Page 69 of Warrior of the Wild
“He has a point, though,” I say. “You need to be comfortable with your head under the water.”
He grits his teeth. “I can do that.” He takes a breath so deep one would think it was his last and goes down. The hair at the top of hishead dunks under for not even a whole second before he comes up again. He wipes the water from his face. “See. I did it.”
“Do it again. Count to five and then come up,” I say.
Iric arcs back an arm and connects it at just the right angle to send a huge spray of water into my face.
“Hey!” I shout.
“You’re here to teach me to swim. Not make me do tricks!”
“It’s not a trick. You need to learn to hold your breath. How else are you to face a water beast?”
Iric stomps over to the edge of the pool, preparing to haul himself out.
“Wait.”
He pauses, but I can tell he’s already about to decide to ignore me. I place a hand on his arm. “Come here.”
Grudgingly, Iric lets go of the edge and walks with me back to the center of the pool. I take his hands in mine. “You’re not alone in this. Remember that. We’ll do it together.”
He looks down at our joined hands. Resolve takes over his features, and he nods. “All right.”
On the count of three, we both bend at the knees and go down. Iric’s fingers in mine turn into a death grip, but I don’t let go.
I cut him a break, and only count out three slow seconds, before tugging him back up. He doesn’t need any extra encouragement.
I beam at him, proud of my student. “How did he do?” I ask, turning to Soren.
Soren is looking at me so strangely, the smile falls from my face. “What?”
“I’ve never seen you smile like that before. You have a lovely smile.”
Lovely.
That word has my throat tightening, bile threatening to come up.
Even with the cut, you’re still lovely. How do you manage that?
Another boy once called me lovely. A boy who regarded me as an insect, offering me food to draw me in with one hand while preparing to squash me with the other.
“That’s enough swimming for the day,” I say, the words coming out flat. I haul myself out of the water, grab my things, and plunge into the wild.
WHEN THE BOYS RETURNfrom the lake, I’ve already changed and braided my hair out of my face. I open the door in the floor, staring down at the two boys that are still very wet. I wonder if Iric pushed Soren in.
“Stay where you are,” I say as Iric tries to grab a branch.
“Why?” he asks.
I’ve thought about this the whole time I walked back alone to the tree house. I had to think ofsomethingto keep my thoughts away from Torrin.
“We’re going to complete our mattugrs,” I start, but Soren butts in.
“We are?”
“Yes, you missed that conversation. But we are. And if we’re going to help each other, we need to trust each other. Right now, Iric, you don’t trust Soren. Or at least you’re still holding too much against him.”
Iric shoots an incredulous look up at me. “Of course I’m holding things against him! He is the reason I’m banished!”
