Page 106 of I Summon the Sea

Arkin is waiting outside my room. The moment I step out, he starts, brows lifting. Then he gives a low bow. “Lady Rae. I’m here to escort you to the ball.”

Not Jai?I nod, rushing to school my face into an indifferent mask.

Here we go again, I chide myself.Didn’t I tell you not to let feelings get involved? Who cares who escorts you to this accursed ball, who cares if he lied about wanting to do this?

And who cares if Arkin escorting me could give Neere another hissy fit? It’s not my problem. None of this is.

Still, my tongue feels coated in bitter powder as I fall into step beside him. It’s fine. I’ll swallow this bitterness, too. Serves me right for letting anything take seed in my heart, so quickly and against all reason. It’s a tiny sprout, and I’ll rip it out easily.

Although it’s annoying how my body thrums every time I even think of him, as if it knows something I don’t.

Bad body. No treats for you.

The fact that he has slept in my bed twice in a row, holding me in his strong arms, means nothing.

Just like saving my life means nothing.

Gods, who am I trying to fool here? It means a lot. Too much.

I should have more control. It’s the age of reason, the season of revenge, and I won’t let my own lust, my strange weakness for this man get in the way of that.

There’s nothing between us.

The ball, with its parades and ceremonies and long boring speeches, is to take place at the top of the palace, according to Arkin. The roof is a massive terrace, apparently, complete with pavilions and trees planted in huge pots, decorative ponds, and a massive dancefloor.

Arkin has obviously been there before, during previous festivals. As we go, he describes the view from the roof, the brilliance of the Pillar, and the small consecrated temple facing it, where the telchin usually performs the rites of adoration and prostration to appease the gods.

What am I doing? Frustration wells. I will have to enter the second trial, still without any power, still so far from my target,and here I am, lusting after Jai, feeling…softtoward him, when he has stopped me twice so far from going after the king.

A king who wields elemental magic, but also shadows, and is so powerful he doesn’t even need guards to protect him.

What did Amphitrite think would happen when I got here?

What hasn’t she told me?

We climb up wide stairs, then more stairs, marble steps with ebony banisters leading higher and higher.

Soon we are joined by fae nobles, the women trailing fabric, the men looking intent and kind of annoyed in their finery.

Like songbirds, I think,the ones you might keep in a cage or a walled garden for display.The tall hats have become even more ridiculously ornate for the occasion, and all of them seem to be hollow and open at the front.

What an odd fashion.

The gowns are done in layers, with many colors showing under the overskirt, while the fae men are dressed in fantastical jackets with long tails, stamped with symbols and embroidered with gold thread and gems.

Peacocks, I think, rather than songbirds. My mistake. Their chatter has no art to it, and the loathing looks they throw my way show no restraint.

A fae man jostles me as we walk down a hallway decorated with busts and—surprise!—more Eosphor statues, but other than that, I’m left alone.

Is it Arkin’s presence? Who knows?

I see a pretty dark-skinned human woman, all dolled up in a pale blue gown that brings out her pale eyes and flawless skin, and realize it’s the woman I saved, the one who defended me during the banquet.

Yet that doesn’t mean she’s my friend. So I tense when she stops and waits for me to catch up, but she only smiles.

“I’m Amaryll,” she says as we fall into step, Arkin and a maid behind us. “And you are Rae. You saved my life in the arena. Saved me from the mermen.”

Nothing to say to that. The tritons are a nasty race. I give a slight nod.

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