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“Did you see that?” Merrick asked, his steady strokes stopping as he treaded water for a moment.
We all looked around, breathing hard as the water carried us downstream. At first, I didn’t see anything, but then small flutters beneath the surface of the water caught my eye. At first, I thought it was just fish much like we had on earth, but as another flash of movement popped up right in front of me, I realized it was a large fin. Before I could turn to the others, something that felt like a hand wrapped around my ankle and pulled me underwater. I kicked mercilessly at whatever had grabbed me, my lungs burning as terror filled me, finally finding a solid place to smash my heel into. I heard a muffled screech, and the hand released my ankle.
From above, Trace grabbed me by the shoulder and lifted me above the water. I sputtered and spat, gasping for air. Once I’d gotten my breath back, I realized the guys had swum closer to me, creating a circle and facing outward in all directions. All around us were mermaid-like creatures, their bodies scaled and their teeth pointy and jagged. They hissed at us, clearly threatened by our entrance into their water.
“We don’t mean you any harm,” I sputtered, putting up my hands as the water pulled at us, dragging us farther downstream. Despite the fact that we were all moving, the mer-people seemed to have no trouble keeping us surrounded. “We just want to get to the other side.”
In answer, one of the mer-people lunged at me. Merrick sent a stream of magic out, knocking her fifteen feet in the other direction.
Lachlan raised an eyebrow, pushing his coppery red hair out of his eyes. “I don’t think they care what we want.”
Suddenly, they all converged on us, squealing and screeching in voices so loud it hurt my ears. Without thought, the four of us began to fight, functioning like a well-oiled team. Where one person was weak, the other filled in, and we all watched each other’s backs even as we hurtled through the water.
I could deny it until I was blue in the face, but it didn’t change the truth—these men and I were meant for each other. We just fucking worked. The one thing we had, the strength that kept us all togeth
er, was the trust we had in each other. Not once did I worry that any of the men would leave me hanging.
Still, that didn’t mean I was confident we’d win this fight.
We were only halfway across the river, still swimming in water so deep I had no idea where the bottom was. And it became very apparent about ten minutes into the battle that we were going to have to fight underwater.
I used my magic to create a sort of bubble around my head, something that would hold oxygen in it at least for a few minutes longer than my lungs could. My men did the same, and we all looked at each other before diving below the surface. The bands of magic that kept us from separating glowed brightly around our ankles, lighting up the dark water around us.
Being underwater in the river was unlike anything I’d experienced before. It was different somehow from water on earth. I could move more fluidly, and there wasn’t a heaviness around me like I would’ve expected, no weight of the water pressing in on me.
As one of the mer-people swam toward me with a sharpened, shimmering trident, I whirled around, slamming my foot into its stomach and kicking it as far back as I possibly could. With my magic enhanced in the godly realm, coupled with my training for being a fighter, I was capable of fighting with deadly force, even underwater.
The guys used their magic, spinning and weaving different weapons to scare off the mer-people. I used my fists, always more comfortable with straight combat than with magic. My previous fight training and skills were coming in handy, even under the strange fluid motion of the river.
When the magic I was using to hold in oxygen popped, I swam to the surface, taking a deep breath as my face emerged. As my lungs filled with fresh air, I saw a spiraling flash coming straight at me. Merrick yanked on my wrist, dunking my head back under the water. We both looked up from beneath the water’s surface, watching a blade fly past. I pressed a hard kiss to his lips and felt his fingers dig into my hips as he pulled me close for a second.
Then we both kicked up through the water, renewing the magical air bubbles around our heads.
When we sank back down, all four of us gathered in a tight cluster.
The merman who had thrown the blade was large, obviously an alpha, and charging straight for us. He was the last of his people attacking us, and the men and I all turned toward him, putting our palms straight out and blasting him with as much magic as we possibly could.
At first, he let out a low grumble, pushing hard against our magic. He fought through the water toward us, but as his strength began to weaken, he flipped backward, soaring off into the darkness of the river.
Everything went calm, and the screeching sounds of the mer-people drifted off into the distance.
After surfacing one more time to refresh our air bubbles, the four of us dove down, kicking through the water and swimming to the other side. It was safer underneath, since it meant we could see what was coming in all directions.
We emerged on the opposite bank, pulling each other up onto the shore and collapsing onto the soft ground. We were dripping wet and absolutely exhausted. My limbs felt like they did after a hard training session, shaky and useless.
After a few moments of lying there, Merrick began to chuckle. “This is getting harder and harder every step we take.”
Trace sat up, wringing the water out of his shirt before putting it back on. “Yeah, it is, but at least we’re one step closer to our goal. I can’t imagine any of the other contestants actually getting across this river. How would ye be able to fight off all those fuckin’ fish creatures by yerself?”
I pulled myself up and leaned back against a rock. “That’s the point. We’re outside of the competition zone, so no one is actually supposed to make it across the river unless they’re invited. It’s no longer a battle of wits, not that it ever was, but now survival will be even more difficult. We’re in the gods’ territory, outside of the playing area, and if they didn’t know that we were gone from the competition before, they’re definitely going to know now. I can’t imagine the mermaids not being one with the gods. Someone will tell on us.”
Lachlan stood up, wringing out a shirt before putting it back on.
“Fuck’s sake. When I don’t want visitors, I just close the blinds and turn off the lights. The gods, they really don’t like outside people. They’ve got mer-people and three-headed dragons and who knows what else out there. They’re obviously willin’ to kill anybody that comes to visit.”
Chuckling, I pulled myself to my feet. “I don’t imagine they like people coming into their land. But even more than that, it makes me wonder what they’re hiding. It’s gotta be something big for them to take so many precautions to protect their seat of power. We just need to get there. It will hold answers; I know it will.”
Trace nodded, making a face as he dragged himself upright. “Yup. And hopefully we’ll get there in one damn piece.”
