"Don't tell me all that confidence of yours was just a bluff," Denus said, his voice carrying a mockery wrapped in silk. A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not scared of your gorge, Denus. I'm assessing your situation. There's a difference." My gaze swept over the edge into the abyss, then back at him. "Don't you think plunging into that without proper training is a death sentence? And half of the merfolk here can't even lift a weapon correctly. You can see that yourself."
I tilted my chin toward the group behind us. One young man's trident wobbled in his grip like he was holding a it for the first time in his life.
Another was clutching the weapon's head so tightly his knuckles had gone pale. The rest… the rest couldn't hide their trembling.
Their tails flicked nervously, their eyes kept darting toward the endless gorge as though it might suddenly reach up and swallow them whole.
