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Nikolai furrowed his brows as he squatted down to look at him more clearly. Maybe Pika did consume something as well but he could not recall.

“They are–”

“I know what they are.” Nikolai interrupted him. Shadow singers were a myth, a bedtime story for little witch hunters who did not behave well, conjured by their chiefs to make them fear stillness and weakness.

Pika laughed. It was a crazed laugh, the sound screeching in Nikolai’s ears. “You do not believe me.”

“This is not a question of belief, Pika. My men searched the forest days before this task. It might not seem like it but we want the contestants to be safe.”

The Sosye laughed again. “Safe.” He nodded to himself as if he was telling a witty joke.

“Something was chasing me, Your Majesty, and whatever it was, it did not sound like it was there to play.”

Something cold spread in Nikolai’s chest, slowly invading his senses, and squeezing around his thumping heart. Pika looked up at him, his face blank. “This task is cursed. There is no way that Kekoa would consummate Wolfsbane and it might not have been a shadow singer that chased me but it was out for blood. I do not want to know what Sören and Noora have to go through at this moment.”

All colour drained from the king’s face, leaving his skin pale like the petals of a snowdrop.

Chapter 36

Noora

A startled inhale rattled her lungs and the next time she took a breath Noora rolled to her side, vomiting a river of water out of her lungs onto the stone. A green inky liquid left her lips until she flopped to her back again, her vision slowly focusing on the rocky structure above her.

Stonewalls as large as the palace towers surrounded her, only a streak of sunlight emitting from the top. Sharp stone edges jutted out from the walls in irregular patterns, creating a natural staircase that led to a small hole at the top.

A small cackle made her turn her head lazily until she saw a small opening in the rocks letting waves of water flow in. When she saw what made that noise she grabbed blindly for her bow and drew an arrow, making the creature duck slightly before Noora realised what she was doing.

“You saved me,” her voice rasped as she stared at the Margygr. It let out another cackle, slowly swimming closer. Noora put her bow away, the metal clattering on the stone floor. The sea mermaid drew closer, its hands grasping the stone Noora lay on, her fingers were connected with a see-through web texture as she cackled again.

“Thank you,” Noora said. Then she realised another thing as she looked around. She was inside a rocky cave, moisture building along the walls, the air reeking of mold. Water crystallized at the ceiling, hanging down like sharp weapons.

“Is this the underwater entrance?”

The creature chattered softly, its hand shifting on the rock and aligning itself with Noora’s. She looked down at both their hands, one pale, dirt caked under the nails, the palm littered with small scars; the other scaley green, longsharp claws that curled inward and small cuts dusting over the knuckles.

Noora looked back up to the Margygr’s face, its pupils smaller now that they were not in the dark underwater. “Is there a way for you to get back to sea?” Noora asked and the creature blinked, the corners of its deathly mouth turning downward. Noora looked around the cave until she noticed a light tucking at her left knee. The shattered bone barely bothered her now and she could see why. Her knee was bandaged with seaweed, drawn tightly so she was barely able to bend it and prevent it from flaring up.

She looked back up at the sea mermaid who was collecting little rocks scattered around the cave, shaping them into a small circle.

“Do you have a name?” Noora asked, drawing its gaze back to her. Her mouth opened and a guttural sound escaped its throat, its gills flaring. “That sounds great. How would you feel about Tang?”

The creature let out a sound that she interpreted as agreement.

“All right, I will have to finish what I came here for and that is going to take a while but I promise I will come back for you. And then I will somehow get you out of that lake, Tang.” Noora promised her. Tang looked at her with sad eyes, blinking before dipping back into the water. “No!” Noora called but it quickly resurfaced its gills flaring happily. It just went underwater to breathe.

Noora started to reach for her belt where she stashed the small satchel with dates in it. “Do not go near that carved opening again, whoever did this to you might check on it. I will come back in a few days and call you then.” She slipped out two dates and placed them on the rock for the sea mermaid to take. Tang slowly crept forward in the water and snatched up the dates before putting one in her mouth, her sharp teeth breakingthrough the core inside it. “You’re not supposed to…” Noora trailed off as Tang let out a delighted sound. Her lips twitched slightly as she surveyed the cave, her eyes zeroing in on another small opening near the top which would probably lead into a tunnel.

“I have to go now.” She turned back to Tang who had risen out of the water slightly, revealing her curved upper body. Noora blinked in surprise when its wet hands took hold of her cheeks. The creature leaned in and dropped something close to a kiss against her forehead, a warm feeling spread through Noora, ancient, though familiar. Magic.

Tang sunk back into the water and Noora got up to her feet slinging her bow and quiver onto her back. The broken skates lay disregarded at the side as she gave the creature a last glance. “I will be back.”

Then she started to climb the rocky cave and paid meticulous attention to not bending her left knee, which posed a harder action than climbing the rocks. She broke out in a sweat until she reached the opening, Tang’s encouraging bellow following her through the dimly lit tunnel. She used her hands barely able to stretch out until they reached the borders of the tunnel. The tips of her fingers slid along the cold granite.

Her careful steps were the only sound surrounding her in the pit of the mountain and now that she had a moment to herself her body started to complain. Whatever Tang did it helped manage the pulsing pain in her knee, though now she had time to breathe, she felt a stab in her left side. Her lungs were still aching from the lack of oxygen she went through in the lake, and her face felt like it had been ground against a board of nails.

Suddenly a cold bellow echoed through the tunnel as it slowly bent to the right, making Noora stop. She hesitated for a moment, her breath hitching as she waited for the sound again but nothing happened. The space was too small for her to drawan arrow, so she went for a knife stashed in her weapons belt, the grip heavy in her hands. It immediately calmed her.

With newfound courage she started walking again, she could feel the air growing warmer and she figured she was walking towards the surface again as the tunnel slightly tilted upwards. Dragging her left leg behind her, she walked upwards, gravel crunching under her shoe, until she heard it again.