“To pass today’s Trial,” Rooke continued, “we’ve taken those times into consideration, along with the temperature of the water. As such, you’re to be weighted down and sent into the quarry, where you’ll remain submerged for a total of fifteen minutes.” He kicked a limestone boulder resting at his feet, and the coiled rope attached to it. “At that point, we’ll pull you back up. If you’re still alive, you’ll have succeeded.”

Kiva only remained upright because Naari took her arm in a pincer-grip, the pain from her nails all that kept Kiva’s vision from succumbing to the panicked black dots creeping in at the edges.

Fifteen minutes.

Fifteen minutes.

Not once had Kiva considered whether she’d have to hold her breath underwater, not even when she’d envisioned all the scenarios involving the aquifer. She’d thought she would be swimming, not submerged. And while she knew there were free-divers who could hold their breath for that long, most notably the fish farmers off the coast of Albree and workers in the Grizel Catchment, she was not one of them. The only experience she had was playing in the river as a child, where she’d gone for perhaps a few minutes at a time—enough to worry her parents, but no longer than that.

Fifteen minutes . . . It was impossible.

Kiva couldn’t believe she was thinking it, but she wished Princess Mirryn or Prince Deverick could have found a way to help her again, despite Rooke’s warning about no more interference. Even if Mirryn didn’t have any water magic, she could have helped in some way. And Deverick . . . well, Kiva assumed he didn’t have any water magic either, since he already had air and fire, like his sister. But still. Any elemental magic was better than the nothing Kiva had. Not even Mot’s potion would help her—without having to swim for her life, she wouldn’t be facing muscle fatigue and cramps. What she really needed was an elixir to make her breathe underwater, and that, she knew, didn’t exist.

Kiva was a survivor. But . . . for this Trial, she feared that wasn’t going to be enough.

“Do you understand your task?” the Warden asked.

Kiva couldn’t reply verbally, so she nodded, and looked down over the cliff into the quarry again. Her head spun with the realization that they weren’t hiking any lower, that it was from this height she would be falling into the water.

“Guard Arell, would you do the honors?” Rooke said.