Chapter 19
brODERICK
Galen’s Gauntlet is always arranged so spectators have a decent view of the obstacles that competitors are working through.
Which means Owen and I stand on a high bank, easily seeing into the maze, where Ophelia and Niko battle a sentient net.
The thing scurries and lunges, moving like a spider, which makes it kind of terrifying.
But they aren’t panicking.
“You can do it,” Owen mutters, gaze intent on the face-off.
I expect him to be half drunk and bellowing, but the selkie seems focused.
How much money did he wager against Seamus?
Just when it appears like they have an opening, Ophelia loses her footing and disappears under the shallow water.
Owen’s hand fisting the back of my shirt is the only thing that keeps me from diving into the competition.
A second later, she pops up, spluttering water and thoroughly tangled in the net.
The animated trap drags my firebird up a boulder.
“Go, Niko!” I hear her holler. “If I get free, I’ll catch up.”
But she has no knife or claws to rend the thick ropes.
I expect a thick wash of orange to flood her aura.
Ready myself to hear her panicked screams from the way she’s bound.
Captive, like her whole life before Folk Haven.
My eyes lock on her hands, and I wait for her fingers to curl and press against her heart.
Calling for my aid.
Owen is going to lose an arm soon if he doesn’t let me go.
She needs me. Niko is going to leave her.
Only the kappa doesn’t. With the net distracted, he’s free to power forward and possibly win the whole thing. A crown that only one mythic can claim anyway. Their alliance would have to end sometime, so why not now?
Instead, the kappa scrabbles up the rock after Ophelia, chasing the net as she struggles to claw herself free. He’s almost to her when the net flops on the shoreline and falls loose.
“Stop!” Ophelia shrieks, and I’m sure her anxiety has finally arrived.
But then I realize her hand isn’t clutched to her chest. Instead, they are both open in a staying gesture extended toward her ally.
“I’m free,” she calls out. “And I’m disqualified.” That’s true. Like the fish did before with other competitors, the net dragged her out of bounds. “You still have a chance, Niko. Go!”
Finally, the kappa listens, giving her a nod of thanks before plunging back into the maze.
But I don’t pay him any further attention as I shove away from Owen, slide down the steep bank, and rush to Ophelia’s side.
My hands glide over her skin as I search for injuries.
A few scratches and bruises, but that’s all.
“How are you?” I pant the question, adrenaline pumping hard through my veins.
My magic searches her aura for sickly orange. For signs of fear.
There is none.
“I’m great!” she gasps and throws her arms around my neck, pulling me in until we topple onto the ground together. Her wet bathing suit soaks my clothes, but I couldn’t give a shit because she’s in my arms, laughing. “That was amazing! Did you see me?”
“Every second.” I stare down into her golden eyes. “You’re not upset about being disqualified?”
Ophelia laughs and shakes her head. “Not at all. I wasn’t in it for a win.”
“Then, why’d you sign up?”
Her hands cup my face, thumbs tracing my cheekbones.
“Because I wanted to live. To challenge myself. To be a little wild. A little dangerous.” She sighs, and it’s like a lifetime of tension leaves her in that one breath. “To show myself I can do anything I want.”
“You can. You can conquer the world if you want.” I lean down and press a gentle kiss to her lips, soothed by the steady warmth in her. “How do you feel?”
Fire sparks in her eyes.
“Free.”