Page 51 of A Hunt So Wicked
I couldn't swim anymore. A piece of smoldering wood floated right in front of me, and I grabbed ahold of it, submerging it completely under the water to extinguish any hotspots before using it as a raft of sorts.
"Great idea," Becca said, grabbing a piece of wood for herself.
Everyone else began finding their own little rafts as we caught our breath.
"Do you believe it now? That this was intentional?" I asked nobody in particular.
"No doubt in my mind," Riv replied. "But what are we going to do? With those beasts circling, it's going to be hard to get out of the water safely..."
Above us, I saw four dragons flying lazily as though they didn't have a care in the world.
"Was Girane with you when he was taken?" Kael asked Tiro.
He shook his head. "No. When he entered the waves, he was with Ayla, Belinda, and Tiona."
Isla frowned. "I hope they're okay..."
"I have an idea, but it's not perfect. We need to get to the shore, maybe back to the tunnels to regroup." I looked at what remained of our group. "Keep your wooden boards. We'll have to do as much of this under the surface as possible. There are so many broken wood pieces floating around right now that it would be hard to tell them apart. I say we go under but hold on with both hands. Swim backward for as long as you can. Pop up and get a breath and go right back under. We do not want the dragons to spot us. Understand?"
"It should be much easier getting back to shore than it was getting out here," Becca commented, looking determined.
"Agreed," Tiro said, ready for action.
"If we get separated, keep going to the beach. Once you get there, don't hesitate. Run to the rocks. Stay hidden, but keep an eye out. We'll meet up there," Kael ordered, looking at each one of us.
We were about to start our mission back to shore when Isla stopped us. "I just want to say really quick that there are no other people I'd rather be out here with... and regardless of what happens—"
Rivka slapped the water, splashing all of us. "Absolutely not, love. Our stories don't end here. Now shut up and swim like you've never swam before."
Isla's mouth popped open. Riv had never been sodirectwith her before. "Okay," she responded simply, her flushed cheeks turning a deeper red.
Riv, Becca, Isla, and Tiro all disappeared from view below the water, and I glanced at Kael. "Ready, Eves?"
"As I'll ever be," I muttered, taking a deep breath. "But Kael—"
He cut me off, clearly knowing I was about to say something sappy in case we all died. "Race ya to shore," he teased, then dove under the water.
I had no idea what awaited us. As I swam back to the beach, the dark and cool water surrounded me, and it was, sadly, the safest I'd felt in days. Were we going to make it out of this? Why did the royals commit such a horrendous crime? I knew they were guilty—there was way too much evidence now for it to be anything else... but to what end? There were pieces of the puzzle that I was still missing, and it was driving me insane.
I wasn't going to let these deaths go unanswered... I just had no idea how we were ever going to get off of this hellish island. If this was all for sport, then we'd have to be extremely cautious if we did encounter any royals or guards that weren't part of this "hunt." One thing my father always told me about the crown—they didn't leave loose ends.
As my back hit the sand, I knew I was close enough to make a break for it, and after confirming the sky was clear, I pushed away my board and jumped up from the water. I spotted the others all racing to the tunnels, and I knew we were survivors.
The only problem was the royals wouldn't see us as survivors.
They'd see us as loose ends.
Chapter thirteen
Allofushadsafely made it out of the ocean. We couldn't take another step without catching our breath, so we wandered a little way into the tunnels and collapsed against the stone walls. Each of us was lost in our thoughts, and I didn't know if my friends' thoughts were anywhere near as dark as mine, but based on the grim looks on their faces, I could only assume they were.
We'd been brought all the way here just to be killed. Why in the realm would the crown spend so much money on such a farce? Sending guards to collect all of the women alone must've cost a fortune, and then the ships, the crews on them, the staff at the Keep... the list went on and on. A lot of money went into this event, and it wasn't the first one.Is this what they do every time?
"My grandfather used to tell me stories as a child," Kael said softly, drawing us all out of our minds and into the present. He dragged his index finger through the sand, making circles and squiggles as he spoke. "Stories about how years ago, the royal families had special... abilities."
"What kind of abilities?" Isla asked curiously.
"The crests of each kingdom," he explained slowly. "Each one features an animal."
