The Arena looked completely ordinary as I swam to my side of the large circle where a small circle of stones waited for me. There were no signs of magic or weapons, save what was strapped to our backs. There were no threats.

I did notice that a few Mers seemed to be dozing, while others were eating.

Aha! So they do get hungry!

My stomach grumbled as I saw vendors doling out what looked like seaweed salads and crab legs.

Dane took his place in the stone circle in the center of the other half. I turned to look at him, feeling myself losing the battle with my fear. In fact, it felt like the fear was palpable, filling the very water around me and seeping into my bones. I feared for myself, but I felt equal fear for him as well. I knew he could handle himself well. I should be hopeful for him. But instead, dread was pounding in my veins.

The Trial had already begun, I realized with sudden insight. The wait outside. The stillness of the crowd. The fear itself was part of it. It was Magic. I wondered if the Mers in the stands could feel it.

The arena went dark. I held perfectly still, waiting for something to happen. At first, nothing did. And then I felt it.

Movement.

Something was in the water behind me. Something big. I turned and realized I was back in the sea cave, this time with the giant squid. The arena wasn’t dark. It was gone. And I was lost in the sea of kelp with a killer who was hungry for my flesh.

But it didn’t come for me. It didn’t need to. It had its lunch and its dinner.

There were already two Mers in its clutches. Two young female Mers. I screamed when I saw who it was. Starla and Thalia were struggling to free themselves from the thick and heavy tentacles.

I reached for my shoulder and my waist, grabbing a weapon with each hand. I grabbed the spear with my right and a curved dagger with my left. Pulling them down in front of me, I charged forward.

I slashed at the monster again and again. I ended up doing nothing more than annoy it. It tried to catch me, but I evaded it with short bursts of speed. I darted around its massive, swirling arms. One brushed me, sending me careening into the sand. I rubbed my flank. That tentacle had felt like fluid stone covered with rubber. It was thick and heavy, pure muscle. I felt the oxygen leave my body in a whoosh as I lay there stunned.

Then I saw it.

The squid was protecting something.

In the shadow cast by its massive body lay an egg sack, shining faintly in the dim light. I could just barely see movement inside the cluster of eggs. The squid was a she. And she was breeding.

Starla and Thalia screamed my name frantically. This time, I ignored them, swimming right for the eggs. The squid roared as I threw my spear, tearing the sac open. Starla and Thalia were released and swam quickly away. Starla glanced back but Thalia didn’t pause. I called out frantically to them.

“Go! Get as far as you can!”

I faced the squid alone, praying they were far enough away to be safe. Right now, the squid only had eyes for me. I took my other dagger in hand, waiting. It launched itself at me, terrifyingly fluid in its movements. It was like fighting smoke.

But I did not stop. I sliced my dagger across a tentacle, diving beneath it. Blood filled the water, along with ink. But I could feel my enemy. And after a time, I realized I was winning.

The real turning point was when I sliced clean through a tentacle. The roar of pain and fury was so loud, it nearly knocked me on my tail. Instead, I took off another tentacle. And another.

And then it lay there, bleeding. Barely moving, the squid mewled pitifully. I realized that the kind thing to do would be to kill it. I lifted my sword above my head. I was about to drive it through the creature’s eye when light filled the arena.

“Well done, Katriana. Well done, Dane.” Annaruth was before us, seated with the Royals. “You have conquered your greatest fears.”

I looked over at Dane. He was crouched on the ground with his helmet covering his face, as if he’d also been in the midst of a battle. I noticed broken chains and ropes lying on the sand around him. His eyes were on me as he slowly rose to his full height.

I nodded and he nodded back.

“Katriana, you feared losing the people you care about. Dane, you feared being trapped. Neither of you let the fear overwhelm you or change your character.”

I glanced over at him. Trapped? And why had Thalia been in my Trial? I swallowed, realizing that even though I despised her, she was the last family I had left in the entire world. She might be a pain in the fins, but I didn’t want her to die.

I’d never wanted that.

And Annaruth had known.

“Now you must face your greatest wish.”

* * *

My eyes grew wide. Now? The next Trial started now?

Annaruth nodded as if I had spoken aloud.

“But this one, you will face together.”

The crowd gasped but I barely noticed. I was swimming toward Dane and he toward me. We were reaching for each other when it began.

Our fingertips brushed as the convulsions started. My body arched in the water, falling to the sand below. I was suddenly heavy, awkward, unable to stop the pain that ripped through me. I twisted and contorted, feeling as if I was being torn apart. But not by sharks or even a two-legger propeller blade.

I was being torn apart from the inside.

I tried to search for Dane with my eyes but I could not find him. I twisted again, and there he was, his eyes wide and terrified as he tried to reach me. From what I could see, he was going through the same thing. His muscular frame shook and shivered, exactly as mine did.

I felt it the moment I saw it.

Something was wrong with Dane’s tail. It was growing pale and withering. I stared down at my own body. It felt like I was dying. But with an awful rending sensation, I felt my tail tear in two.

I wasn’t dying. I was growing legs.

I was becoming human.

I screamed at the realization. I would be a human and my gills would close up. Not a Spark. A Spark would have a tail underwater and legs on land.

A human at the bottom of the sea was in terrible danger indeed. There was no time to reach the surface, but we had to try. I had to swim before my gills closed up. I had to get air. I had to—

“Go!” I screamed at Dane. And then I swam. My legs were not fully formed yet. It felt so strange to be using two weak, inflexible tails instead of one powerful one. I wracked my brain as I rose up and over the edge of the arena. Dane was just behind me, I was grateful to see when I paused, looking around.

I stared in horror as his gills closed over.

“We need a cave! I know one!”

“No time!”

Our words were muffled, unclear. Our Mer voices, meant for speaking underwater, were gone.

“Use magic!”

I stared as he held his hands around his head, closing his eyes. I quickly followed suit, trying to imagine a magical, oxygen-rich air bubble surrounding my head. I thought I felt something and opened my eyes.

Nothing.

I fought the urge to inhale sea water, knowing I would quickly drown if I did.

Forget the old ideas, Tri. Annaruth said you had buried Magic. Try again.

I closed my eyes and tried again.

Dig deep. Find it hidden within you. Believe.

I imagined bright, dazzlingly white and gold Magic pouring from my heart, up my arms, and out through my hands. I felt something in my hands and opened my eyes.

An air bubble! Not much, and not enough to cover my head. But I pressed my face to it and breathed in. Dane was struggling, having produced nothing. I swam toward him, offering him a sip of air from my bubble. He gasped the air gratefully. I tried again. I needed a bigger bubble! We both did!

I had an idea and grabbed his hands. “Four hands are better than two!” He nodded, getting my meaning. We crossed our wrists so that our palms faced inward in the form of a circle, and we closed our eyes.

Floating, but not in water. I had the odd sensation of floating but holding perfectly still at the same time. The strange sensation made me open my eyes. Dane lay inside the giant air bubble across from me. He was laughing and coughing at the same time. Water spilled out of his mouth to his chest. But he was smiling, visibly relieved.

I inhaled deeply, then coughed up sea water. The air felt wonderful in my lungs! Soon, I was laughing too. I stared at him, and then my legs. The skin was pink and smooth. I touched them, amazed that they had freckles, not unlike my arms, chest, and face.

Then I realized something wonderful.

This is what I would look like as a Spark.

“I guess we both really want to walk on land.”

He shook his head, smiling, and grabbed my hand.

“You did it, Tri.”

“We did it.”

We sat there holding hands as the bubble slowly dropped back into the area, landing on the sand with a slow-motion bounce. We stared in awe through the membrane. The world looked so different through the air. Clearer, but distorted. His hand felt sort of smooth, and yet our skin had a bit of friction where we touched. Annaruth walked slowly toward us with a large smile.

“Well done, children.”

And then she popped the bubble.