At first, he let out a low grumble, pushing hard against our magic. He fought through the water toward us, but as his strength began to weaken, he flipped backward, soaring off into the darkness of the river.
Everything went calm, and the screeching sounds of the mer-people drifted off into the distance.
After surfacing one more time to refresh our air bubbles, the four of us dove down, kicking through the water and swimming to the other side. It was safer underneath, since it meant we could see what was coming in all directions.
We emerged on the opposite bank, pulling each other up onto the shore and collapsing onto the soft ground. We were dripping wet and absolutely exhausted. My limbs felt like they did after a hard training session, shaky and useless.
After a few moments of lying there, Merrick began to chuckle. “This is getting harder and harder every step we take.”
Trace sat up, wringing the water out of his shirt before putting it back on. “Yeah, it is, but at least we’re one step closer to our goal. I can’t imagine any of the other contestants actually getting across this river. How would ye be able to fight off all those fuckin’ fish creatures by yerself?”
I pulled myself up and leaned back against a rock. “That’s the point. We’re outside of the competition zone, so no one is actually supposed to make it across the river unless they’re invited. It’s no longer a battle of wits, not that it ever was, but now survival will be even more difficult. We’re in the gods’ territory, outside of the playing area, and if they didn’t know that we were gone from the competition before, they’re definitely going to know now. I can’t imagine the mermaids not being one with the gods. Someone will tell on us.”
Lachlan stood up, wringing out a shirt before putting it back on.
“Fuck’s sake. When I don’t want visitors, I just close the blinds and turn off the lights. The gods, they really don’t like outside people. They’ve got mer-people and three-headed dragons and who knows what else out there. They’re obviously willin’ to kill anybody that comes to visit.”
Chuckling, I pulled myself to my feet. “I don’t imagine they like people coming into their land. But even more than that, it makes me wonder what they’re hiding. It’s gotta be something big for them to take so many precautions to protect their seat of power. We just need to get there. It will hold answers; I know it will.”
Trace nodded, making a face as he dragged himself upright. “Yup. And hopefully we’ll get there in one damn piece.”
Chapter Seventeen
Several hours later, Lachlan stopped, leaning against a tree and shaking his head.
“I don’t know about ye ladies, but I think we’ve gone far enough for the night. We swam across a ragin’ river, fought off mer-creatures, and we’ve been hikin’ for a couple of hours straight. We’re moving at a glacial pace here, and if we come across anything that we have to fight, we probably won’t survive it.”
Stopping beside him, I put my back against the tree and closed my eyes for a moment. He was right, even if I didn’t want to admit it. I felt absolutely tapped, mentally, physically, and emotionally.
“I agree,” I said. “We should stop for the night. It’s probably going to get dark soon anyway, if it even gets dark on this side of the barrier. Either way, we need to rest, eat, and dry off any clothes that might still be wet.”
Trace dropped to the ground dramatically, his limbs splayed. “Yes! Finally! The drill sergeant agrees that we can have some rest. I was starting to think we were going to hike until we dropped.”
The guys all chuckled, and I rolled my eyes, sticking my tongue out at him. Merrick smirked. “You better be careful with that thing. You can’t just go sticking it wherever you want to, not around us.”
“Oh, is this how the night’s gonna go?” I swatted him playfully, although there wasn’t much strength behind it. I really was beat. “You guys busting my balls all night long?”
Merrick shrugged. “You just might have the biggest and most rock solid ones out of all of us. And I mean that as a compliment.”
I smirked at him as I picked up my bag and opened it up, searching through for the food. “Good. ’Cause I’m taking it as one.”
Now that we’d stopped walking, all I wanted to do was sleep for a fucking week. It took extreme effort to get moving again as the four of us started to make camp. There was definitely a sense of urgency hovering around us. We had no idea when someone would find the gem, and if they did, we really didn’t know if we would be brought back to the school. We were on the other side of the barrier that surrounded the Gods’ Challenge playing area, and I honestly wasn’t sure if whatever magic brought all the contestants back would find us out here.
Still, we couldn’t risk it. We had come too far to be snatched back at the last second. We were dead on our feet though, and we’d learned last time that we functioned better when we were well-rested. Fighting magical creatures off was exhausting, not to mention the hiking and the heat.
As Merrick used his magic to create a canopy for us to sleep under, Trace stood up and nodded behind us. “Maybe it’ll be a little bit safer to go in there.”
We all turned, looking over at a cave that had been hidden by ropes of thick vines. But as the breeze blew through the thickly wooded grove, the cave revealed itself. At first, I was a bit skeptical; the last cave I’d stepped into in this realm had ended up collapsing around us.
“I’ll go check it out. Be right back.” Lachlan held up a hand to stop the rest of us and stepped in first, sending up a ball of light as he disappeared inside.
We all stood watching the vine-covered hole he had disappeared into, waiting for him to come back.
After a few minutes, Merrick shot me a slightly concerned look. “Should we go in after him?”
“Oi, mates!” Lachlan yelled from inside the cave.
I let out a sigh of relief, then raised my voice. “Took you long enough! Is it safe?”
Lachlan poked his head out of the small rounded entryway into the cave, brushing aside the vines. “Aye. It’s completely empty. It doesn’t even look like any kind of animal has lived in here for quite a while. It might be a wee bit cold in here tonight, but it’s better than sleepin’ out in the open. Especially outside the barrier.”
Merrick created his own ball of light, allowing it to hover over his hand as he stepped inside. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Trace and I strode in after him, ducking through the short passage and into a cave that probably could’ve held an entire football team—not that I wanted to share it with anyone except my three men.
Falling into our usual duties, we spread out around the space. I made a fire in the center for light and warmth, and the others used their magic to create a bit more of a comfortable sleeping situation. None of us wanted to sleep on the hard stone ground. My body already felt like it’d been put through a meat grinder.
Sitting down next to the magical fire, I opened up my pack. We still had some food rations left, but our supply was getting pretty low. And outside the playing area, we wouldn’t find any more packs to help us.
“Sorry guys but we have to cut the rations in half. I don’t know when we’ll find food again, and we’re getting close to crumbs. We can always hunt and forage if we need to, but I’d rather not unless it’s absolutely necessary.”