I yawned and stretched, staring dreamily at the pitched ceiling of the tent. Mers had often lived in caves before the past few centuries, other than the Royals and Elite. Now, magic and two-legger methods were used to build dwellings, making them more affordable. Often, they were disguised to look like natural formations from above, but the insides were quite deliberate.

My childhood home was mostly built of wood scavenged from shipwrecks and abandoned docks. My stepmother’s palace had been artfully constructed in stone, with wood, mud, and reeds used to build the servants’ housing. But I think I liked this cloth tent most of all. It was simple and clean. I knew it was temporary, but being here felt like a new beginning.

And today felt new all over again.

My first kiss.

I could almost see a banner hanging from above. I hadn’t expected the kiss, and I had no idea how to go about repeating it, but it had been nice. Really nice.

Dane had said he liked me. He’d said some awful things first, true. But he had apologized for them later.

I magnanimously decided to forgive him. To let bygones be bygones. But when the tent flap opened and my half-sister stepped through, all of my good feelings disappeared.

I hadn’t seen her since the Trials began. It wasn’t all that surprising, considering there were several thousand young Mer here. But it suddenly occurred to me that she’d been avoiding me.

She sneered in greeting when she saw me.

She swaggered over to the cot next to mine and started inspecting my armor.

“Where’d you get this stuff, anyway?”

I snatched my precious armor out of her hands, tossing it onto my bed behind me.

“Nice to see you too, Thalia.”

“Oh please, like you would notice anyone who wasn’t winning.”

“Winning?”

“Yeah. You and your little winners’ circle.”

I blinked at her. She sounded . . . jealous. What in Triton was she talking about? Besides, she was the one who’d spent a lifetime ignoring me.

“What do you want?”

“I was just checking up on you. We are family, after all. Oh, and I wanted to let you know that you aren’t the only Mer interested in Dane. All the girls are. It takes more than a Royal Uniform to interest a real Merman. So watch your back, sister dear.”

Dane? She knew Dane?

“I thought you were only interested in Royalty.”

“Maybe I’ve changed my mind. Besides, he’s sure to become an Elite.”

“Well, I’m sure you will be very happy together.”

“Maybe. If you stay out of the way.”

“He’s just a friend.”

It felt like a lie as I said it. And it was just my luck that he and Starla stepped through the open tent flap at that exact moment. Of course, Thalia hadn’t bothered to shut it behind her after coming in.

“Oh, that’s fascinating. Hi, Dane.”

He nodded at her curtly as she left, fixing me with a hard stare. I felt myself bristle for another fight. And then I saw the wrapped package in his hands.

“Oh, Triton, is that breakfast?”

He nodded again as I swam over. I impulsively gave him a hug, wrapping my arms around him to cover my unease. He stiffened for a moment before relaxing. By the time I pulled back, he was smiling wryly.

“You are my absolute favorite Merman!”

Starla and Beazil looked a bit put out so I wagged a finger at them.

“I said Merman!”

I took the package from Dane and sat back on my cot. It was lobster tails and roe! I almost moaned in pleasure.

“This is a big breakfast!”

They sat across from me, digging into their own meals. Beazil even got his own, which Starla fed to him between bites of her food.

“We’re going to need it. There are two trials today.”

My eyes were wide.

“Do you know what they are?”

Starla shook her head but Dane said nothing. He just frowned, staring at the sandy floor of the tent. He did know, but he didn’t want to say. That was odd.

“Dane? Do you know what it is?”

“How much Trial history do you know?”

I shrugged, popping some roe into my mouth.

“Same as everyone, I guess. I didn’t have any special information from my dad. Maybe if he’d lived longer . . .”

“Every Trial, there are practical tests and competitions of strength, cunning, and endurance. Then there are some contests that go beyond that. Magical contests that look inside you. Today, we will face two.”

“What are those?”

He exhaled, looking around.

“Today, you will face your greatest fear.” Starla looked pasty at the thought. I imagined I did as well. “And your greatest wish.”

“But how?”

“Magic, of course. Annaruth.”

I shivered, recalling how she’d seen inside me so clearly when she dressed me. Anything she wanted to know was revealed without my even knowing it. She told me it was hard to stop, even if she did not want to know. The knowledge would come to her unbidden.

“How do you know this?”

“My cousins are Royals. Lower-rung.”

I wasn’t surprised. He was always well-fed. His clothing and armor were elegant and well-made, though nowhere as flashy as most of the well-to-do Mers.

“You can’t tell anyone else.”

“I won’t.” I glanced at Starla and she nodded vigorously in agreement. “Me either.”

My appetite disappeared suddenly, but I forced myself to take another bite. I chewed slowly, barely tasting my food. I gazed thoughtfully at my friends. Facing my worst fear was terrifying, but facing my greatest hope? How could that possibly be dangerous? But it must be or they wouldn’t have made it a Trial.

Either way, it frightened me.

More than I would ever admit to anyone, especially Starla.

* * *

Two long lines stretched from the edge of camp toward the arena, one for boys and one for girls. Apparently, we would have an audience for today’s Trials, which tested two Mer at a time. I was not looking forward to people seeing what my greatest fears were.

Being in the audience might have been interesting, but partaking? And possibly failing? I dreaded it. For the first time since the Trials began, I felt less than confident in my abilities.

The truth was, I was terrified.

The lines moved steadily. You would think that taking two at a time would take hours, but apparently, they had finally weeded out some of the competition last night. Only the top half of the competitors were still here.

Unfortunately, that meant Thalia had done better than expected. I saw her ahead of me in the line, laughing and tossing her pretty blonde hair with her cronies. Several of them had made it through as well.

“The line is moving fast.”

“Well, there are fewer of us now. And they have slowed time down in the arena. If an individual trial takes half an hour, only a minute passes outside. If it takes an hour, then two minutes pass. Of course, most of them will take considerably less than that.”

My eyes grew very wide. Time magic was one of the most difficult, and rare, forms of magic there were. It wasn’t just impossible to do, it was hard for me to imagine.

“They must be getting hungry in there.”

Dane laughed, floating in the line parallel to me. He said that he hoped we could go into the arena at the same time. I secretly hoped he would go in with Starla. There was a chance we would be able to help each other.

“You are always thinking about food.”

It was true. I was already getting hungry again, even with my nerves. But the leftover food was back at the tent, buried in the sand beneath my cot.

Not far ahead, Rip and the Spiky girl were next in the line approaching the arena. Soon enough, we would know who was going in together. It certainly looked as if they had planned to pair up.

He turned and looked over his shoulder. I looked away immediately. I had to admit being curious about the two of them and Juno. They were my biggest competition so far, other than Dane. The thin, dark-haired Mer had not done well in the second day of the Trials, though I suspected he was still in the running for Messenger. He’d been second-fastest after me.

I wondered if they took sour dispositions into account when deciding these things. I wondered how much pull Annaruth had with her insights and premonitions. And then I shook all of that off.

I had bigger fish to catch at the moment. I had to survive and pray that my friends did as well.

The line kept moving. As we got closer, it became clear that we were, in fact, paired up. Starla was one spot ahead of us, paired up with a young Mer named Macum. He was the one with the third eye, which was closed right now. He seemed nice and had done just well enough to stay in the games. They’d struck up an easy banter during the wait. I had to hope they’d make it through together.

So far, two Mers had been grievously injured, though the Medics and Annaruth’s magic had just barely saved their lives. No one had died. But it was only a matter of time.

One Mer was still missing, which was something no one was talking about. A young Mer had gotten lost during the Trench Trial. She’d simply gone in and never come out again.

I supposed . . . well, by the end of the day, she would probably be the first true casualty of the Trials. And there were sure to be more.

Before I knew it, there were five Mers in front of me and five before Dane. Then four. Three. Two. One.

Starla went in with Macum, with a quick hug from each of us. It seemed less than a heartbeat passed before it was our turn. I knew it was magic, but the sense of wrongness was thrumming in my bones.

I didn’t trust Magic. It was unpredictable at best, and dangerous if one didn’t know precisely what they were doing. Thankfully, Annaruth did know what she was doing. And I knew she would try not to let me die. But she must be tired. Technically speaking, this Trial had already been going on for days.

The heavy door swung open and we were told to come inside. Dane and I exchanged a glance and then swam into the arena.