiping under my eyes.
“Cutting onions again?” she gently quipped.
“Yep, just some impromptu cooking,” I replied as I tried to stymy the tears. I cleared my throat. “I think I’m going to go work on the decorations in the rec center for the show.”
“Good idea,” Iris said. “Probably better not to watch. Your gloom will bring us bad luck that even all those shiny medals won’t counter.”
“I feel particularly unlucky right now, so that tracks.” I gave her a pat on the shoulder and wandered off, even as the crowd cheered and roared and howled behind me.
Suddenly, it didn’t matter who won the end-of-summer games. Even if SCUW were the victors, I knew I’d be walking away a loser.
32
Gwen
Ibounced on the balls of my feet, my eyes glued to the edge of the lake, bow in hand. I wasn’t allowed to nock my arrow until Ivy reached the top of her rock wall and zip-lined down to pass along our flag. I could see the top of the wall just above the trees, searching for a flash of her static magic and a sign she was almost to the top.
Just beyond the hay bale targets, Faith waited behind a safety shield. Once I hit the bull’s-eye, she’d run to the lake and swim the two hundred meters to the dock. Unfortunately, I only had one shot to hit my target because Faith would need every extra second against the swamp monster she was swimming against. Talk about an unfair advantage.
“Come on. Come on,” I muttered to myself as I kept a keen eye on the zip line. “Any second now.”
I took a deep breath and tried to steady my shaking hands, but the nervous energy had to go somewhere. I was surprised tofind that winning the games meant so much to me. I wanted to see my friends win just as much as I wanted to see those smug werewolves lose. And more than anything, I wanted to know that I belonged among these amazing witches. That I could control my magic, help claim victory, and earn my place as a part of the coven.
Somewhere along the way, I’d become fully invested. Sign me up to lead the camp sing-alongs, I was all in.
Finally, I saw Ivy’s head peek over the treetops, and a moment later, she was hurtling through the air. Two witch counselors waited at the bottom of the line to ensure she landed smoothly and was able to hit the ground running.
“Yes!” I screamed, wildly clapping and cheering her on. “Come on!”
My heart pounded in my throat the closer she got, her arm—and our flag—outstretched toward me. The camp colors whipped as I snatched it, waved it over my head, then dropped it to nock my arrow.
One chance. One chance.
I took my stance, the one I’d been practicing for days.
This was it.
I steadied myself with a deep inhale to concentrate my magic and pulled back my bowstring. In my mind’s eye, I visualized the bull’s-eye and controlling the arrow. Then, with a long, smooth exhale, I guided the sharp tip of my arrow to slice through the air and straight into the bright red bull’s-eye downfield.
Faith’s scream of glee reached me just as she snatched up the flag and took off. She raced toward the lake and dove headfirst off the short dock. The werewolf next to me growled their impatience when their rock climber reached them. Ivy came running, grabbed my elbow, and together, we took off to the edge of the lake to watch.
Faith would have to swim to the floating dock in the middle of Lake Nevermore, then pass the flag to Celeste and the rest of the canoe team, who would paddle to the other side. There, Astrid and her wheelbarrow partner were waiting for the last event, and we just had to hope we’d bought them enough time to reach the finish line first.
The gangly swamp monster jumped into the lake right as Faith reached the dock ladder, but damn was he fast. He was already one hundred meters into his swim by the time Faith climbed the wobbling ladder and handed off the flag to Celeste. Swamp monsters looked a lot more fishlike than I’d expected, and they sure as hell knew how to swim. His head popped out of the water only moments later, and he propelled himself onto the dock like a fish leaping from the water. He’d gained so much ground so quickly that within a heartbeat, the monster canoe was off and chasing after our own.
“How will we know if we won?” I danced on my tiptoes as if being taller would somehow make it easier for me to see four hundred meters across the lake.
“Come on, we can get closer.” Ivy took the lead through the camp to the firepit, where everyone else was waiting.
I’d done my best to fight the urge to look for Sabine in the crowd until I’d finished my relay task. Despite being the least sporty person alive, telling myself to “keep my head in the game” had been enough to do the trick. It was hard enough competing alongside seasoned witches, let alone wondering if Sabine’s shimmering eyes were watching me from the crowd.
Was she proud of me for getting a bull’s-eye on the first try?
Nope.Can’t think about those things.It shouldn’t matter anyway.
