The weird thing was, I was pretty sure Annaruth had fitted me for armor after the Trials. A practice set in silver and a more formal active duty set in brilliant gold. But the armor had never appeared. We weren’t permitted to wear armor in combat class.
Was this another deliberate sabotage? Or did Grendor truly believe I didn’t need protection? I watched Dane leave and then nodded at Starla and Rip, who came to hover on either side of me.
“Don’t worry,” Rip said. “If we get paired up, I’ll go easy on you.”
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically, watching as we were assigned sparring partners for the exam.
Chapter 25
“Hold positions until my say so,” Grendor’s voice rang out.
I held my magic back, waiting to begin. I wanted to see what my opponent would do before I attacked. I had to be careful. Even though I’d improved, my magic was still too much for me to have perfect control at all times.
We were facing off in pairs and would be scored on how well we did. And of course, I’d been given Jaynelle as a partner. I thanked my lucky stars it wasn’t her constant companion, Juno.
I didn’t know if he could weaponize the pain magic, but I didn’t want to find out.
Supposedly, the chamber had been magicked to prevent anyone from getting too injured.
Or worse.
At least I had Dane’s armor for this test. I doubted the General had made any such magical precautions. I wondered if I would be allowed to keep the armor for Combat. I was far more nervous about the final exam of the day. I squared my shoulders as Jaynelle lifted her hand.
“And . . . begin!”
The room filled with the humming sounds of magic and flashes of light. I caught Juno watching us over Jaynelle’s shoulder and almost laughed when he took a hit of magic right across his face. He saw my smirk and smiled in a way that made me think that Dane was right. Maybe Juno did have some sort of twisted crush on me.
Blech.
Jaynelle launched her attack. Her magic took the form of daggers, slicing and dicing toward me on uneven trajectories. That was a deliberate move and very smart. Most opponents would not have enough magic to throw a full shield. They would have to try and knock each glowing weapon out one by one.
And some would invariably find the mark, I thought as they started to converge toward my body. If I didn’t stop all the daggers, I would have taken hits, head to tail.
Thank Triton I had more magic than most. Still, I thought with a hint of admiration, she should get a high score for the sheer number of weapons she’d conjured.
I opened my palms and white light filled the chamber, forming a bubble around me. It wasn’t merely a shield, however. It was a weapon, too. Jaynelle’s daggers bounced off and headed back toward her. Her eyes grew large as they sliced into her uniform, drawing blood.
Not too much blood, I was relieved to note. She sneered at me and tried again. This time, the magic was a long string of attached spikes. Again, I threw the shield and her weapon bounced right back, rebounding to wrap around her tail.
I winced, glad it wasn’t my tail. I almost felt bad for her. Almost.
“If you get bored, let me know,” I called out from behind the shield. “That looks like it hurts.”
Jaynelle’s eyes took on a frenzied look as she forced her magic into a ball, straining at the effort. Then she did something unexpected. She twisted in the water and threw it at Juno instead.
He fell backward, unable to launch his attack on his sparring partner. I watched as he tried to smear the excess magic off his face and chest. She hadn’t hurt him. She’d just slowed him down. It should have been funny. But for some reason, it just wasn’t.
“Weapons down!” Grendor called out, a hint of panic in her voice. I’m sure she hadn’t been expecting the candidates to start attacking each other in the middle of her test. “The exam is over.”
“Good match,” I offered, even though it hadn’t been. I hadn’t even bothered to attack her. Jaynelle might be formidable in physical combat, but her magic was no match for mine. We both knew it, too.
“You can’t have everything,” Jaynelle hissed at me as the magic rope still wrapped around her fins dissipated, dissolving back into her hands. “You can’t have everyone.”
I glanced at her, then at the giant Mer blocking my path. Juno was staring at me with an odd look on his face. I looked back down at the Mer who was still plucking magic barbs from her tail. She bristled as I stared down at her.
“I don’t want anything or anyone. I just want to be Spark. I just want to be left alone.”
Then I swam out alone, ignoring Juno as he tore into Jaynelle for throwing magic at him. Things were definitely going badly between the two of them. And learning that Jaynelle liked Juno and Juno liked me . . . well, it was a little bit creepy.
At least I finally understood why she hated me so much. That was all the knowledge gained me. If Juno liked me, why in water was he always trying to defeat me?
I sighed, not really caring about the answer. Other Mers’ feelings were none of my business. I was the keeper of my own heart. And I had so many other things to worry about.
Suddenly, I was glad that Combat was next. I had the strangest urge to hit something. Hard.
“Tri,” Rip’s voice rumbled. “Wait up!”
I slowed down just enough not to be rude, but I kept swimming. I was too agitated to stop. The exam was outside the castle in the same massive arena the Trials had been held in. We all knew the route well. They would catch up soon enough.
Rip and Starla were out of breath when they got to me.
“We’re supposed to stick to you like glue, remember?”
“No,” I said, not looking at them. “You’ll get yourselves killed. Not worth it.”
“By Triton, it is!” Starla said, sounding like she was close to tears. “We can’t lose you.”
I stopped finally, just past the circular entry to the arena. Being back here was . . . disconcerting, I thought as I stared up at the imposing structure.
“I need you,” Starla continued, looking distraught. “The Seas need you.”
“Two-leggers too, if we want to be accurate.”
I made a sound of disbelief at Rip, but I felt some of my fury slipping away with their teasing and friendly faces.
“Two-leggers? What am I doing for them?”
“They need the oceans too,” he said simply. “You need to save them from themselves.”
I stared at him, suddenly feeling very small. I was just one Mer. How in water was I supposed to be up for that job?
“You can do it,” he added. “I believe in you.”
“How am I supposed to stay mad when you say nice things like that?”
“She needs to be mad,” Dane said as he swam up. We noticed that he had several guards flanking him, but he waved them back. “Annaruth lost the battle to have the weapons blunted. Another reason I will not be allowed to participate.”
We all exchanged glances, each of our faces grim.
“That means . . .”
“That the Combat exam is going to be just as deadly as the Trials.”
Chapter 26
The arena was not as packed as it had been for the Trials, but almost. The entire Royal family and most of the nobles were here. The families of the candidates who lived close enough had come as well.
Even without the huge crowds spilling over the benches, it was still nerve-racking.
We were divided into two teams, each of us given an arm band of either red or blue. Starla was on the other team. So was Rip. Dane was in the stands, seated in a throne beside his mother. His eyes were hard and dark as he stared at me. I could see his hands gripping the armrests.
The Prince looked furious at being forced to sit on the sidelines. And I knew he was worried about his friends. Especially me.
He’s not even bothering to try and hide his emotions, I thought distractedly. I was pretty sure half the audience was watching him wat
ch me.
I adjusted my armor, realizing that someone had in fact tried to get me sent into our exams without any protection. We were not allowed magic in this fight. In fact, the arena had been spelled so we could not even use it instinctively. This was one time my powers could not help me. My only advantage was my speed. This was a contest of pure brute strength and athletic ability.
Cunning and sneakiness were factors too, as well I had learned in the Trials.
Speaking of sneakiness . . .
I glanced up to see my sister on my side of the battle line. At least she won’t be trying to harpoon me this time, I said to myself. She was staring at her mother in the audience. An unspoken message was clearly passing back and forth between them.
I was glad I couldn’t understand what it meant.
Thalia looked at me briefly, then at the sandy floor of the arena.
I glanced around and realized weapons were being distributed. I swam forward and selected a spear. I stared at the pointed end of it.
Why in water were we being given sharp weapons? They were not just slightly sharp, like something an average Mer would have for protection when out in open water. These were weapons made for war. Deadly and brutal. Didn’t the General want us to survive? I looked at the crowd again and noticed Annaruth was not here.
Something was wrong. I could feel it, all the way down to my fins.
I waited, twitching my fins now and then to maintain my position. The fact that I was alone and far from any sort of backup was becoming clear. All of Thalia’s minions were on the same side. Juno and Jaynelle were on the other team.
I had a very uneasy feeling that I was going to be bleeding before the end of the exam.
With no one here to save me.
But I had one thing on my side. Only Annaruth and her healers knew about my ability to heal. If I had to, maybe I could heal myself . . . discretely, of course.
I closed my eyes as the arena grew very quiet. The exam was about to begin. A horn sounded and the arena erupted into violence. Fighting broke out everywhere. I had expected weapons to be thrown at first, but no one wanted to lose their weapon so early in the game. This fight was more up close and personal.
But no one was being skewered. Instead, Mers were being disarmed and disqualified left and right. I sighed in relief, hoping the fight would stay somewhat civilized.
Not a bad idea to get disqualified from this particular exam, I thought to myself. I blocked an attack from Jaynelle as she barreled toward me, throwing small star-shaped objects. My forearm armor worked well with those small weapons, but with one glance, I knew that was the least of what she was going to try and do to me.
She had a wickedly sharp-looking sword strapped to her side. I glanced down at my comparatively puny-looking spear in annoyance.
I’d been right. The exam was a setup. I only had one weapon.
I spun as I sensed someone behind me.
Minka. I had two Mers on me, and one of them from my own team! I moved quickly, darting around Minka and using her as a shield as Jaynelle drew her sword and thrust it forward. Minka screamed in pain as the sword found its mark.
Triton, I hadn’t meant to get the Mer stabbed!
I grimaced as the blade skewered her, scraping my fins as it came out the other side. I was horrified, even though Minka was one of the most unpleasant Mers I’d ever had the misfortunate to meet. Jaynelle had no such compunctions as she yanked the sword free, making the water turn red with blood.
Minka sagged in front of me. It was a killing blow. Or it would be, unless I did something about it.
“Waste of magic,” I muttered as I applied my hands to her flesh. No one could see us. They would think I was still using her as a shield. Jaynelle roared with frustration as she tried to stab me again. I spun too quickly for her, still holding the inert Mer in front of me.
Thank Triton, she didn’t manage to stab Minka again.
Or me.
I felt the wound in Minka’s back close up underneath my hands and released her, letting her fall to the seabed. She’d live to be awful for another day. Then I darted away, trying to find a safe place far from the murderous Mer on my fins. We were supposed to battle and defeat as many Mers as possible, to show technique. We weren’t supposed to be murdering each other!
But Jaynelle apparently had no interest in winning or high marks. She just wanted me dead. I knew the safest bet would be to swim away. Because I knew she would win. She was, by far, the better fighter. Not as fast or agile, but much bigger and stronger.
And I couldn’t use my magic to defeat her.
I swam so fast and so far that I nearly hit the outer wall of the arena. I was closer to the Queen and Dane now. I surveyed the battle, trying to find a more even fight. I needed to participate, not just swim in circles!
My eyes widened as I saw two Mers coming right for me.
Jaynelle. And it looked like Juno was coming for me as well, but from the other side of the arena. Hopefully, I could handle her before Juno arrived. I couldn’t defeat either one of them in hand to hand combat.
The truth sank in. I wasn’t all that confident I was getting out of the arena alive.
This might be it, I thought as I looked around in a panic.
Rip was in the thick of it, but winning, from what I could tell. I saw Starla darting this way and that, trying to evade actual fighting. Clever Mer, I thought, praying fervently that she would make it through this. One of us females had to.
“Tri! Watch out!” I heard Dane shout, and I turned just in time to parry a blow from Thalia.
My own sister, who was on my side of the battle, no less, was attempting to literally stab me in the back.
Triton, this day just keeps getting better, I thought sourly as a strange sense of calm came over me.
The truth was, it broke my heart a little. She wanted me dead. My own sister wanted me dead.
This was so much worse than her simply not liking me or thinking I was beneath her. This was something dark and twisted. This was hate.
I fought back, trying not to hurt her. No matter what her feelings toward me were, I didn’t want to turn my only living blood relation into a Mer-ka-bob.
She was a better fighter than I’d imagined. And when Jaynelle arrived, they exchanged a surprisingly friendly look.
I realized I was losing almost immediately. I didn’t stand a chance. Thalia was my equal in battle, but Jaynelle could take us both. And together, they were undefeatable.
My armor protected me from the most direct hits, but Jaynelle’s blade slid into the crack at my shoulder, piercing my skin. Thankfully, it wasn’t the arm holding the spear. I held it sideways, trying to block the next blow, which came from my sister.
I wondered idly whether she or Minka would be removed from the Academy for breaking the rules and attacking someone on their own team.
I kind of doubted it, though.
Cowardice would get you removed. Failure. But being bloodthirsty was apparently rewarded. Especially since the General was running this exam. Without Annaruth to keep him in check, he was letting his bloodthirsty tendencies go wild.
I cried out as Thalia stabbed my side, her blade sliding easily into my flesh. I was not going to make it, I realized. I could feel my magic working to repair the wound, but it was too deep. It would take too long.
Especially since Jaynelle was aiming her blade at my throat.
I saw something big swim in front of me with a roar, blocking the blow. At the same time, I felt someone behind me.
This is it, I thought. I’m about to die. Thalia will make the killing blow.
But when I turned to fight back with what remaining strength I had, I saw it was Dane.
The Prince was in the arena.
Without armor.
He was shielding me with his body.
I shook my head wildly, screaming, “Dane! No!”
He just shook his head, turning to face whoever else came. But no one did. I turned again, realizin
g my shoulder had not healed and my side was still gushing blood. I must have used up my magic to heal Minka.
Maybe the arena’s magic cloaking spell only worked when you were trying to help yourself. Or perhaps someone very powerful was preventing me from using my abilities.
What I saw when I turned back amazed me.
For a moment, I thought I had lost too much blood.
I blinked but the vision was still there.
Juno was protecting me. He was fighting Jaynelle with everything he had, and he was winning.
He flashed me a smile over his shoulder, and Jaynelle’s blade got through his defense, stabbing one burly arm. I caught sight of the General in the stands. He was fuming, screaming something.
But I couldn’t hear.
I could barely hear anything.
“Get her out of here, Pollux!” Juno shouted over his shoulder as he started to drive Jaynelle away. Thalia was hovering nearby, clearly unwilling to attack the Prince who was glued to my fins.
“What?” I asked stupidly.
Then Dane’s arm was around me, lifting me high above the fighting. He didn’t stop swimming as the arena disappeared below us. He didn’t wait for his guards.
He just swam.
The rock beneath my cheek felt oddly familiar as I slowly became aware of my surroundings. It was dark and cool, but not unpleasantly so. I felt utterly safe, which was a nice change from what had happened in the arena.
The arena where I’d nearly died, I remembered in a rush of terror. Where Dane had risked his life for me in front of everyone.
I flipped over, then grimaced as pain shot through me.
“Triton, that hurts!”
But not as much as it should have. I opened my eyes. And blinked.
Lumi was staring at me.
Beazil was hovering solicitously nearby.
Dane was too.
We were in a cave. Not just any cave. My cave.
I was alive and we were in the cave.
That meant . . . this was it. The worst-case scenario. If Dane hadn’t taken me to Annaruth or the Palace . . . he wanted me to leave Oceana.
Mermaid Academy Page 14