“You can’t just—”

“You’ll be fine,” he called again, picking up speed.

Jerk.

Jerk. Jerk. Jerk! I tread water for a moment longer, shivering while I watched the boat recede. “Jason!” I yelled. He had to come back. Had to. But he didn’t. I smacked my hands against the water in aggravation. “Being your date is so overrated!”

He didn’t answer.

I tugged at the lacings on my skirt again. My fingers felt stiff and cold. I couldn’t grip the lacings, let alone undo them. Groaning, I turned toward the shore and swam that direction. What other option did I have? I sunk with each stroke. Don’t panic, I told myself. I didn’t need to stay above water the whole time, just once every minute to take a breath. I could push myself to the surface for that.

Part of me knew I’d never make it. My strength would give out before I reached land. But I was too angry to be afraid yet. I wasn’t going to drown because Prince Not-So-Charming had refused to help me. It was a tacky way to die—dragged to a watery grave due to the lack of zippers in the Renaissance age. I would make it to the shore on determination alone. And then I would never speak to Jason again.

While I took a breath, a wave sloshed into my face. I coughed and started swimming again. What sort of guy left a girl in a frigid lake? It served him right that he’d be stuck here in the past forever.

I glanced back to see if I could spot his boat. It had disappeared into the shadows of the night, leaving nothing but dark ripples in its wake. The shore didn’t seem any closer though. Was it possible that a current was pulling me the other direction? Did lakes even have currents?

I thought, ridiculously, that if I’d studied harder in school, I would know those sorts of details. I would know what I was up against. I kicked, pulled numbly at the water. I’d only swam for a few minutes, and my strength was already giving out. I couldn’t last much longer, and the shore was too far away. My throat felt tight, not from lack of air but from fear. Tears pressed at the back of my eyes. My parents would never know what happened to me. I wouldn’t get to tell them goodbye. This was how my life would end. I was going to drown.

Chapter 17

Cold, dark water splashed into my face. I struggled against it, coughed some more.

“You’ll sink unless you take off that dress.” Donovan’s voice came from my side.

I saw him swimming toward me, the invisibility cloak wrapped around his neck. His head seemed to be floating above his torso.

“I can’t get it off,” I sputtered. “It took two women to tie me into this thing.”

“I’ll help you.”

My legs burned with the effort of keeping afloat. My chin kept dipping below the waterline. I glowered in the direction Jason’s boat had gone. “Jerk.”

“Hey, I’m sorry.” Donovan swam behind me to reach my lacings. “I didn’t consider that you were wearing a deathtrap when I pulled you in. Besides, I didn’t think Rockstar Boy would ditch you like that.”

“Not you. I meant Jason.”

“Oh.” Donovan felt along the fastenings on my back. I hoped he could figure how to loosen them in the dark. It was my only chance. “You’ve got lousy taste in men,” he said. “Jason’s not worth a concert ticket, let alone a wish.”

I sunk downward and managed to swallow a mouthful of water before I kicked back up to the surface. I coughed, choking until I could get enough air. Fear rattled around my chest. How much longer could I last? “This is just my luck. I used my last wish to get rid of my mermaid tail, and now I’m going to drown.”

“No you’re not. Keep kicking.” Donovan’s voice sounded too taut, like he wasn’t confident that what he said was true. He yanked the lacings on skirt, momentarily making them go tighter. “I’m going to save you, and then we’re going to work together to get the goblet.”

“What?” I glanced over my shoulder. Donovan held a pocketknife and was cutting through the ties. I was so relieved I wanted to cry. Of course Donovan had a knife. Soldiers carried that sort of thing.

“You saw how well tonight went,” he said. “In order for either of us to get the goblet, we have to work together.”

He only wanted to team up with me because I could touch the goblet and he couldn’t. Still, it wasn’t wise to argue with someone while he kept you from drowning. I didn’t comment.

The skirt loosened around my waist and fell away. I felt instantly lighter. The lake had given up part of its grip.

Donovan moved to the lacings on my bodice. “Don’t be stubborn about this. You need me. Queen Orlaith will watch that goblet like a hawk from now on. You don’t know how to steal things, but I’ve got a plan that will work.”

More lacings snapped and gave way. “And then what? We leave Jason?” I didn’t like the idea, even though Jason had left me. It was still my fault he was stuck here.

“No, we force our fairy godmothers to take all three of us back to the right century. They want the goblet badly enough. They’ll do it.”

The bodice loosened, and I peeled it off. I still wore my chemise and corset, but those weren’t nearly as heavy. “Okay. We’ve got a deal.” I dropped the bodice. It brushed past my legs as it sank, a final silky goodbye.

Donovan gazed at me and smiled.

“What?” I asked.

“Just seeing if your nose grew. It didn’t.”

I thought about asking Donovan to slice off my corset too, then decided against it. I could swim now and the sooner we got to land the better.

“Thanks for cutting me free,” I said. “See you at the shore.” Without another word I stroked in that direction.

Donovan swam beside me the whole way. He was a strong swimmer and could have outpaced me. He kept checking on me, though. Perhaps he had reason. I was tired, cold, and my energy was spent. My arms slapped stiffly into the water. After a few minutes I could barely move them and relied on my legs to propel me forward.

Finally the shore grew close and my feet touched ground. I dragged myself out of the lake, shivering. My chemise clung awkwardly to me and water streamed down my legs and filled my slippers. Like everything else, they’d been laced on, but they were light enough that I hadn’t kicked them off. Now with rocks crunching underneath my feet, I was glad for them.

Only one lamp hung on the lamppost, sending out a welcoming halo of light. As we walked toward it, Donovan pulled off his shirt and wrung the water out. I couldn’t help but notice his build. He was all shoulders and hard muscles.

The wind picked up, and a fresh set of goose bumps lined my skin. Bits of seaweed stuck to me. I didn’t bother wiping them off. As I walked, I wrapped my arms around myself trying to hold onto some warmth. Water still dripped down my legs, leaving dark puddles behind me.

We reached the lamppost. While Donovan put his shirt back on, I fumbled with the lantern handle. I was shaking too hard to get a good grip and was afraid I would drop it. If I did, we wouldn’t be able to find our way through the forest.

Donovan saw my trouble and took the lantern. He held it up, scattering light around us. “The trail is this way.”

He started in that direction and I stumbled after him, arms still wrapped around my torso. “Thank you,” I muttered. With my teeth chattering it sounded more like, “Haiku.”

I considered repeating the phrase, but my teeth kept chattering, so I decided to let him think I had a sudden interest in poetry.

Donovan paused and held the lamp closer to my face. “I think you’re getting hypothermia. You don’t look good.”

I didn’t look good? I was soaking wet and dotted with seaweed. “No one looksh good afer being dunked in a la-ake.”

His gaze went over me, concerned. “Shivering, pale skin, slurring your words. Next is mental confusion. We’d better find a place to start a fire.”