Page 80 of Spirit Trials
“Not if you win,” I shout to be heard and fight to stay above water when a wave comes our way.
She smiles. “Maybe, but I’d rather get my friend back to the shore.”
I turn back to Kinsley. “I’ll go with you.”
“No. I can’t do anything, even if I won this entire thing. You might be able to. With your prince, maybe you really can change things. Go, Farrah. Win this thing for us, for the banished. Give us a voice.”
I feel my eyes watering, and this time, it’s not from the water. “I don’t want to go on without you both.” Kinsley makes it to our group, and I notice her breathing is uneven.
“What’s going on?” she gasps, barely treading water.
“We’re sending Farrah on,” Harper says in a no-nonsense voice. “I’m taking you back.”
“What? No.” But her voice is weak, and her eyes tear up. “Harper, no.”
Harper moves next to her. “I’m going to get you back to the shore. We started this thing together; we’re going to finish it together. Okay?” There’s pain in Kinsley’s expression, but she doesn’t fight it. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have the energy to. “Here.” Harper holds her hand out to me. I put out my hand and she drops her gold coins in my palm. Kinsley does the same thing a moment later.
“Go, Farrah,” Kinsley says in a weak voice. “Win. For us.”
I blink back tears and shove the gold coins into my pocket and zip it shut. “You get back safely.”
“We’ll see you when you get back,” Harper says in a voice that sounds oddly emotional for the girl who never shows emotion.
Something hardens inside me. “I will. I love you both.” We do our best to group hug, and then I push away. If I wait any longer, I won’t be able to keep going—both because of my emotion and the cold making my body sluggish. I don’t look back as I swim away. I trust Harper to get Kinsley back to the shore. I have to believe that they’ll both make it, or I won’t be able to keep going.I block everything out except for my rhythm.Right stroke, left stroke. Breathe. Right stroke, left stroke. Breathe.
Chapter 41
My mind seems to slow, and I somehow seem to detach from my body in a way. I don’t feel anything as I swim. My body just keeps a consistent rhythm. Suddenly, something brushes my foot and then I’m yanked underwater. I suck in a mouth full of water, and kick hard at whatever has my foot. I whirl around, trying to get free of my attacker and come face to face with a horrible creature. It’s white, not very long, but it has a mouthful of jagged teeth that could probably tear an extremity off. I palm my knife and stab at it. My knife connects, drawing blood. I kick my legs and burst through the waves to get air. I take in a deep breath and then drop back underwater, trying to find the wretched creature. I feel a sharp pain in my thigh, and I raise my knife instinctively. This time, I manage to catch it in its side. The creature jerks and then goes still. Once again, I rise to the surface and suck in a lungful of air. Thankfully, in the cold water, I don’t feel the pain in my thigh. I cut off more of my shirt and tie it around my thigh, hoping it will stop the blood and not draw predators. Then I start swimming again. I know it’s not just in my mind that my strokes are even slower now. I wonder how long I can keep doing this. My eyes search in vain for land, but I see nothing. Panic hits me that I may not even be going the right direction. Before panic can completely overwhelm me, I push those thoughts away and focus on evening out my strokes. My arms feel so heavy, now. I want nothing more than to take a rest, but I fear I won’t be able to keep going if I do.
I keep going. Somehow. When I get tired and don’t want to continue, I think of Harper and Kinsley and remind myself I’m doing this for them as well as for myself. I think of my mom andbrother and what the money will do to change life for them. I refuse to think about how long I’ve been in these waters and just keep going. When it feels like I can’t go any longer, I allow myself a little break. Just a minute to rest my weary muscles; then I start swimming again. Each time I stop, it gets harder and harder to keep moving. And then when it feels like I can’t possibly go any further, I finally see it.Land.My body nearly locks up at the sight of it, and I will my muscles to keep moving. I nearly run into somebody, and swim to the side at the last moment. A girl flails in the water beside me. When she’s jerked underneath the waves, I grab my knife and dive under water. I see that it’s another of the white creatures that attacked me. I go after it and stab its side and kick it away. When I resurface, I’m knocked in the head and go back underwater. I didn’t have enough time to get air, and panic fills me as I fight my way to the surface. When I finally break through, I take a deep breath, even as I spin around, trying to figure out what it is that hit me. I’m pushed under again, and I realize it’s the girl. In her panic, she’s pushing me underwater. I finally get away from her and burst through the surface of the water. “Stop fighting me!” I shout at her. Her eyes are wide, and I can see the panic. I swim towards her and wrap my arms around her waist, trapping her arms at her side. She bucks, but my grip is tight. “Don’t fight me. I’m trying to help you.” Her body finally stops fighting me, and I strain to swim backwards, pulling her with me. “We’re close to land,” I shout over the waves. “We’re almost there—” Before I get the words out, something knocks into me. I lose my grip on the girl as I’m pushed under the waves. I try to swim up but can’t. It takes me a moment to realize what’s happening.Somebody’s holding me underwater.Panic rushes through me, and I fight against the grip on my shoulders. I reach for my knife, but it’s knocked from my hand the moment I pull it out. I arch against my attacker, but I can’t get free. My lungs are burning. If I don’tget air soon, I’m not going to make it. I thrash my body, trying to get free, but it’s useless. My vision starts to get hazy, and I open my mouth for air. Water pours into my mouth, and I choke, fighting harder. I try one last desperate attempt even as my body starts to go slack; darkness starts to close in around me.
I’m sorry.The faces of those I’ve failed flash in my mind’s eye.Kinsley. Harper. My Mom. My brother. Rysden. Lox. Jamik. Hector. The queen.I feel myself floating away, and I wonder if it’s for the best. I’m finally starting to feel warm and pain-free.I tried my best.The next thing I know, I come up out of the water. Clear oxygen hits me, and I suck down as much as possible and then cough up the water out of my lungs. Something pushes me forward, but my exhausted oxygen-deprived brain can’t figure out what. And then, there’s solid ground beneath my feet, and I stumble forward out of the water. I try to take a step and fall to my knees. Something nudges me from behind, and I push myself to my feet and take another step. But exhaustion weighs me down, and I fall forward and try to catch my breath.
After a long minute, I roll onto my back and stare at the gray sky before turning my head. I pause in shock and then sit up. “Shade!” I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him tightly, even as my eyes tear up. “Thank you.” I don’t care that I told Rysden not to send him, that I could be disqualified because of him. I just know that I’m alive because of him, and I’ll take that any day over winning. My tears drip onto his fur, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. I think they’re more out of exhaustion than anything else. I finally take a deep breath and pull back, wiping my eyes. Shade looks up at me, and I blink at him. His eyes are more purple today than gray. I stroke his head. “Thank you for coming for me.” I stand to my feet and stare out at the water and wonder if I have the strength to make it back.
Shade nudges me and walks away, and I follow him. He leads me a few feet away and nudges a small animal my way. I smile gratefully. “Thank you.” I manage to start a small fire with my flint and steel. I mentally send up a note of gratitude to Rysden for making sure they were securely stored in the pocket of my trousers. My stomach growls hungrily. After the meat is roasted, I toss several large chunks at Shade, but he refuses to eat. I don’t worry too much; he probably already caught something and ate it. I hear a sound and turn weary eyes to the water. I see two bodies bobbing in the water. When one of them cries out, I run towards them. I grab two sharp rocks as I run past and move into the water. The cold hits me, stealing my breath, but I continue forward. I see the creature that’s latched onto the girl’s back, and I knock it away and grab her hand and haul her towards the shallow water where she can stand. The guy comes up behind her. They both look exhausted and barely make it to the rocks before they drop to the ground. They both fall on their backs and try to catch their breath.
“Thank you,” the girl whispers. The guy opens his eyes and meets mine and nods.
I nod back and wander away from them, wondering where Shade went. I drop to the ground and catch my breath. I look out at the water again and wonder if there’s any way I’ll be able to make the trip back. “Not tonight,” I say to myself. The sun is setting. I know that making the trip in the dark would be suicide, and it’s not worth it. So instead of preparing for my trip back, I find a place to spend the night. I don’t go far from the water; I don’t want to be a midnight snack for a land animal. I find a spot and drop to the ground, using my arm as a pillow. I call for Shade but know he can protect himself. For all I know, he may have already headed back. With my belly full, exhaustion plagues me, and I fall asleep almost immediately. I wake a few times during the night, but every time, I feel Shade against me.His presence and warmth send me right back to sleep. When the sun rises, I rise with it. I’m still exhausted but better than I was last night. I know there’s no more delaying the inevitable. If I don’t do this now, I won’t ever. I quickly roast the game Shade left for me. After eating, I look at the wolf. “Ready, Shade?” I’m not really sure what he’s going to do, but he stays at my side as I walk towards the water. I step into the water and resist the urge to step right back out. I let my body get used to it a little before I dive all the way in. When I see Shade at my side, I can’t help but smile. I’m not going to lie. Knowing he’s next to me is going to be a gamechanger. I don’t even care if I get disqualified. I just want to make it back. Alive.
The novelty of having a wolf at my side fades pretty quickly, and weariness sets in. I focus on my rhythm until every thought in my head fades away into nothingness.Right stroke, left stroke. Breathe. Right stroke, left stroke. Breathe.The rhythm is endless, but if I let my mind dwell on anything else, I lose focus and start to dwell on the fact that I won’t make it. So, I focus instead on the next stroke and the next one after that. Three times, sea creatures come at us. But with Shade at my side, they don’t stand a chance. Every once in a while, I let myself lift my head and look for land. It never comes. I get to a point where I don’t think I can make it, nor do I want to make it. But Shade nudges me time and time again, and I start swimming again. In my darkest moments, when I don’t think I can lift my arms one more time, my mom’s face flashes before my eyes or my brother’s, Harper’s, Kinsley’s, Rysden’s. Repeatedly, all their faces flash before me, somehow keeping me going. And then, when I can’t go any further, I see it. “Land.” The word is wrenched from my lips in a cry. I find the strength to keep moving somehow. And then, there’s blessed land beneath my feet. I stagger to my feet, falling three times before I reach thesand. The last time I fall, I don’t get back up. My top half is on the sand, and for now, it’s enough. My body is absolutely wasted.
“Farrah Bromean,” I hear a voice say, and I manage to crack an eye open. I see Terron’s gryphon a few feet from me. I blink, wondering if I’m seeing things. “Farrah.” I hear my name again and turn bleary eyes towards the man walking towards me. I wearily use my arms to push myself to my feet and stand on shaky legs. “You finished,” Terron says with a smile. “Eaglon will flash you back.” He nods at his gryphon, and I turn to face the gryphon. The movement makes the world around me spin, and I fall back to the ground. This time, I don’t get back up.
When I open my eyes next, I take in the room around me and know I’m back at Rysden’s, in his room to be exact. I feel something brush my hand, and I turn my head, smiling when I see Shade. “You got us home,” I say softly. The door to the room opens, and Rysden steps in, closing the door behind him. “I have a bone to pick with you,” I tell him.
“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.”
Chapter 42
I frown at him. “I'm mad at you.”
His lips threaten to tug up at the corners. “Why does that not surprise me?”
I refuse to smile. “You broke your word.”
His smile disappears. “How so?”
