Two days into building the raft we hit our first problem.

  I heard Fyga scream, so I stopped cutting off limbs and ran to the shore.

  Fyga was back on her feet, though it was obvious that she was weak. Her color was still very pale, but she was able to walk on her own, which was an improvement.

  Since she couldn’t do much to physically help, she’d been tasked with watching the kids with Dame Isough. I didn’t see Dame Isough, but I saw Fyga on the beach and three kids in the water.

  Along with most of the logs that had been an almost done raft, floating free.

  “What happened?” I pulled off my sword and threw it to Fyga as I waded into the water. I didn’t know how to swim, but I knew about how far out I could walk without going over my shoulders.

  The cold water sent shivers straight to my bones, but I ignored the bite. I had no problem standing and keeping the water over my head, but someone had let Ziggy tag along. I gritted my teeth as I waded towards the deviant. If I was being honest, he was probably the one who came up with the idea.

  He started telling the other kids that Eveth was his sister, which scared most of them and the adults into giving him a lot of grace when it came to how much he could bend the rules.

  I had a feeling the missing Dame Isough and frantic Fyga had nothing to do with leniency. Neither of them treated him any different than any other kid. Which meant there had been a plan and Ziggy was the only one brave enough to do something this reckless.

  “HELP!” I watched the kid go under as the water carried him farther out. It was getting to where I was going to be over my head myself.

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  I heard splashing around me and saw the siblings that Marshal Emes had paired with us, each swimming after one of the other kids.

  Showoffs.

  A wave went over my head and I sputtered. I could go for a long time without breathing, but salt water up my nose still burned.

  I ignored the warning bells in my head as the water went over my head. My eyes teared up as my sinuses burned, which was why there was water accumulating in my goggles. At the moment it didn’t matter, Ziggy was too far out and I wasn’t going back to the shore without him.

  The seven-year-old was floating like a doll a few feet off the bottom. I forced my way through the water and grabbed him. Once I had him under my arm, I tried to run as fast as I could through the water. I felt like I was moving in slow motion as I forced my way forward. The more of my body I was able to get out of the water, the faster that I moved, but it still took what felt like a lifetime to get back to shore.

  “Ziggy!” Eveth snatched him out of my hands as Soon as I got close to the shore. She turned the lifeless body over and almost threw him on the sand as fast as she put him there. Once he was facedown, the blonde wove both of her fingers together. Light began to build in her palms, then she slammed her woven hands onto his spine. Her left palm between his shoulders and her right parallel to his heart.

  Salt water shot out of the boy’s mouth and nose like a hose. Once the water stopped shooting out, the boy took a deep breath as he opened his eyes and tried to sit up.

  “Don’t you even!” Eveth unlocked her fingers and grabbed the back of his neck with her right hand. She marched him over to where Fyga was standing and forced him to his knees. She had to kneel to hold the squirming boy in place.

  “You’re going to apologize to Master Fyga and Dame Isough.” She twisted his head so he could see the floating logs that almost a dozen people were swimming out to retrieve. “And then you’re going to apologize to each one of them! DO you have any idea what you’ve just done?!”

  The boy just shrugged while he looked down.

  “UGH!”

  I shook my head and walked away. If they were able to collect all the logs and rope, then we just had to tie it all back together. It would take us the rest of the day and tomorrow morning, but it only put us a half a day or so behind.

  For now, I was going to find somewhere secluded to dry off.

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