The Deepest Blue(40)
She launched herself forward without thinking, slamming into Roe. Together, they tumbled down the slope as the fire spirit scorched the earth where they had just been lying.
Watching it soar away in a streak of flame, Mayara said, “I continue to think running and hiding is the best plan.”
“And I continue to think that when the time comes, you won’t.”
AT THE END OF THREE DAYS, MAYARA FELT LIKE SHE SHOULD FEEL ready. She didn’t feel ready, of course. She felt as if she’d been pounded by waves, pummeled by rocks, and flattened by falling trees, which was not so far off from what had actually happened. When Heir Sorka called an end to the training, Mayara collapsed with Roe and Palia by one of the tents.
Palia shared a slice of pineapple with the two of them, as all twelve trainees waited for Heir Sorka to address them for the last time.
“It’s not like we don’t know the rules,” the dockworker Osa complained. “Don’t leave, and don’t die. Pretty simple. Can’t we get on with it?”
“Are you that anxious to die?” the fisherwoman Tesana asked. She had burns that looked like claw marks on her upper arm. One of the other spirit sisters, Dayine, was rubbing a salve onto her wounds. “This is our last night to mourn what we’ve lost. I intend to treasure it.”
Others nodded.
Mayara looked at their faces, all streaked with dirt and sticky with sweat. She did feel as if she’d known them for far longer than three days, as Roe had said. A part of her felt like she’d known them forever, as if they’d always been here, training with Heir Sorka, and they always would be. It was hard to imagine anything or anyone beyond this place and time existed.
“Do you think they know we go tomorrow?” Mayara asked.
“I asked my daughter to light a candle for me on this night, our last night before the island,” Palia said. “Told her to blow it out after a few minutes, though, so she wouldn’t waste the wax. She’ll need to find her own way now. I wish there was more I could do. Always thought I’d be there to help her.”
“You might be,” Roe said, patting her on the shoulder. “You might survive. We might all survive!”
Palia snorted. “Didn’t you hear that everyone died last year?” The rumor had spread through the trainees until everyone believed it. Pooling knowledge, they’d realized no one could name a single new heir from the last test. And more tellingly, Heir Sorka, who had heard the gossip spread, hadn’t denied it.
It hadn’t done good things for morale.
“But that can’t happen every year,” Roe said, “or there would be no more heirs. The queen—and Belene itself—needs heirs. If the test stayed that deadly, she’d cancel it. She wouldn’t send us to certain death.”
Maybe not certain death, Mayara thought. Just very, very likely death. But she didn’t say it out loud.
Roe continued. “We have a chance. If we stick together.”
Striding past them, Heir Sorka didn’t look as if she cared about any of their conversation, but when she climbed onto the stone in the center of the valley, it became instantly clear she had been listening. “You can’t stick together.”
She heard Roe suck in air. She felt her own heart plummet.
“Wait—what did she say?” Palia said.
“She can’t mean it,” Roe said.
Mayara agreed—they must have misheard. If they weren’t able to face this together . . .
“Listen up, everyone,” Heir Sorka barked. “Here’s the part where I give you key advice that will help you survive.” She began to pace back and forth on the stone pedestal. It only allowed for three steps in each direction before she had to pivot and pace back. “You will be delivered to the island with nothing but the clothes you wear. No weapons. No supplies. No food. No anything. You may use whatever you find on the island and in its waters to aid in your survival. Your limits are the end of the reef that surrounds the island. Venture farther than that, and you will be turned back.”
Sorka glanced beyond them, and Mayara twisted to see that they were ringed by Silent Ones, more than she thought she’d seen before, closer than they’d been. She shivered looking at their white masks.
“Akena Island is home to over one hundred spirits,” Sorka continued. “They vary in strength and intelligence, but they all have one thing in common: they have been instructed to hunt you down. Because the aim of this test is to assess your individual worthiness, the spirits have all been ordered to attack those of you in groups first. In other words, you will be safest on your own.”
Mayara shot a look at Roe—she looked as if she’d been drained of all her confidence. Her hands were shaking. She met Mayara’s eyes with a panicked look that clearly said, We were supposed to be a team!
Mayara saw other women around her looking equally troubled—during the three training days, they’d been getting to know one another with the goal of relying on one another. Several groups had already formed, and Mayara knew most of them had counted on sticking together. Certainly she hadn’t had any plans to run off by herself. Usually there was safety in numbers against spirits.
“You’ll be tempted to clump together anyway—share resources, protect one another. I’m telling you right now, that’s a mistake. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.” A shadow crossed Sorka’s face, and for an instant, she looked more human than heir. Mayara hadn’t thought about the fact that Sorka had been on the island and survived, while others in her year hadn’t.