Page 128 of Taste of Thorns
“Urgh,” she groans, peering down into the water. A shoal of silver fish glide in the space between us and Dray. “I don’t want to,” she says and not in her usual stubborn, brattish way; in a voice that betrays her genuine fear.
How many times has this girl been forced to do something she doesn’t want to do? It makes my stomach turn. When she is ours, properly ours, when we’re free of the academy, of its rules and obligations, I’m going to ensure she’s never forced to do something she doesn’t want to ever again.
Damn, I wish I had that power now.
I pull her into my arms, stroking the wet hair away from her face.
“I know you don’t want to, sweetheart, but you can do it. I know you can.”
She peers over at Dray, bites her lip and then nods, that familiar determination returning to her face.
This time her movements through the water are a lot closer to swimming. In fact, she moves pretty niftily. There are a few times where she mistimes the breathing and splutters, but Fox is teaching her a spell so that won’t be a problem on the day.
When she reaches Dray, he takes her hands in his, and pulls her close towards him, doing the work to keep both of them afloat.
“I did it,” she says, between gasps for air.
“Told you,” I say.
“Now back to him,” Dray tells her, swinging her around and pushing her through the water. She swims fairly confidently towards me and I feel more relaxed than I did an hour ago. She can do this. I believe in her.
When she reaches my arms, her teeth are chattering together though.
“You’re cold,” I say.
“I guess the spell is wearing off.”
None of the rest of us are cold, but she’s smaller than us and still learning about her magic. She’s going to need to practice that spell too.
I help her out of the water, drying her with a combination of my magic and the big fluffy towel I brought along for the job, then help her out of her swimsuit, into her dry clothes and tug my hat back down onto the crown of her head.
Then Thorne is there with a hot drink and more food.
“Coffee?” she asks.
“Hot chocolate this time,” he says.
“Jeez, you’re spoiling me,” she says.
“You earned it.” He settles down on the ground a foot away from her and places the flask in the space between them.
Dray comes crashing out of the water.
“Man, I am going to crush you dudes in the next trial.”
I place my hands on my hips. “You are?”
“Yeah, I swim about ten times faster than the two of you.”
“I didn’t know wolves could swim,” Briony says, taking a sip of the hot chocolate and then licking her lips.
“This one can,” he says, pointing his thumb at the center of his chest.
“You’re not going to win,” I tell him simply.
He chuckles. “I am.”
“You can’t swim as fast as me.”
