Deviant Descendants (Descendants Academy #2) - Belle Malory Page 0,18

in my lower belly. He pulled away just as quickly, his gaze tinged with desire and something else. Fear. “That’s not possible,” he said, trying to hide it. “So you had better swim fast.”

My cheeks flushed. “Thanks, gladiator.”

“If anything happens, I’ll come for you,” he reassured me, his voice shaky.

“Please don’t.” I gestured to the surrounding students. Nearly every Ares House member was here, watching for sport. “You have to let me do this on my own.”

House Ares demanded both bravery and independence. If Xander helped me, I would always be seen as his weak, defenseless girlfriend. I didn’t want that for either of us.

I moved toward the ledge, each step growing heavier than the last. Squeezing my eyes shut, I tore off my toga, stripping down to my underwear. A dozen or so whistles and cheers came my way, along with a few irritating catcalls. I blocked them out, focusing on the water below. Rippling, murky, without sign of mermaids.

“Good luck, Sheridan!” Reina called out from behind me. Cassius cheered with her. For people I’d just met, their blind support made me adore them.

Unlike his friends, Xander didn’t stick around to watch. He made his way back down the hill, getting ready to meet me at the inlet’s shore. I knew he wanted to get down there quickly, in case anything went wrong. Even though I told him not to help, he probably wouldn’t respect my wishes. If shit hit the fan, he would come for me. My strategy was to jump fast, before he had the chance to intervene. It would take him a minute or two to climb down, and that meant I had some time while he couldn’t see what was happening.

Pebbles shook free where I stepped, creating more ripples. I squatted low, wanting to propel myself as far as possible. That way, it wouldn’t be such a long swim and the mermaids would have less opportunity to catch me.

Here goes nothing.

I took one last shaky breath and jumped, the crowd around me falling silent. I chanted the spell as Xander instructed, hoping I got it right.

Fire soared around me like a cocoon of heat. Seconds later, I submerged into an icy blast of water. The fire extinguished instantly. The bone-chilling temperature distracted me, causing me to lose my hold on the spell. Lovely. Time for Plan B—swim fast.

Now defenseless, I stroked my way back to the surface, praying I got there in time to repeat the spell before the mermaids found me. I emerged from the surface, gasping and swallowing air. “Liquidus—”

Before I could finish, my head was yanked back by my hair.

No!

The mermaids attacked quickly. Beneath the water it was too dark to see in any direction, but their skin glowed like moonlight, swishing around me faster than eels. I counted at least three, including the one gripping my hair. They were not like mermaids from fairy tales. These kind looked like they’d emerged straight from a nightmare; rows of razor-sharp teeth, bulbous, hungry eyes, and their tails felt like sandpaper scraping against my legs.

“A remarkable color.” The one who had my hair yanked harder, as if she were trying to rip it from my scalp. “I want it.”

Her voice was lyrical, a siren call moving in waves of delight. Even through the pain, the way she spoke made me want to give her whatever she desired.

“Yessss,” said one of the others, fanning her talon-like fingers down the side of my arm. “And her skin is so soft.”

Her nails dug into my flesh, drawing blood.

“Share the spoils, sisters,” the third hissed, her yellow eyes blazing. All three reached for me, their greedy fingers clawing. They scratched me over and over, as if they were trying to flay the skin from my bones. I ground my teeth together to keep from crying out, knowing I’d swallow saltwater if I did.

My hair was ripped from my scalp. Teeth gnawed against my skin. The pain was excruciating.

“She’s a fighter.” The yellow-eyed sounded impressed.

A fighter—ha! If I was a better one, I would scourge their inlet until it was dried up and there was nothing left but fish bones and ash. But every time I managed to knock one of them aside, another was there to get me, and I was running short on oxygen. I wouldn’t last much longer.

Think. Think. Think.

I’d read books on sea magic, a few on sea creatures—was there anything useful in them? I combed through the files of my mind, panicking because I