That practicality was the only reason I had offered this bargain in the first place. It was the intelligent thing to do. We needed each other, and it would be much easier to get to the end of this challenge if we had each other as backup.
This had nothing to do with the night I’d spent with Lachlan in the cave. It had nothing to do with my complicated, chemistry-filled past with Merrick. It had nothing to do with the way Trace’s bad boy rock star persona seemed to cover up a hidden depth that left me curious to discover more.
Nope, it had nothing to do with any of that.
When it came down to it, I wanted to win.
That’s all this is about.
Trace drew in a deep breath, staring at me with a penetrating look before finally nodding.
“Fine. I think you’re right, and I think it would be smart for us to stay together. At least for now.”
Something gleamed in his eyes as he spoke. I could see the heat he was trying to hide from his glare, but he was doing a really bad job at it. It made warmth pool in my belly, and I glanced away, refusing to indulge the thoughts trying to surface in my mind.
Focus, Aria. Focus. Not on his tattoos and how much you want to lick them, damn you.
Lachlan shrugged, still holding the scroll. “Sure. Why not? If it gets me out of here quicker, I’ll stick around with you assholes for a while.”
I gave him a half smile, and we all turned to Merrick. The controlled, enigmatic man rolled his eyes and shrugged. He broke a twig into several small pieces and tossed them onto the ground, his jaw working like he was struggling with himself to get the words out.
Finally, he gave a single sharp nod.
“Fine. The four of us can work together as a team—but only until we beat the others.”
Standing up, I dusted off my hands I gave him a grin. “Of course. When everyone else is down, the four of us can fight amongst ourselves for the final prize.” I could feel my grin turn a little bloodthirsty. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Merrick’s amber eyes narrowed as he gazed at me, and I could almost swear I saw grudging respect and amusement flickering in their depths. But then he carefully rearranged his features into a blank, bored look.
Trace stood up and nodded at Lachlan. “Well, what does the clue say then? We might as well get on our way.”
The broad-shouldered redhead grinned and pulled the seal from the scroll. Carefully, with an almost odd delicacy for someone of his size, he unrolled the paper and held it up in front of them.
He stared at it for a moment with confusion as it began to glow in his hands. It grew brighter and brighter until he finally let go of it, shaking his hand out as if it had burned him.
I frowned, watching the paper flutter up in front of us all. The scroll went from an old piece of parchment to a moving magical beam spelling out the words in the air in front of us.
In the lands of gods, danger you will often meet.
But in the end, the search and hope will be more than sweet.
You found the clue in a situation dire,
Now find your way toward water and fire.
We all stood there for a second, staring at the writing that glowed brightly in the air. It faded just as fast as it had appeared, then the scroll popped back into existence and fell to the ground.
I leaned over and picked it up, tapping it against my hand. We had never been in the gods’ jungle before, so how were we supposed to figure out where water and fire were? I mean, I’d passed by several streams on the way to the dome, but were any of them what we were looking for? None of them had seemed all that special.
I glanced down at the broken seal on the scroll, pressing the two pieces back together. Then I froze.
Wait…
Slowly, a smirk emerged on my lips.
Merrick narrowed his eyes. “What? Remember, we’re a team here.”
I ignored his bitter tone. I was starting to realize that Merrick needed to hate me. He wore his disdain for me like an armor, shielding himself with it—because feelings he didn’t want to admit to lurked behind that outer mask.