Chapter 33

Rowena

The kitchen smelled like fresh coffee and pancakes as I sat at the counter, finishing up my breakfast. I yawned, scrolling through my phone as the latest news headlines popped up on the screen.

Next to me, my father, a tall and elegant man with slightly graying hair and a neat beard, flipped through the newspaper, and beside him my mother sipped her coffee. It was a relaxing Saturday morning, especially with the sun streaming in through the window.

“Hey, look at this,” I said, holding my phone up. “They released a list of potential suspects for that missing princess. I wonder who it could be.”

“Likely someone not from around here,” my father said casually without looking up from his newspaper.

As I scrolled through the list of names, though, my eyes widened upon seeing a familiar name. My name, to be exact. But it made no sense. “My name is on here.”

My father slammed down his newspaper, and my mother nearly spilled her coffee. “What?” they both said in unison.

“My name is on here,” I repeated, holding out my phone so they could see.

My father snatched my phone away, his blue eyes scanning the screen for a few moments before he handed the phone to my mother. “That’s just a rumor, Rowena,” he said, calmly picking up his newspaper again. “Even the source isn’t very reputable.”

I furrowed my brow as I took my phone back. “It’s from a pretty credible news source, dad.”

“Honey,” my mom chimed in suddenly, “do I need to show you my ultrasounds? You’re my daughter.”

“Guys, obviously I’m your kid,” I said, gesturing to my blue eyes. “You’re taking this way too seriously.”

My parents exchanged glances, but said nothing more about it. Something told me that even if I had brought it up again, I wouldn’t have gotten an answer anyway.

…

“You sure you’re up for this?”

Eric put the car in park outside of the large mansion and turned to me, shooting me a slightly worried look. He still wore the talisman around his neck; I could see the outline of it through his white t-shirt.

I nodded. “I’ll be fine,” I said. “Besides, it might be the last pool party of the year. I’d like to enjoy it.”

“Alright. Hey, maybe you should show off your new swimming skills.” Eric grinned, and we climbed out of the car and began making our way up to the house.

I couldn’t help but blush at the thought of showing off my skills. We had been practicing swimming for weeks now, and I could finally swim laps on my own. Eric said I was a natural, although it didn’t feel very natural to me.

But still, it was a big improvement from before, when I couldn’t swim at all.

As we circled around to the back of the house, the sound of music and laughter wafted through the air. We rounded the corner and came across the party; a large pool filled with other students and warriors, loud music playing over the speakers, various groups milling around and dancing to the music on the patio.

Across the way, however, I spotted her.

Emma.

“I didn’t know she would be here,” I muttered to myself.

“Just ignore her.” Eric nudged me with his elbow and shot me an encouraging smile. “And hey, if she tries to drown you again, at least you can put up a good fight this time.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” I said, rolling my eyes. Eric simply smirked and pulled his shirt off over his head, revealing his chiseled abs. I blushed and quickly looked away.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Emma said, sauntering up to us. Eric protectively took a step in front of me. She put her hands up and clicked her tongue. “Hey, I come in peace,” she said. “I actually wanted to ask Rowena something.”

“What is it, Emma?” I asked, stepping around Eric.

Emma looked over at me and grinned. “I heard that you’ve been practicing your swimming skills,” she said, then turned, pointing to another guy sitting on the edge of the pool. “He wants to race you. What do you say?”

I swallowed and looked up at Eric, who simply shrugged. A race was risky, but… then again, a part of me had come to this party wanting to show off my skills. And with Emma here, maybe I could finally show her that I wasn’t a crybaby.

“Alright, sure,” I said in the most nonchalant tone I possibly could.

Emma raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised. “Oh. Well then,” she said. “Let’s go.”

The three of us made our way over to the edge of the pool, where Emma cleared a space for us. But before the race started, Eric pulled me aside and took me by both shoulders.

“You know you don’t have to do this,” he said softly. “She could be tricking you.”

“I’ll be fine, Eric,” I retorted. “Besides, I’ve got my big, strong brother here to help if things go south.”

For a moment, I swore I saw Eric’s face redden. But finally, he nodded and stood, releasing his grip on me. “Alright. I’ll be right here the whole time.”

I nodded and pulled my bathing suit cover-up off over my head, then walked over to the edge of the pool and climbed down the ladder.

The water was warm and comfortable, but I couldn’t deny the fact that a sense of unease washed over me as I made my way over to the starting line. Maybe it was a trap. Maybe Emma was just looking for another chance to humiliate me.

But it was too late to turn back now; I had already agreed to the challenge, and quitting now would just result in even more ridicule.

“On your marks… Get set… Go!”

Emma waved a flag in the air, and the other boy and I started to swim. At first, I felt myself get caught up in the splash from his feet, and nearly swallowed a lungful of water. The world turned into a flurry of air and water, of muffled sound and bumping music.

For those moments, I thought that it might be a repeat of my birthday party: mouth-to-mouth with my brother, a visit to the ER, and more humiliation.

“Just breathe out, Rowena…”

Eric’s voice floated through my mind, a memory of one of our many lessons. He was always so patient with me, always there to hold me up when I felt like I might drown.

Then, as though the sound of his voice in my head was a key in the ignition, I suddenly shot forward beneath the water like a dolphin. I moved seamlessly through the water, and everything else faded away.

Nothing else except for me and the water existed; even my opponent seemed to disappear. And there, beneath the water, I felt a shocking sense of calm wash over me.

It was over faster than I expected. Before I knew it, I was surfacing from the water, gasping for air. I heard cheers around me, and only then did I notice what had happened: my opponent was left in the dust on the other end of the pool.

I had won.

“Let’s go, Rowena!” voices shouted, mingling with cheers and applause. I couldn’t help but grin as I pushed my wet hair back from my face, and it was then that I saw two things.

Emma staring down at me from the edge of the pool, her eyes wide with surprise.

And Eric standing next to her with a look of pride on his face.

When I finally climbed out of the water, I was breathless but exhilarated. Emma came up to me first, her eyes still wide. “Well, color me surprised,” she said, placing her hands on her hips. “I guess you really have been practicing.”

“I have you to thank, Emma,” I said.

Emma quirked an eyebrow at me. “Me?” she asked.

“Yeah.” I nodded, still wringing my wet hair out onto the poolside. “If it wasn’t for you kicking my ass into gear, I never would have made the leap to begin swimming. So, um… thanks.”

Emma blinked at me in shock for several long moments. Her face slowly began to turn a shade of red, and without a word, she turned on her heel and stormed off. I watched her fading form for a moment, shaking my head and chuckling slightly, before a commotion suddenly caught my attention.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

I followed the source of the chanting, only to find that a circle had formed on the patio. And in the center of the circle were two people.

Eric and another warrior.