“What… what are they?” I asked fearfully.
She stared at me. “Do you really want to know?”
I cringed and shook my head. “No.”
“Wise. Best go, boy.”
“Yeah,” I said again, my voice shaking with nerves. “So… I’ll see you in seven years.”
“You will.”
That had absolutely not gone the way I expected, but then I hadn’t really known what to expect. I hadn’t come here with a plan, which I knew was utterly foolish.
But I’d done it.
The moment I stepped back into the forest, I ran. I was desperate to get off this island now I’d got what I came for. And I really,reallydidn’t want to try and cross those stones in the dark.
Voices still whispered to me, more urgently this time, promising more secrets and directing me to places on the island where I could find priceless objects and rare beasts. I ignored them, exhaling in relief when my boots finally sank into the jewels of the beach.
The fingerstones were all back and perfectly still. I tried to calm my breathing and slow my racing heart, because panic was what had caused me to stumble before. I made sure my satchel was secure as I walked to the shoreline, and then I took a running leap at the first stone.
By the time I was halfway across the stones, it was pitch black and I was dripping with nervous sweat. My fae sight let me see in the dark, but it was still difficult to make out the muted blue of the stones against the impenetrable black of the sea.
Desperation made me clumsier when there were only a few stones left, causing me to slip several times, but I made sure to keep my feet out of the water. None of the stones moved, and when I made it to the last one, I panted on my hands and knees for long moments, my limbs trembling with fear-fuelled adrenaline.
Would the creatures under the sea wake up when I dove into the water? They hadn’t before. There were no more stones in front of me, the beach so close, the Woods of Orna still and silent just beyond it.
Standing up on unsteady legs, I took out the little jar with Gadleg’s venom and gripped it tight in my fist. I didn’t want to risk it falling out of my bag while I swam the last distance. Taking a deep breath, I took a running leap off the stone and dove into the water, swimming as fast as I could. I heard no terrifying rumbling sounds coming from far beneath me, and by the time I felt the sand under my boots I was almost crying with relief.
I crawled up the empty beach, still clutching the jar painfully tight in my fist. I’d done it.
Once I was well clear of the shore, I rolled onto my back and lay there panting, staring up at the dark sky. My face broke into a grin, even as I started shivering from my sodden clothes.
I had Gadleg’s venom. I could kill the Brid.