Page 24

“A bit.” Plato smiles ruefully.

I put the lifejacket on.

There are a lot of monsters competing, and definitely not just waterspirits. I see a handful of familiar faces besides Larch, but many I don’t recognize at all.So there is a whole wide world of monsters out there.

And then there’s me, the lone human.

It’s only after all the competitors have been grouped into sets that I realize none of the monsters are wearingtheiramulets.

“Uh, Antoinette?” I call as the harpy hurries by with her clipboard firmly in hand.

“Huh? Oh, good, you’ve got your lifejacket on. At least some people listen. I have no idea how I’m going to get Belle to stay on the board instead of swimming underneath. You read the rules, right?”

“I did,” I agree, bewildered. “But —”

“Thank goodness!” she huffs.

“Why is no one wearing their amulet?” I interject before she can rush off.

“Oh!” She pauses, looking me up and down. “Hm. It’s a private event — the owner knows Syril. Cameras are off, no humans allowed, etcetera. You don’t need that. In fact, it could be a hazard.” She holds out her hand. “Give.”

I gulp. Hand it over?

Antoinette gestures impatiently. Slowly, I lift the amulet off. Nothing changes — I’m still surrounded by monsters on all sides. I let it fall into her outstretched palm.

She cracks a smile that looks almost sympathetic. “It’ll be waiting for you after the event.”

“Thanks,” I croak.

She heads back to her post. It already feels weird not to have the weight of the amulet on my chest.

“It’s the prince!” the monster next to me suddenly exclaims, straightening out of her hunch. I politely avert my eyes, but all thoughts fly out of my head when I follow her gaze to see Lysander entering the stands.

He looks displeased — but by now I’ve figured out that’s just hisI’m uncomfortableface. He’s wearing a sheepskin jacket that looks like it belongs in the sixties, a pair of wide-legged, flowing pants, and a tunic-style shirt. His hair is tied up in a neat tail. I have no idea why he dresses like he just came from Woodstock, but it’s weirdly… endearing.

He makes his way to the top of the bleachers where Syril sits. Orion was right — he’s totally gonna watch me make a fool of myself.

He might also watch you win,a voice in my head whispers. The thought gives me a tiny, ridiculous thrill.

Mine is one of the middle groups, so I take my paddle board to the back wall with the others. As the first group of monstersget in the water and mount their boards with varying levels of success, the monster next to me leans in.

“I’m going to swim the whole way,” she tells me with a wink.

I laugh nervously. “It’s Belle, right? I think you’re supposed to stay on the board.”

“Swimming will be the fastest. And under the water I won’t get distracted.” The gills on either side of her neck flare, and I get the impression she might be smelling me. “Can you swim?”

“Yep. I’m a great swimmer,” I say firmly.

“Ah.” Her gills slide shut. “Well, it would be nice to win. My sisters are here watching. They’ll be at the boat race, too.”

She points to the bleachers. Two women with identical dark hair sit in the middle row — one wears a severely cut black pant-suit and the other sports a pink blouse with ribbons in her hair. The one in pink waves at her.

“It will be good to represent them again this year,” she says wistfully. “Nice of the dryad to keep the old traditions alive.”

When she turns back I offer a smile, hoping a brief conversation means I’m no longer a potential snack. “They seem very supportive.”

“Oh, yes. Family is everything, you know.”