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It’s freezing, the cold instantly seeping into my muscles and chilling me to the bone. My limbs lock up, the chill stealing my strength, but I force my legs to kick. Breaking through the surface of the water, I shout as I fight against the cold. There’s a splash beside me, and Star’s snout appears, nudging into me in an effort to get me moving. Kicking my legs, I start to swim, slowly making my way across the water. I’ve never felt so cold in my entire life, and I had no idea it would be so hard to swim like this.
“Keep going, keep going,” I whisper, my teeth chattering as I remind myself what’s at stake here. Gritting my teeth, I kick harder, refusing to be taken down by hypothermia of all things. It feels like I’m hardly making progress, but when I look back over my shoulder, I see that I’m a little over halfway.This must be so boring for the spectators, I think grimly. Watching me slowly swim across the arena while being observed by a snake probably isn’t what they thought they’d be seeing.
Keeping my head up, I watch the snake’s movements as I get closer. Fear twinges within me as it lowers its head to the water, dipping it in. I think it’s going to slide in and swim for me, but I’m flooded with relief as it jerks its head up and out the water, hissing loudly and backing away before circling itself around my father.
My relief quickly slides away as I study the snake’s defensive demeanour and how it retreated from the water. It’s almost acting as though it’s afraid, but what would something likethatbe afraid of? Something moves in the water just ahead of me, and with dread, I realise I’m about to find out exactly what caused the snake to act this way.
It’s just a ripple on the surface, growing as it spreads outward. Maybe I’m overreacting. A little ripple seems so innocent, and anything could have caused it. A dark fin protrudes from the water just ahead of me, cutting through my wishful thinking.
I jerk to a stop and tread water. Star snarls as she moves in front of me to protect me. Whatever the creature is, it has my wolf worked up as she spins, trying to find where it disappeared to in the dark water below us. My fear threatens to take over as my imagination plays tricks on me, visualising all manner of scaled or tentacled creatures hiding beneath me. Something brushes against my leg, and I let out a shriek, only to realise that it’s Star’s tail as she swims around me.
“Stop it,” I tell myself through chattering teeth. I need to get the hell out of this water and stop wasting time panicking.
Slowly, I spin around and spot a long snout and golden eyes watching me with malice. As soon as I see it, the creature sinks beneath the water. With my heart in my throat, I desperately look around for it. The water moves around me as something large passes us, getting closer and closer with each circuit. I saw the look in its eyes. It means me harm and will enjoy taking its time.
Huffing out a breath, I start swimming again, kicking my legs as hard as I can, the freezing water pulling at my clothes and body, sapping my strength. Movement beside me has me turning my head, and I see the creature swimming lazily beside me. I sense its amusement, and I know that I’ll never be able to swim faster than it. It’s playing with me. I’m close to the other side of the arena now, and I get a burst of energy, propelling myself faster.
As I reach my hand out to touch the side, something suddenly wraps around my ankle and pulls, yanking me under the water. My scream cuts off as the freezing water covers my head and I’m dragged down. I can hardly see. Everything is dark and murky, and the body of water is impossibly deep considering it’s built in a stadium.
Stop panicking. Think!the presence within me orders, speaking to me rather than just taking over. I can’t think though, and my chest tightens and my lungs burn as I’m taken deeper.
Light, it whispers in my mind.Call your light.
At first, I think she’s talking about Star, and through our connection, I know my wolf is at the surface of the water, howling and panicking because she can’t get down to me. My chest tightens at her distress, especially knowing I can do nothing to help her right now. Light. What did the presence mean? The cold is making it hard to think, and my brain is becoming foggy.
Magic, use your magic!she orders, the sharpness of her tone waking me from my hazy stupor. Slowly, like a movie in my mind, a memory pushes its way to the surface of my thoughts. It’s of the first time I met Star, when my magic manifested in a shield of light.
Closing my eyes, I muster all my strength and call for whatever scraps of magic I possess. I don’t know how to use or control it, but it’s always appeared instinctively when I needed it most. Putting my trust in that fact, I feel my body begin to warm, and a tingle runs over every inch of my skin. Without understanding why, I get the urge to push against the feeling. Claws release my ankle, and a rumble travels through the water. Opening my eyes, I’m shocked to find myself surrounded by a ball of light. I’m even more shocked when I can finally see the creature who brought me down here.
It looks like a fucking water dragon. Other than the wings, it looks like every image of the creatures of legend I’ve ever seen. Is everything I thought was a fairy tale actually real? And how the hell did the council get a hold of it?
My ball of glistening starlight seems to keep it back, and I don’t know if that’s because it’s blinded or due to my show of power. My lungs are screaming at me now, so I need to end this. The tell-tale tingle in my hand tells me my dagger has once again appeared.
Don’t kill it, the presence inside me comments, staying my hand.It’s cursed and is doing what it has to. It’s not hurting you.I realise she’s right, and although it pulled me below the water, it didn’t tear into me like it could have. Even now as my light begins to dim, it doesn’t surge forward like I expect it to. Meeting its gaze again, I see that ancient malice, only I realise now that it’s not aimed towards me, but its captors. The council? Are they the ones who trapped and cursed it?
Taking a risk, I nod my head in understanding, the dagger disappearing. Hoping that I’m not making a terrible mistake, I turn my back on it and surge up to the surface. My vision is blacking out now, as is my light, but I keep the image of my father bound and beaten in my mind. That’s what keeps me going and gives me the strength to keep fighting.
Breaking the surface with a gasp, I flail as I desperately attempt to fill my lungs with as much air as possible. Star appears, swimming beneath me so I’m draped over her when she surfaces. Kicking her legs, she drags me to the side of the water, giving me time to gather my strength and settle my breathing.
As soon as we reach the water’s edge, I crawl up, praying that the snake doesn’t choose to attack right now. My whole body shakes, both from the lack of air and the freezing water. I need to get moving so blood pumps through my body to warm me up, but I’m exhausted. It would be so easy to just curl up here and go to sleep…
“Laelia!”
My father’s voice snaps me out of my fog, and I jerk my head up, following the sound of his voice. He’s still tied to the pylon near the back of the arena. The right side of his face is swollen and bruised, but he only shows concern for me.
Slowly, with Star’s help, I get to my feet, my legs shaking. This isn’t over yet.
My dagger reappears, and with Star at my side, I take in the huge snake which has wrapped half of its body around my father. Sensing that I could be a threat, it rears up and hisses, the spines on its head and down its back flaring up in warning.
I’m assuming that all I have to do is get to my father and touch the pylon to complete the trial. It sounds simple, yet as the snake unwraps itself and slithers towards me, I realise it’s going to be anything but. The creature only seems to have eyes for me, completely ignoring Star. Feeling the comforting weight of the dagger in my hand, I contemplate how the hell I’m going to get past this thing.
“What about this one?” I ask aloud, addressing the presence within me. “Can I kill it?”
Oh yes, the presence purrs in the back of my mind.
Nodding to myself, I let the creature come to me, drawing it farther away from my father. As it approaches, I realise just how big this thing is. It’s easily as wide as me, if not bigger, and I have to crane my neck up to see its face. However, it’s done waiting, and it strikes, trying to catch me off guard.
The warning tingle in my chest is the only reason I manage to avoid being sliced by its fangs as it lunges towards me. I was a second away from becoming skewered, and my lightning-fast reflexes saved me. Jumping back, I give myself over to my instincts as it strikes again and again. Heart in my throat, I stumble around, only just managing to dodge its attacks, and I know it’s only a matter of time before one of them hits home.
