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Chapter 20
“Please,” Varun whispered, when we walked out of
the private room, and I was in my swim clothes, “Whatever
Chance asks you to do, don't take the test. Don't risk it. It's
too dangerous.”
I shook my head. “But I want to know who I am,” I
said. “Now that I know I could be Vesta, how could I live
with not knowing if I am or not? If the test is the only way
to prove it...and the only way to fix the Erosion, to stop
what's happening.”
But we were interrupted by the blowing of the horn.
The tournament was about to begin. Varun kissed me quickly
and then I headed out for the water.
The taste of his lips – at once salty and sweet –
remained upon my own as I dove, swan-like, into the water.
The feeling of the cool chlorine on my skin was exhilarating.
I could feel my skin, my body, my whole self responding to
the touch of the water. It felt so natural to push through the
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water, to feel the delicious wetness on my skin. Was this
what Varun had been talking about, I wondered? If Neptune
had influenced Vesta, if he had managed to give her qualities
of the sea as part of their romance, then was this another
sign...?
I looked up at Varun, who was staring at me from the
bleachers, love and longing in his eyes. If what he had said
was true, then was my love of the water another form of
proof that I was Vesta, after all? And if I was Vesta, did it
mean that Neptune, not Mars, was the one I had loved?
“Go on, Mac!” Haven was looking as muscular and
strong as ever in a deep blue swimsuit. “We're putting you
fourth to race the butterfly stroke.”
“The butterfly stroke?” I looked up in surprise. “But
I thought Cassie...”
Haven squeezed my hand as she swam over to me.
“Change of plan,” she said. “Your timing was two seconds
better than hers. So we're switching the order.” She
catapulted herself onto the side of the pool as I swam to my
designated lane. “See that, Mac? You're making a name for
yourself already. I've put a lot of faith in you. Don't let me
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down.”
The horn blew once again and the race had begun.
One by one, we all pushed off from the end of the swimming
pool, propelling ourselves through the water. At once I began
to feel a power coursing through me, strength pouring
through my veins like ocean waves.
You're born for this, Mac, a voice inside my head
said. Swim!
I felt myself start to swim faster – then faster and
faster until the water was a mere blur around me, the other
end of the pool coming closer and closer. I touched the side
of the pool and then flipped back for the second lap,
breathless with adrenaline.
“And – stop!” Haven called out my time. “Well
done!” She knelt close to me. “One minute thirty-two
seconds. Not bad for a newbie. Looks like Cassie's going to
have some competition after all.”
The races continued – I raced three times in all, each
time feeling the exhilarating rush of the water all over my
body.
If I was really Vesta, I wondered, could my
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connection with water really be this strong – a connection
almost as strong as my connection with fire?
I didn't come top, of course – Haven had managed to
win for the past two years running, and this tournament was
no exception. But I ranked fifth on the island, a respectable
showing for a new recruit, and received a small gold trophy
for my trouble. Varun cheered loudest of all, calling out my
name from the bleachers. He tore down from his seat when
my name was announced, and thrust his arms around me.
He leaned in to kiss me, but I pulled back. I looked
around nervously, only to see what I feared: Chance was
sitting, staring darkly at us, in the bleachers. As much as I
hated to hurt Varun, I hated hurting Chance just as much.
And hurt him I had, for to my dismay Chance rose and
stalked off as Varun pressed his lips against mine.
I sighed as I entered the locker room. It wasn't fair, I
thought. Love triangles or reverse harems in movies meant
one girl getting all the attention from two or more equally
beautiful boys. But in the real world, I wanted more than
anything to be able to make a choice, to stop tearing my heart
in two.
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Yet my thoughts were interrupted when I entered the
locker room. No sooner had I shut the door behind me than
a figure flew at me, knocking me senseless against the floor.
“Not again...” I groaned, turning to face my masked attacker.
“You got what you came for – just leave me alone.”
But the mask stared back at me silently. Two black
masks – two attackers left.
“At least show your faces,” I scowled. “Or are you
too cowardly to show your face – to admit who you really
are? If you want to kill me, at least do it unmasked.”
But
