Page 61 of Heart of the Summer Queen

Heart seizing, I cease all motion, praying my movements so far were controlled enough to avoid catching its notice. That it won’t be able to smell the blood from my wound.

I stay still, watching.

It too doesn’t move.

And just as I think it’s about to turn away, it charges for me.

I dart left, trying to reach the shore and pull myself out before it nears me. Now I make no attempt at stealth, splashing furiously with all the haste I can muster. Even if it means drawing the other eels toward me.

As I break the surface, my hopes sink. On this side of the lake, towering rocks form the perimeter. Their faces are smooth and slippery, offering no handholds to climb.

I’m trapped.

And out of time. The eel is almost upon me, with doubtless more close behind.

“Adara!” comes Elaric’s distant cry from across the lake. But he’s too far to reach me. To stop all the fangs from tearing through me.

Still, I thrash on with my dwindling strength, frantically splashing through the water. I don’t know where I’m swimming toward. I don’t have time to consider it. Nor do I dare waste precious seconds by diving under water and gauging how close the eel is.

“Adara!” he shouts again.

I can spare no breath on replies. I can only swim for my life.

And then everything stops.

One minute I’m swimming, and then I’m not. Everything around me stills, the restless currents banished.

twenty-two

It takes my frenzied mind a moment to realize exactly what just happened.

Elaric froze the lake with a single thought, even though he’s standing so far away on the other side.

The water is suspended around me, forming an indentation. The surface is a few feet above, close enough I should be able to reach up and drag myself out.

Rising to my feet is a struggle on the smooth surface. The clear ice reveals the dark waters as if encased in glass.

Just an arm’s length away lies the eel, fangs bared wide in preparation of a lethal strike. Its next surge through water would have shredded me into ribbons.

Dread shivers through me.

If Elaric delayed in freezing the lake, I’d be dead right now.

When I look behind, I see the shadowy figures of more trapped eels. Though they’re several yards away, they would have reached me soon after the first.

“Adara!” Elaric’s cry rings out, no longer muffled by the splashing of water. Footsteps echo, growing nearer as he crosses the lake.

I grip the icy ledge and drag my body up with gritted teeth. It proves a great effort after all of tonight’s trials.

Elaric grabs my arms, inspecting me carefully. Alarm flares across his face as he notices the swollen puncture marring the back of my hand.

“It’s nothing,” I insist, pulling away my hand. But his grip is unyielding.

“The paralysis . . . ” Fear laces his voice.

“I’m fine,” I say quickly.

Elaric’s eyes drop to the antidote vial at my neck, now containing the crumpled brambleweed leaves stuffed inside. A muscle feathers in his jaw. “I should have never let you do this.”

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