Page 50 of I Summon the Sea

Sucking in a breath, ignoring the feeling of hot pins in my calves and feet, I tense my legs and wait for the right moment, wait…

“Fuck,” Athdara grunts behind me, the sound jolting me. It’s deep and heartfelt, his voice tight and gravelly.

Focus, dammit.

The next wave hits. The platform rocks forward—and letting out my breath, I push off the edge and make the jump, leaping over the steep gap with the sea moaning below.

Arms windmilling in the air, I’m suspended between earth and sky, sky and sea, and terror steals the air from the lungs. I don’t think I’m moving, I’m going to crash, I’m falling?—

I crash into the central platform.

Shit!I’m scrabbling with hands and toes to find purchase on the edge, cutting my palms on the rocks piled there. My hurt arm is pure agony, my shoulder socket feels like it’s about to give way, and my hand can’t grip.

I slap it against the hard surface anyway, eyes watering from the pain, until my numb fingertips find purchase. Before I slide right off, before I fall into the water and get smashed betweenthe sheer metal walls, I swing my good arm up and wedge my fingers into a crevice, a cry caught in my throat.

My breathing is a saw cutting through my chest. Now, both arms hurt, and I try not to think about the fact that I’m suspended over the chasm with the treacherous sea rolling below.

People yell in triumph as they make it over or scream as they miss and fall to their deaths.

I am the silence hanging over the void.

You can do it. You made it this far.

Finding some hidden reserve of strength, I haul myself over the edge, over the rocks piled on the platform, and lie face-down on the rich-smelling soil.

That’s it. I made it. I can hear birdsong, squawks, and leaves rustling. I’m inside the bubble of a dream floating over the nightmare of the games, and then I remember…

Athdara.

Jai.

After a long, frustrating moment where I search inside me for those last dregs of angry energy that got me here, I heave myself to my feet, toes sinking into the soil.

My head is spinning as I turn around, scanning for him, and to my surprise, I find him still across the chasm. He hasn’t made the jump. Worse still, he’s on his knees, bowed over, black hair hiding his face, hands braced on the metal surface.

I frown. A tight, aching feeling twists about inside my chest like a snake. What’s going on with him?

Predictably, the ‘grateful’ humans have left him behind and tried to jump. Three of the four have made it, but he…

Whispers carry over the wind to my ears. Is he the one whispering? Whispering and moaning as if he’s in pain. Even from here, I can see his powerful arms trembling, his mouth moving.

And time is ticking. The other contestants have entered the grove.

I can’t go back for him. Even if I wanted to—and I don’t want to, I assure myself, definitely not—I’m not sure I can make that jump twice. It feels like my legs are on fire, my knees filled with jelly.

Damned legs.

Damned mind.

I beckon at him.Come, I think.Jump. You can do it.

But he doesn’t seem to see me.

Feeling as if I’m moving through quicksand, my limbs heavy, I turn my back on him. He’ll jump in a moment, I assure myself. He’ll make it. He’s Athdara, the King’s Sword, the dragon speaker, the shadow weaver.

As the telchin said, if anyone can make it, it’s him.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

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