“You could be wet, covered in slime, on fire.” He ticked off his fingers.
Well, I didn’t like any of those options, but I understood the point.
“Fine,” I grumbled, once again launching myself from the ground and across the marsh.
And, once again, I fell. Hammer made me do it again and again and again, until I grew so fed up with the whole thing I yanked him into the water and used the opportunity to take a little break, sinking onto the ground and leaning against a tree while he flailed.
When he emerged, beard and hair sopping, I could practically see the fire in his eyes. “Yer going to pay for that.”
“I don’t even care. I just got a nice one-minute break.” I studied my dirt-caked nails. “Worth it.”
“Again,” he said, voice hard as stone.
I tried to remind myself that this was important. If I was going to steal that mirror and escape from these people, I had to take this seriously. As much as I loathed all of this, I’d need every one of these skills to get out of here and defeat my stepmother.
Hammer stood over me, his eyes blazing as water dripped from the end of his beard. “This time, we’re doing things a little different.”
“What do you mean?” Sweat dotted my brow. Maybe throwing him in the marsh hadn’t been such a good idea.
He pointed at the lily pads. “You’re going to jump to the other side, then I’ll swing the vine to you, and you’ll have to use it to get back over here.”
“But I can’t swing!” I said. “I’ll fall right away and have to swim the entire length of the marsh.” I looked to the other side, which suddenly seemed very far away.
Hammer just stood there, satisfaction gleaming in his brown eyes. Yes, throwing him in had definitely been a mistake.
“Fine,” I said and approached the marsh. “Any tips?”
“Oh, I think you can figure this one out by yerself,” he growled.
Of course I could. I didn’t know much about jumping long distances. Or jumping at all, really.
I had nothing to lose at this point. I’d already fallen in so many times, what did it matter? I bent my legs, reared my arms back, and launched myself forward. My feet hit the lily pad, and I stumbled down onto my knees, momentarily frozen. I stared at the green surface under me, hardly able to believe it. I’d done it. I’d jumped.
I let out a shriek and stood, turning to face Hammer, whose eyes were wide, like he couldn’t believe it either.
“Did you see that?” I asked.
He gave me an unimpressed look. “Aye.”
“I did it!” I pumped my fist in the air and jumped in excitement. “I did it. I did it. I did it?—”
My feet slipped out from under me, the lily pad wobbling. I lost my balance and fell with a splat into the water. When I emerged, Hammer was doubled over, shoulders shaking, tears streaming down his face.
Tears of laughter. Unbelievable.
Something slithered by me in the water, and I shrieked and swam out as fast as possible—which wasn’t very fast—hair dripping and full of moss, mud coating my arms and trousers.
He clutched his belly and laughed even harder upon seeing me emerge from the marsh.
“I’m glad this is so amusing to you.” I swiped a finger across my face. A glop of sticky mud fell to the ground.
Hammer pointed at my forehead. “I think you missed a spot,” he said through gasps of laughter.
I pursed my lips and crossed my arms, waiting for Hammer to finish. And waiting. And waiting. He finally straightened, wiping away the tears.
“Oh, I haven’t had a good laugh like that in a while.” He clapped a hand to my shoulder. “Well done.”
He sounded . . . impressed.
