Seven tokens. That’s all we needed to win. There were eleven hidden throughout the terrain, clearly marked off by glowing spheres placed at regular intervals. If you squinted, you could just see the lights at the other end of the enclosure.

We were given three clues to start, and then each token we found would provide another clue. Of course, even if you followed each clue perfectly, there was a chance that the token would already be gone. There were still close to a thousand of us left.

I exhaled sharply. I was nervous. This was one of the first Trials where Mers interacted freely, other than the races. And everyone had been focused on speed during those competitions. Now, it was more than likely that if you found a token at the same time as another Mer, it could very well come to who was bigger or more comfortable with resorting to violence.

For that reason alone, I was glad that Starla was with Dane. I might not trust Juno and Jaynelle, though I did trust Rip for the most part. I had to admit that it wasn’t just because he was being nice to me. That could be anything, trickery or simple flirtation. I trusted him because our fathers had been friends. That had to mean something.

We paired up and waited in a long line that stretched for nearly five hundred meters. I was with Rip, next to Starla and Dane, with Jaynelle and Juno waiting on my other side. They were still as two statues. Everyone was silent as the first three clues were distributed, written into the surfaces of flat shells.

We were given three different clues per team, so each pair took one.

“Don’t drop them. Destroy them once you have the token so no one else can use them.” Rip addressed the group under his breath, making eye contract with each of us in turn. “Be on your guard. Some of the more aggressive teams might try to take them.”

I exhaled through closed lips. We had made a wise decision when we partnered with the biggest threats. That didn’t mean there weren’t other Mers to worry about, however. There were plenty of big and brutal Mers still in the competition.

I turned over our shell and read.

A prize found when you have a taste, seek your token in colors of the sunset.

Rip looked at me, his eyebrows raised. I shrugged. Sunset might mean . . . warm colors?

“Maybe coral?”

“Yes, it must be. Unless there’s a school of salmon.”

“I don’t think so,” I murmured, looking up to where most schools would pass through. “Well, we’re going to be bottom feeders, that’s for sure.”

He nodded and faced forward. We scanned the sandy bottom in front of us and to both sides. I saw a small coral reef far to our left, nearly at the edge of the border.

“There. Aim for that.”

His eyes widened.

“Agreed. Don’t slow down for me.”

I gave him a bright smile.

“Agreed.”

The horn blew, and we were off. We had no idea of the other clues. There simply wasn’t time to confer with our teams about anything. Most Mers swam straight forward, but we dove down to the left, swimming cleanly beneath them all. My fingers nearly grazed the silt as we headed straight for the coral. As we got closer, I could see that it was a warm pink, with oranges and yellows mixed in.

There were other Mers about, but none seemed to be swimming straight for the coral outcropping. I hoped we would be fast enough that no one would notice what we were doing.

I glanced behind to see Rip not all that far behind. He nodded his silent encouragement, and I kept swimming, reaching the coral a few moments later. Without hesitation, I swam into it, my eyes roving the nooks and crannies without cease. I felt Rip arrive and veered to one side, letting him take the other half of the coral.

I took a moment to scan the waters around us to look for approaching Mer. Nothing. No one else was clued in to this particular prize, if there even was one. But I felt in my gut that we were close. I lowered my head again, searching for the token.

I was beginning to lose hope when I saw it. There! Something was gleaming amid the spikey coral branches. I swam closer, reaching my hand into the coral. I felt the skin on my wrist scraped raw as my hand closed over a smooth circular globe. I pulled it free, dislodging another flat shell with it. I grabbed that with my other hand.

A pearl. Of course, Something you find when you have a taste. The token was a pearl nearly the size of my closed fist. I couldn’t imagine the size of the clam or oyster that might contain such a prize, but there it was. It was nearly glowing, a pale pink that reflected the light with its sheen. I stared in awe as a chain dropped out of it and it magically fastened around my neck. I pulled on it, but it didn’t give. I tried to pull it over my head and it tightened.

All right then, I guess I’m wearing it.

I tucked the end into my tunic and swam to Rip, reading the clue as I went.

A star unlike any other, you will find it under cover.

I handed the clue to Rip, who read it and shoved it quickly into a pocket in his steel gray tunic with green trim. He took out the last clue and broke it in half, throwing one piece into the coral and taking the other with us as we left.

“A pearl on a chain. It’s around my neck.”

He nodded.

“What do you think of the new clue?”

I watched as he chucked the second broken piece of shell into a thick patch of seaweed.

“A starfish. It must be.”

“But where?”

“Under cover . . . they like rocks and coral. Look for a ledge. Maybe it will be underneath? And look for other clues. We could stumble onto something.”

“Good plan.”

We swam in formation now, packed nearly side by side. Now that we had a clue and a token, we needed to stick together. By tacit agreement, I had no choice but to hold onto the token, so he held the clue. If we were able to find another token, we would switch. We didn’t see any of our other teammates.

We dove low again, hoping to avoid the other competitors. But by then, it was crowded down there as well. I quickly pointed when I saw a rock wall ahead. There were Mers already searching it. I suspected it was one of the easier landmarks to spot. Or perhaps there was more than one token hidden here.

Or perhaps they were after the same prize as we were.

That thought helped me focus. I wanted to win. I had a fire in my belly. I wanted to find as many tokens as I could!

I saw a cluster of starfish and picked up speed, pulling ahead. I heard Rip shout out a warning as a heavy body slammed into me.

“Give it to me!”

I was being shaken too violently to answer, with a blade held to my throat. I stared up at the tall, thin Mer who gripped me in his hands. Then I saw his eyes widen. His hands slowly opened and I slipped away. Behind him, I saw the young three-eyed Mer holding a spear.

Marcum.

He’d . . . killed him. For me. Then I saw the thin Mer twitch and realized it was not a mortal wound. I hoped not, anyway. Even though I really, really did not like him.

Marcum nodded to me and swam away.

But why had he saved me? And why had the tall, thin Mer been so desperate?

“Go!”

Rip was still not close enough to look for the token on the rock wall, but I was. I turned and dove, feeling the edge of the cliff face with my hands. Ordinary starfish dotted the surface. I dove again, coming up just under a small outcropping. There, in the darkness was a star unlike any other.

It was gold. A solid gold starfish. I reached for it and felt the warm metal come off the rock and wrap itself into a band that settled around my wrist, forming a thick cuff bracelet. A shell dropped from the rock where it had been held in place by the starfish.

Another clue.

I was shaking as I handed it to Rip as he finally caught up to me. He stared at the shell, then at the bracelet. His hand was gentle as he lifted my chin.

“Are you all right?”

I shook my head. I wasn’t. I looked around for the dark-haired Mer who had attacked me.

“The Medics took him away already.”

“Why did he attack me like that?”

He shrugged.

“We already have two tokens. Most don’t have any.”

He took my shoulders gently.

“We can stop if you want, hang back. Let the rest of the team finish. You’ve already done more than your share.”

I shook my head. Giving up wasn’t in my nature. But he had reminded me that my friends were out there and that things were getting combative.

“No. But let’s find Dane and Starla.”

He nodded, taking the clue.

“Let’s read this first.”

We peered down at it and gasped.

In the air, near the sky, here I am. Come and fly.

“The surface?”

“It must be,” I agreed.

“But it’s forbidden.”

I exhaled slowly, shaking my head.

“I’ve been there. Let’s find them, then I’ll go.”

“You have the tokens. I should do it.”

“I’m quick, and I know I can jump pretty far above the surface. I’ve done it before.” He was shaking his head but I cut him off before he could speak. “Let’s just find them and then we can argue about it.”

We circled the arena, looking for the others. It took longer than I’d expected, but only because they were half-buried in a cluster of seagrass. I spotted Dane’s blue tail first. It was harder to see Starla’s dark green fins against the grass.

Starla emerged, clutching another token and shell. We dove to her, surrounding her just in time to see the gold shell form a belt that attached to her waist.

“Whoa. I guess there’s no stealing of tokens.”

I held up my wrist.

“Not without maiming us.” I held up the one at my throat. “Or worse.”

Her eyes grew wide. I nodded to Dane.

“Someone already tried.” I patted the pearl at my throat. “For this.”

Dane’s eyes narrowed.

“That’s why you came looking for us.”

“Yes. Things are getting dangerous. And our next clue is something I have to do alone.”

Starla handed her clue to me and I read aloud.

Human-made and human-found, find it lying on the ground.

“This is the first one I don’t get. Obviously, something scavenged, but what?” I exhaled, looking into my friends’ thoughtful faces. “I’ve got to go. Stick together, okay?”

“I’ll swim with you to the top,” Dane offered, swimming closer to me.

I shook my head.

“It’s a one-person job, and you know it.”

Dane’s face was unreadable, but I knew he wasn’t happy.

“Swim fast.”

I nodded, then gave Starla a quick hug.

“Don’t let anyone touch her.”

Dane and Rip nodded. Then I shot straight up, going as fast as I could. If anyone was watching me or knew I had two tokens . . . well, I didn’t want to give them a chance to catch up. I was five hundred meters above the seabed when I finally slowed, glancing around.

A mistake.

Stingrays and sharks were patrolling the area above the Trial. I hissed through my teeth. None had spotted me yet, but I needed to move.

Now!

I tried to imagine myself as dark and murky looking, invisible from the swirling sea around me. I knew it was a long shot that I could do camouflage magic, but I had to try something. The water was getting rougher as I approached the surface. I could see it glimmering above me. A flash illuminated the waters around me.

Lighting.

It was storming above.

And I was wearing an awful lot of metal.

I propelled myself upward as quickly as I could. I felt the cold air as I emerged, spinning to look in all directions.

There!

I was falling back into the water when I saw a circlet of gold hovering high above the steep waves, twenty meters to my left. I dropped back into the water and sped toward it, diving down as I went. I’d need to go down to build up enough speed.

I started swimming up again. This time, I could see the token above me, faintly glimmering against the dark and stormy sky. I knew I was aiming for the right place.

I screamed as a stingray’s tail slashed against my back. I froze, momentarily unable to move. The pain was too intense. I was sinking fast, losing valuable momentum. But that wasn’t the worst part.

My blood is in the water.

It would not be long until a shark noticed me. Perhaps only seconds. I had to swim, no matter how much pain I was in.

Swim, Tri. Right now. Swim for your life!

I saw the shark swerve in my direction as I gathered all of my strength and swam for the surface again. I dug deep, finding a reserve I didn’t even know I had. My inner voice was cheering me on as I burst through the air and grasped the circlet in my hand. I was suspended in the air for a moment as the gold lifted away from my hand, settling on my head. A shell fell from thin air into my outstretched hand.

And then I plummeted, falling like a bird without wings.

I didn’t dive back in like a swan. I plunged into the shark-infested waters like a stone or a hunk of meat. I was too stunned by what had just happened to do anything but let gravity do its work for a moment. Then I saw the sharks bearing down on me from multiple directions.

I could see the thin trails of blood spinning out from my back. That stingray had cut deep, and it hadn’t closed up. I was about to be shark bait.

At last, I woke out of my stupor. I dove, harder and faster than I had ever swum before. I had my weapons, but I knew I could never fight off a full-sized shark. Who was I kidding?

I was chum.

But I tried, if only because my friends were waiting. And I wanted to live. I wanted to live and I wanted to win.

I must have reached some sort of a magical barrier because I felt a tingle as my hand passed through. At the same moment, a snub-nosed shark slammed into something hard beside me. An invisible force field, designed to protect us from the deadly predators circling above. The shark had been going for my head, apparently. I turned back just in time to see an enormous shark bite down on my unprotected tail.

I knew it was over in that instant. I would not be Spark. I would not even survive the next few seconds. I wanted to be brave but I wasn’t.

I screamed in terror and pain as my blood filled the water. I was pulled backward, up out of the protected zone. I was pretty sure it was a great white, like Beazil. But this was no friend.

This was my end.

Say goodbye, Tri. You did your best.

Something whooshed by me, and I felt myself released from the razor-sharp teeth. I was dropping again. I landed against a warm body and was quickly cradled in strong arms, with a voice whispering to me again and again to stay with them. To stay awake. To live.

* * *

“She’s awake.”

I was lightheaded and woozy. I clutched my stomach, certain I was about to throw up. I saw Dane and Starla on one side of the bed. I turned my head and saw Rip waiting on the other. Annaruth leaned over me.

“Shh, it is all right. You are all right, my brave one.”

She was working on me, I realized. I could feel pain, but also heat. Magic. I could feel my flesh doing something very strange. It was weaving itself back together under her hands.

“Can you put her back under?”

“No, wait.”

Dane squeezed my hand and leaned in.

“What is it?”

“Did we win?”

He choked out a strangled laugh. I realized his eyes were shining because he was holding back tears. I looked at Starla and she nodded. Her eyes looked suspiciously red.

“Yes, we won.”

I lay back down with a smile.

“I’m not dying, am I?”

“No, Tri. You aren’t. But only because Dane saved you.”

I smiled at him. I was feeling unaccountably happy. I winced as the pain rose up again, but I kept on smiling. I honestly couldn’t stop.

“You did?”

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

Now it was my turn to laugh at him. I stopped pretty quickly because it hurt. The laugh turned into a moan. I knew they were going to drug me again, and I had questions, by Triton!

“So, when can I swim again?”

“Don’t worry, you have two days to heal up before the final battle. And now, if you don’t mind, I think you should rest.”

“Can I eat something first?”

I was nauseous, sure, but I was still hungry.

“No, Katriana. Just rest. Rest and heal. You have a lot of Mers counting on you. More than you could ever know.”

“But—”

Annaruth waved her hand over me and that was it. I went out like a light. A two-legger light, not a magical light. Because those generally never turned off.

Darkness.

* * *

It was nearly black in the tent when I opened my eyes next. I was alone, my cot partitioned off with hanging cloth sheets for privacy. It was quiet.

After a moment, my eyes adjusted and I saw the shape slumped in a seat by my bed. His hand held mine loosely. His eyes were closed, barely visible under his hood. I realized he was sleeping.

“Dane?”

He didn’t stir. But a shape at the foot of my bed did.

My eyes grew wide when I saw who it was. My hackles rose. I hated that she had seen me sleeping and totally vulnerable. For a moment, I wondered if she had come to slit my throat.

I forced myself to keep my tone light.

“Thalia. Have you come to see if I was okay? That’s so touching.”

A sly smile crossed her face. It wasn’t a nice smile.

“Of course, sister dear. Why else would I be here?” Her eyes slid to Dane’s sleeping form. “I wonder if you even know how devoted he is to you?”

“He’s my friend. I told you. Maybe you don’t know what true friendship looks like.”

“Friendship, my fins. He’s in love with you.”

“If you say so.” I decided to look bored. Her words were making my heart pound, but there was no reason for me to let her know that. There was something threatening in her eyes, though. “Why are you really here?”

She tossed her shining blonde hair.

“Mother thinks we should have killed you years ago.”

“Child murder isn’t generally smiled upon, Thalia. No matter how rich you are.”

“You never really were a child though, were you? You always knew you would win the Trials.”

That made me angry. How dare she? I was just a little girl who had lost her father. And I’d never known anything! I’d dreamed, yes, but dreams were all I had!

“I was a child. I was a lonely, frightened child.”

“Oh, boo-hoo. You never lacked for anything. You always knew you were better than everyone else.”

I was almost too angry to speak. Thankfully, Dane did it for me.

“Get out of here, Thalia, or I’ll report you. The Med tent is off limits, as you well know.”

She glared at him.

“Who do you think you are, anyway? If you want to go slumming, that’s fine with me—”

She was cut off with a flash of light from his hand. He’d magicked her into silence, I realized. Her eyes were wide with fright and something else.

Recognition.

She rasped out a few words, her fingers dragging at her throat.

“I know who you are! I know!”

A heavy hand came down on her shoulder.

“And if you tell anyone, your life will be forfeit.”

Thalia turned to see Annaruth behind her. She sputtered a few times as Annaruth tightened her grip. But when the High Priestess lifted her eyes to me, her gaze was soft.

“I’ll see you out, and then we can discuss what your punishment should be.” She gave me an arch look. “As for you, you need to stop waking up. I’m going to have to double the spell I’m using.”

She lifted her hand and I sank into myself.

When I woke, all I could remember was that Dane had been there with me all night. But it was little more than the fragments of a mostly forgotten dream.