Chapter 7
The creature rears back and makes a hideous sound.
But we don’t stick around to see what happens.
We keep moving, cutting down the brush as we go.
I finally take a second to look behind us.
“It’s no longer chasing us,” Kaldar says.
He's taken the lead again. “Thanks for that.” He glances over his shoulder at me. “I’m glad I gave you a weapon.”
“Rysden’s going to kill me for not having a weapon on me.”
“Rysden’s been doing your training?” he asks casually.
“He has as well as Lox, Jamik, and Hector. And they’d all be furious that I didn’t have any weapons on me.”
He’s quiet a moment. “If it helps, I’m furious at myself for not being prepared. In my defense, I had no idea when I came to get you and Harper that I’d be in the Rites again. But even then, I should have prepared immediately once I met you.”
I sigh. “It’s fine. I wish you would have told me not to touch you.”
He turns around and faces me. “I didn’t know it was going to be an issue.” He has a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
“If you remember, I tripped and fell into you.”
“Did you? Or were you already falling for me?”
“I...that’s not...” Then I see his smirk. I shake my head at him. I try to redirect the conversation. “How come you still came anyway? I thought you weren’t coming because we can stay now.”
He turns to me. “Rysden changed the law?”
“He did.”
He gives an impressed nod. “That’s good. I didn’t think he’d be able to change it that fast.”
“Have you met Rysden?” I ask dryly.
He chuckles. “Yeah, I guess it shouldn’t surprise me. I’m just surprised the law passed that quickly.”
“I don’t know how it all works. Do laws not pass quickly in your kingdom?”
“In the Jaguar Kingdom? That would be a no. Everything in our kingdom is slowed down with customs and traditions.”
“Like the Spirit Rites?” I guess.
“Exactly like that. The Spirit Rites have been a part of our kingdom forever.” We come to a small clearing, and Kaldar cocks his head and falls silent. “There’s water this way.”
“Will we be able to drink it?” I ask as I follow him.
“We’ll figure it out.”
A little while later we do come upon a small creek of sorts. Not too long after that, Kaldar has a fire going and an elaborate system set up to boil the water and collect it using large leaves we found along the way. “I’m going to admit that I’m skeptical about this actually working.”
He smiles at me across the fire. “It will work. This is how I survived the first Spirit Rites I was in.”
“All right.” I look over at the water. “I’m going to try to catch something that we can eat.”
He gives me a surprised look. “Okay.”
I don’t bother telling him that Hector made sure each of us girls could catch something, skin it, and cook it on our own so we could survive.
All I have is the knife Kaldar gave me. I approach the water, studying it a moment.
I’m actually looking forward to wading in and cooling off some.
The heat is stifling, and the water looks deeper than I originally thought.
“I don’t see anything dangerous.”
Kaldar’s voice comes from right behind me, making me jump at least a foot in the air. I whirl around with a hand on my chest. “You scared me.”
His eyebrows rise. “Sorry. I thought you heard me coming.”
“No, because you move like the animal you’re bonded to.”
His lips tug into a small smile. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Did you come to make sure I get the job done?”
“Nope. Just wanted to make sure it was safe before you went in.”
“Oh. Well, thanks.” I wade into the water with my knife in hand.
“Here.”
I look back and take in the long, wicked-looking knife. “It’s longer.”
I take it from him. “Thanks.”
He nods and then turns back. “I’m going to see what I can procure for shelter.”
I watch his retreating back. “You trust me to find food for us?”
“Yep.” He doesn’t even look back at me.
A sense of pride fills me, and I smile to myself as I wade into the water.
The water is cool and refreshing. I sigh and just enjoy it a moment before I get to work.
I peer into the water and study what’s swimming around.
There are two types I recognize and know are safe to eat.
I follow them a moment, hovering just above the water.
Then I spear one. “Gotcha.” I pull it out, and it wiggles on the knife.
Since I don’t know when we will get to eat again, I transfer the fish to my other knife and go after another one.
This catch takes me a little longer; this one does not want to be caught.
I follow it downstream and am just about to spear it when something grabs onto my leg.
I’m pulled under immediately. I don’t even get to take a breath before I’m submerged.
I flail my arms, trying to grab anything that will stop me.
But we’re moving too fast, and I can’t get my foot free.
Thankfully, I still have my knife. I slash at the thing that has me, even as my air starts to run out.
I slash more violently. I must connect, because my foot is released.
I jerk away and rush for the surface. Thankfully, it’s not too deep.
I come up out of the water and suck in a greedy breath.
I swim quickly away from the creature. It takes me longer than I thought it would; we must have really gone fast to cover that much ground.
Finally, I get back to shallow water. I stand up and walk over to the edge and try to wring out my clothes the best I can.
It's pretty much a waste of time. When I dressed this morning, if I had known getting sucked into this place was on the agenda, I would have probably chosen something different to wear. At the same time, it could be worse. At least I’m wearing the same pants I wore during the trials.
They’re black and flexible but also durable.
I don’t know exactly what material they are, but Farrah made sure Harper and I each had a pair.
I'm just wearing a plain gray tunic top on top. And thankfully, I was wearing my black boots, or this could be a really different story. Right now, it all just feels really heavy. I start to make my way back to where Kaldar was going to set up camp and make it about halfway there when I remember the fish. I turn back around and make my way back to the water. By some miracle, the knife is still there with the skewered fish. I stare at the water, wondering if I dare step in again. I use Kaldar’s long knife and wait until one of the bigger ones gets close to the edge before I skewer it.
When I finally start back towards our campsite, the sun is starting to set.
My ankle is starting to throb, but I do my best to ignore it.
I’m scared to even look at it. When our campsite comes into view, I have to say, I’m pretty impressed.
He’s managed to make a shelter using tree branches and some large leaves, leaves that are longer than my arm.
When I get close, he turns to me. “I was starting to get worried.” He takes in my appearance. “Did you decide to go for a swim?”
“No, some creature decided to take me for a swim.” I try to keep my voice light, but I’m tired. I don’t think I succeed.
“Are you hurt?” he asks.
“It got my ankle and dragged me for a good bit.”
His eyes narrow as he looks down. “Let me see.”
“I’m sure it’s fine.”
But he’s already kneeling down. “Which ankle?”
“It’s fine, Kaldar.”
“Which one?”
I can tell he’s not going to let this go, so I finally hold out my right one. “This one.”
“Sit down, and I’ll take a look at it.”
I sit on the ground, and he pulls my boot off. I try not to react, but a wince escapes me. He notices it. “Sorry,” he says softly.
“It’s fine.”
He very gently slides my sock off next. I’ve been afraid to look at it, but when I finally do, it’s not as bad as what I thought it would be. “See, I’m fine.”
He probes the area gently, but it still makes me wince. “Did you get a look at what it was?”
“No. It happened too fast.” He studies it a little longer. “So, am I going to live?”
I mean for it to be lighthearted, but he doesn’t smile. “Can you walk on it?”
“Yes. It’s fine.”
He looks up and meets my eyes. “You’ll tell me if it gets worse.” I nod; I’m not a masochist. “We need to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t get infected or worse.”
“What’s worse than infection?”
He rubs a thumb over the wound, and I can’t help the shiver that runs through me. “Poison.”
“Oh.” Then what he said really hits me. “Oh! You think there could be poison in the bite?”
“I don’t know. But we’ll keep an eye on it.” He places his hand over my wound. “It doesn’t feel warm.” I’m trying to pay attention. I really am, but if he doesn’t stop running a hand over my leg, I’m going to say or do something stupid. He does it again, and I’m officially done.
I jerk my leg away from his touch and blurt out the first thing I can think of. “Fish.” I shoot to my feet. “I need to fish. Eat the fish.” I shake my head. “Skin the fish, so we can cook it. I’m going to work on that.”
“Uh, Kinsley.” I turn back to Kaldar reluctantly. “Do you want your boot?”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks.” I grab my sock and boot and tug them on before I grab the fish I caught and his knife. “Thanks for the long knife, by the way. It worked perfectly.” I hold it out to him, and he takes it from me.
“I can skin those for you,” he offers, gesturing at the fish.
I wave him off with the knife in my hand. “I’ve got it.”
A few minutes later, the two fish I caught are roasting over the fire Kaldar built.
By the time it’s ready, I’ve finally gotten over my embarrassment from earlier.
We sit on the ground a few feet from each other as we eat.
“I didn’t have anything to season the fish with, so it’s plain; but at least it’s food. ”
“This is some of the best fish I’ve had. Thanks.” I laugh. “What?” he asks curiously.
“You’re the king of your kingdom. You can have anything you want; I’m sure you’ve had plenty of meals that were a thousand times better than this.”
He takes another bite of the fish. It’s a messy dinner as we only have our fingers for utensils. “I have had a lot of good meals. But sometimes, it’s the simple ones that are the best. There’s something about this one that puts it above the others. Maybe it’s the company.”
I stop chewing, and my gaze flies to his.
But he’s not looking at me; he’s staring into the fire.
I have no idea what to say to that, and I don’t think I want to.
A warm feeling fills me, and I bask in it.
After a few minutes of surprisingly comfortable silence, I throw the bones from my fish into the fire.
“Are you worried about the fire attracting wild animals?”
He shrugs. “Everything in here is designed to test us. Might as well enjoy good food and a quiet moment while we can.”