Page 44 of I Summon the Sea

Then a haunting melody rings out. Voices and flutes. A lyre. Sadness and nostalgia.

Mermaids.

There are five of them, their heads and shoulders out of the water, long blue and silver hair spilling around them. They make for an enchanting tableau, their powerful tails surely swishing underneath them, keeping them in place.

Two of them are singing, voices twining in perfect harmony, speaking about longing, love, and loss.

My heart thumps hard. The song speaks to me, tomespecifically, digging into the old hurts, the scabbed-over wounds that never healed. Calling me, calling me…

Don’t listen.

Kicking my feet to move backward, I see a group of humans turning around and swimming toward them, faces rapt. Mesmerized.

Bespelled.

Anger sparks through me. Then fear follows as my situation sinks in for good. What happened? Why didn’t the spell break? How will I survive and get close to the king now?

No matter.I’ll do it. I’ll just have to survive this trial and get into the palace. The winners will be allowed near the king, but with the magic surrounding him and mine lacking…

Hells. Keep going.I need to make it to the platforms swaying in the middle of the arena. To my left, a line cuts through the water, and I see a long green tail splashing.

Tritons.

They get easily distracted by movement, because unlike their female counterparts of sorts, the mermaids, they are deaf and mute.

Mute like me.

No, the irony isn’t lost on me. But that means I have to stop swimming. No movement. No ripple. If I stay perfectly still, they may pass me by—as still as I can be while treading water, my head slipping under once in a while, my heart in my throat.

I wonder if they can smell my fear, like dragons can.

The salt going down my throat is scraping it raw, burning like the salt of sea magic, but it gives no jolt to my heart. It’s just water.

And I’m still just human.

It’s fine; they will swim by. It has to be a pod, at least five of the creatures. One of them breaks the surface, raising his head and blowing a conch—a deep, belligerent, and sorrowful sound.

Anything that gets in their way, they’ll tear apart. That pod of mermaids is nearby, and tritons are fiercely territorial of their sea wives. Possessive. Not the sort of males I like, and that’s even without counting the green skin, long fangs, and fishtails.

Stay still, I repeat to myself,empty your mind, let go of the fear, and just stay still.

Then a woman screams close by, somewhere off to my left.

Shit.

She’s splashing about like she’s drowning, arms flailing, and water flying in a spray. Her dark skin and hair are stark against the white froth and blue water, making her a perfect target.

On cue, the tritons stop their advance… and veer toward us.

Holy shit, no.My breath snags in my chest. What I need to do is swim away. She’s creating such a ruckus that all their attention is bound to be on her.

Leaving me free to get away.

Which is what I should do. Right now, in fact, before it’s too late.Start swimming.

Start swimming now! It’s each man and woman for themselves, remember? Each one of us fending for ourselves? Yes? Ring a bell?

So why am I not moving away? Why do I turn toward the splashing woman and start swimming in her direction? I’m clearly an idiot. She’s still screaming, and I can’t even tell her to shut up with no voice of my own.

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