I screamed, water rushing into my lungs. I thrashed wildly, feeling the tentacle wrap around my torso. I was not going to make it. This was it.

I was going to lose.

The elongated head floated above me, giving me the stink eye with one of its enormous black pupils. I’m going to eat you, that eye said. You’re dinner.

Like Typhoon I am!

I struggled as I tried to get a handle on what I was fighting. It was even bigger than the octopus I had faced in the opening race, and I didn’t have my weapons. Icy terror filled my veins when I saw what it was. It wasn’t even just a giant squid. It was a behemoth, a legend of the deep.

And I was merely a young, mostly average Mer. Not particularly strong. Not very big. Not used to fighting for my life, despite all my time practicing in the cave.

I didn’t stand a chance and I knew it. But that wouldn’t stop me from trying. Every instinct I had came rushing to the fore.

I kicked out, one leg landing a solid blow against the squid’s head. I tried again, my feet hitting it again and again. I was losing air, but if I could just get away . . .

Feet? Legs?

I woke up and sat upright on my cot. I looked around without recognizing anything. It took a few minutes for realization to set in. I wasn’t under attack after all. I’d been dreaming. And yet, my heart continued to pound.

Gradually, my heartbeat slowed.

Beazil was snoring, upside down on the other side of the tent. Even half-asleep and disoriented, I saw the humor in the situation. At nearly twenty feet long, he was the other side of the tent.

I turned my head to see Starla sleeping peacefully on the pallet next to mine.

A dream. It was just a dream, Tri.

But . . . legs? I could still recall the shock of staring down at the pale ivory limbs, so foreign-looking. So odd. And yet, they’d felt entirely real.

What kind of dream was that? It made no sense at all. A Sea Spark regained their tail in sea water. It was the most treacherous part of their journey. Magic or no, we simply could not hide what we were when the sand met the sea. From what I had heard, returning to the water was best done by jumping off a cliff, far from people, or rowing yourself far from shore before submerging.

So even if I became spark, there was no way I could have legs underwater. Only natural-born humans did. I was pretty sure that even taking a shower, another odd human habit, would cause a Spark to change.

But if I were a true two-legger . . . what would I do to survive? My mind went into problem-solving mode. Going limp sometimes confused a predator. They’d let their guard down. Relax. Get ready to eat. Never mind that they were about to eat you. Getting them into chill mode was vital.

I shuddered at the thought.

And as for air . . . the underwater caves near the cliffs were full of air pockets. I’d even found some in shipwrecks and inside artifacts. There were strange shimmering pools of air under coral and inside giant shells.

None of that was easy to find and not the best solution, but it was a possible way to survive underwater without gills. And as for weapons . . . I stared at my fingernails. They weren’t wickedly sharp, but they weren’t nubs either. And my teeth, not to mention my elbows, fists, and bottom half, be it legs or tail.

I did have weapons, two-legger or not.

I shook my head. It was only a dream, though it had felt incredibly real. Trying to solve the dream after waking was an old habit. It made me feel better about whatever I’d dreamed about. But this felt different somehow. I’d never had a dream so vivid or realistic.

Well, realistic other than the whole ‘having legs’ part.

It must be from eating all that food, I decided, staring at the ceiling and feeling the time tick past. I was restless, keyed up from the dream battle. Maybe a quick swim around the camp would help me fall back asleep.

I slipped outside, careful not to wake my bunkmates. The water was dark, but not too dark with the waxing moon above. I could see well enough to take a quick swim.

I wove silently through the rows of tents for a little while, not going fast enough to create waves. That was a real skill, to keep the water from moving around you. Predators could sense movement, so I had learned to glide when I wanted to keep a low profile. I was mindlessly heading back toward the far side of camp when I saw them.

Annaruth. Her tall and slender figure was unmistakable, as well as her dark burgundy hair. The person she was talking to was familiar as well. He shook his head and I recognized him immediately.

Dane.

I stopped short, sliding sideways to conceal myself behind the edge of a tent.

“ . . .irresponsible, reckless, dangerous . . .”

Annaruth was taking Dane to task, scolding him like a mother might. Or a teacher taking a naughty student to task. Not a lovers' quarrel then, I thought with a surprising blast of relief. Were they related?

Her head jerked as if she’d heard me. She held her finger to her lips, and I cursed, swimming swiftly away. How could I forget her magical abilities? She had sensed me. Of course she had.

I slid back into our tent, wondering at what I had just seen and if she would tell him I’d been listening. There was a chance I’d accidentally made an enemy of either, or both, of two people I’d already come to care about. Dane had already seemed angry at me. Could I really blame him for hating me?

I lay down, staring at the ceiling until just before dawn. The camp was just beginning to stir as I finally fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

The horns woke us early, just as they had the day before. I yawned and stretched, not even remotely close to rested. I moaned, realizing the disadvantage I’d put myself at with my midnight excursion. If I hadn’t seen Dane with Annaruth, I would have eventually fallen back asleep. As it was, I’d be facing who knows what on a handful of hours of sleep.

“Typhoon, I forgot about breakfast. Now there’s no time.”

Starla shrugged. I’d brought her a piece of cake last night. And for once, I wasn’t all that hungry either, considering I’d stuffed myself silly at the banquet in my honor.

“We’ll get something later. Between the trials. I heard they were individual events today.”

I opened my eyes wide.

“Who told you that?”

She smiled.

“Your boyfriend, who else? He treated me to dinner too.”

“Dane?”

“Who else?”

“He’s not my boyfriend. He doesn’t even like me,” I muttered, remembering how he’d glared at me when he saw me in my dress.

“Sure, his eyes popped out when he saw you last night because he doesn’t like you.”

“By Triton, I’m tired!” I stretched with a yawn. “I barely slept.”

“Indigestion? You aren’t used to rich food.”

“That’s an understatement,” I said, not answering the question directly. Yeah. I wasn’t used to eating well to begin with, especially not that well. But it hadn’t been indigestion. More like worrying about the people I thought were my allies, thinking about my father, praying to do well enough to become Spark, and fear about some of the deadly challenges that would most certainly lie ahead.

I just forced a smile and watched Starla comb her hair with a carved shell comb. I glanced at Beazil.

“You should stay out of sight. We’re a real target now.”

He gave me a sour look.

“I’ll bring you food. Or you can go out through the trench.”

His eyes widened. The trench was a scary place. But sliding under the tent wall was the only way out of here without drawing undue attention.

“Okay. I’ll sneak back as soon as I can.” I glanced at Starla, who was donning her armor and sliding her knife into her belt. “Ready?”

She nodded, a Mer of few words. I liked that about her. I grinned, feeling hopeful again.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

I lifted the throwing spear provided, trying to get a feel for the weight of it. We were not allowed to use our own weapons today, and it was a good thing too, I thought as I looked around. Many of the Mers had weapons of a caliber I had never seen before. Even though we couldn’t use them, hardly anyone had actually taken them off.

Weapons of every sort were strapped and tied to the young Mers milling about. Human-made weapons that had been salvaged. But I could have sworn that some even looked as though they’d been made by humans for Merkind. Deliberately. But it was forbidden to expose our secrets to two-leggers. Perhaps they were forged by powerful magicians instead.

I grimaced at that thought. Something new to worry about. I had to wonder how many weapons were infused with deadly magic.

Today, though, I did not have to worry about fighting off a magical attack. Today was just about individual skills. I simply had to hold my own to not get thrown out of the running.

I knew this was one event I could not win. I didn’t have a chance. I was pretty much just hoping to not embarrass myself. There were some sprints coming later in the day, as well as some others I might do well in.

But this? This was an exercise of pure brute strength.

I rubbed my shoulder and stretched before lifting the spear again. I was waiting behind ten or so Mers who were going to throw before me. I was just observing and trying to prepare. Dane and Starla had already thrown and gone off in search of food. Dane had excelled in the individual Trials so far. Especially the spear throw. No one had come close to beating him yet.

“You look nervous.”

I swing around, finding myself face to face with the thick-jawed Mer who had smiled at me during the opening ceremony and then spoken to me during the race.

No, not spoken. Warned. I blinked as the realization hit me.

He had warned me, hadn’t he? I hadn’t thought about it until then.

“Watch it.”

He gently grabbed the tip of my spear, which I had accidentally pointed at him when I turned around.

“Sorry.”

He grinned again, his pale green eyes twinkling.

“No worries. I’m Reese, but you can call me Rip.”

“Rip?”

“Yeah.” He leaned in as if he was about to tell me a secret. “Short for Riptide.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. He was so outrageously flirtatious.

“How did you know?”

“How did I know what?”

He was still smiling, thinking I was flirting back. I shook my head impatiently.

“Yesterday. How did you know there was an obstacle up ahead?”

“Oh, that. I knew we must be coming up on one soon. Once the crowd thins out. That’s what my dad told me.”

“Your dad?”

“Dante.” He puffed his chest out a bit. “He’s a Messenger.”

I nodded. I saw the resemblance now.

“Mine was a Messenger too.”

“I heard that.”

“You . . . heard about me?”

“Of course.”

“Why would anyone talk about me?”

He laughed as if I’d said something hilarious.

“You’re holding that spear wrong. Here, let me show you.”

Before I could protest, Rip was floating close behind me. His breath fanned my ear as he guided my arm back and forth in a throwing motion. It was hard to pay attention with him so close, but what he was showing me actually made a lot of sense. Plus, I refused to break out in goosebumps on principle.

“Now rock forward with your whole body when you release.”

I let my body relax and flow with my arm as the focal point. He abruptly moved away, and I glanced back at him in question. But he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking over my shoulder. I followed his gaze.

Dane.

I felt myself flush, feeling inexplicably as if I’d been caught doing something wrong. But I hadn’t. Had I?

“Rip was just showing me how to throw a spear.”

Dane didn’t say anything. But I could see the muscle in his jaw ticking. Uh-oh. He was mad at me again.

“Of course, you could probably have done that, but you didn’t offer.”

Once again, he didn’t reply. His glare got more intense. He tossed something to me.

“Lunch. Starla said you missed breakfast.”

I caught the rolled kelp and pulled back a flap to look inside. It was fresh crab meat. My stomach rumbled. There was a lot, and it was already out of the crab! Not a little crab either, but a big, juicy one!

“Thank you.”

My eyes felt suspiciously watery as I looked at him. He was looking out for me. And this was a meal fit for a Royal. I could hardly believe it.

Nobody had ever prepared food for me, other than the bare-bones meals we were given at my stepmother’s palace. Not since I was a child. I swallowed and looked back at him, not sure what to say.

But Dane was gone, already swimming away to the next event. Starla remained, looking sheepish.

“You don’t have to wait.”

She looked down and shrugged.

“I don’t mind.”

I smiled.

“Suit yourself.” The line moved forward. Rip was still behind me but I ignored him. “Looks like I’ll be up soon.”

I took a bite of my crab but I was too nervous to enjoy it.

“Is that your boyfriend?”

“Huh?”

“The big Mer with the attitude.”

“Oh. Um. I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“You sure about that?”

“He’s a friend.”

“Whatever you say, Katriana.”

“I never told you my name.”

He laughed.

“Like I said, I heard about you.”

I glowered at the smirk on Rip’s handsome face. He wasn’t a total jerk like I had first assumed, but there was something so smug about the guy. Sure, he was big and strong, and yes, he was good looking, even though I hated to admit it.

But so was Dane, and he didn’t give off the kind of arrogant vibes that Rip did. Dane was even more handsome, if I was honest!

Besides, it was the truth. I didn’t have a boyfriend. But if I did, I’d want him to be someone like Dane. I just hoped I hadn’t lost a friend because Rip was overly flirtatious and I was too polite to brush him off. If Dane did like me, I could see how that might annoy him. But I hadn’t encouraged the flirtatious Mer at all.

Had I? Ugh.

* * *

I’d thrown well, I decided as I swam to the next Trial with Starla. Nowhere near as far as Dane, but well above average. And now I was waiting for the start of the first of several short races. The first was simple speed, the second an obstacle course, and the third, something mysterious that no one who had already gone through would reveal.

However, I had seen a few Mers looking extremely shaken. And I knew it wasn’t from the net unravelling contest. One I had excelled in, unsurprisingly.

I’d salvaged hundreds of nets in my time, reusing them and trading them for other goods. I patted my handy net bag in appreciation.

Yeah, I was pretty certain I’d squashed that. And this one was another Trial I was confident I could win.

This was the speed Trial.

I rolled my shoulders and took another bite of the crab. I chewed thoughtfully before wrapping it and stuffing it back into my bag. Yes, technically, something like that could slow me down, in terms of drag. But I was too attached to my belongings to set them down for a moment.

It’s not like I could replace any of them. No, it was far better to keep the necessities on hand, so to speak.

Without my weapons, I stood no chance at all in the rest of the Trials. And without my lunch, well, I would go hungry. Or perhaps not hungry, but I would miss out on this incredibly delicious crab meat.

Not to mention, Dane had brought it for me. He’d even picked the meat out of the crab. Or maybe he’d simply paid for it. Either way, it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me, other than Lila. I was too nervous to eat it all in one sitting, but just having a few bites between events was keeping me steady.

Just enough to give me energy, but not enough to make me hurl.

There was nothing more disgusting than throwing up underwater. I’d learned that the hard way. Thankfully, Mers weren’t prone to stomach upset. Now and then, you’d get a bad oyster, but usually, you could sniff them out. Once, though, I’d gotten a bad one. I’d spent hours draped over a rock, trying not to let the vomit wash back over my face.

It had kind of worked. I’d still found some in my hair a few hours later. Gross.

I swallowed, determined to keep my food down and my pride intact. I put my food away.

Hopefully, Dane would talk to me again.

I sighed and leaned forward as we formed a line, my chest even with the other competitors. A horn sounded and we were off. All I saw was the finish line. It didn’t seem all that far away.

I didn’t think, I just moved. It was over before I knew it.

I looked around stupidly, making a full circle. There was no one here. I looked back to see several Mers approach the finish line.

Whoa. I hadn’t just won. I’d obliterated them.

A slow clap behind me made me turn.

Rip and Juno were watching me, along with the girl with the spikes. Rip’s eyes were warm with admiration. But the other two . . . a shiver went down my spine and I could have sworn my scales stood on end.

Starla finished in the middle of the pack during the next heat. I waited for her before heading to the next Trial. I hadn’t seen Dane in hours. I had to assume he was ahead of us, kicking tail, most likely.

Next up was an obstacle course, with Mers swimming through woven tubes of kelp, over rock formations, and through caves. I wasn’t all that worried about that one, but I was still on my guard. The race I was really worried about, the mystery race, was still to come.

The second race was a little longer, with more Mers in each heat. I was up against twenty Mers, including Rip and the girl with the spikes, whose name turned out to be Jaynelle. A pleasant, innocuous sounding name for someone so terrifying. She was just as unfriendly as she looked when Rip introduced us, not even deigning to shake my hand. I didn’t see Dane or Starla, but I assumed they were okay.

No one had died yet, though a few Mers had been injured on the first day.

I waited for the horn to sound and once again shot forward without a backward glance.

The course was harder than it looked. I wondered briefly if this, too, was magically matched to our abilities. Then the path turned and I stopped thinking at all.

I dove under a low archway, narrowly avoiding sharp rocks below. They seemed to reach up toward me, ready to snag a fin or cut into a soft belly. But I had no choice. The path ended abruptly with a sheer cliff just ahead. This time, I had to swim directly toward the surface, though that was far above. It was always harder to swim straight up because gravity was a factor, even under the sea.

Next, I swam into a series of tubes. It was harder to negotiate, without much room to flip my fins. Almost immediately, I was fighting off a feeling of extreme claustrophobia.

It was a maze with walls made of woven kelp. It twisted and turned and then divided into two paths leading in opposite directions. I made a choice instinctively, taking a sharp left. It felt like I was going forward, with the start of the maze behind me. I prayed I was right.

I redoubled my prayers to Triton as I maneuvered under a large net that partially blocked the tube. I pitied the Mer who got caught in the tangled mess! It looked like it would be impossible to get out of. The tube narrowed even more. I squeezed through, wiggling my hips frantically. I heaved a sigh of relief as the maze widened and I was once again in open water.

I was out.

I saw the finish line up ahead. There were hoops made of different elements leading the way. Each one was at a different height, forcing the swimmer to zig and zag all over the place. They were also different sizes, with some looking sharp, or jagged, and there was one particularly wicked hoop that even looked as if it was made of lava, kept liquid and scorching hot with the help of magic.

Magic. It was quickly becoming my least favorite word.

I took a deep breath through my gills and dove in, using all of my abilities to keep from snagging a fin on a jagged metal hoop, and then a tiny hoop I barely fit through that looked incredibly sharp. My eyes widened as I passed through. It wasn’t just sharp! It was a sword that had been shaped into a circle. I went as quickly as possible until I came to the lava hoop.

I stared in horror as a drop formed at the top of the hoop, dangling dangerously in the center. I waited for it to fall and then sped through, trying not to think about what was happening above me. I felt the heat against my skin and my scales, crying out as I felt one of my fins get singed.

I was close to weeping as I crossed the finish line. I was first, but it did not feel like much of a victory. I was treated by a waiting Medic, who applied a salve to my burns, and then directed to the final race. I swam across the campgrounds toward a group of nervous looking Mer, including Dane and Starla.

“Hey.”

Dane nodded to me in greeting. Starla gave me a half-hearted smile. She was nervous about something. I was too exhausted to even think about what might be next, truth be told.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re waiting for our turn.”

I looked around.

“I don’t see the start line.”

“That’s because it’s down there.”

I followed Starla’s finger past the edge of camp to the shadowy line that indicated deep water ahead. Not just deep water. The deepest.

I peered into the darkness, suddenly fearful. The final Trial of the day was someplace I’d spent most of my life avoiding.

The last race was in the trench.