Page 51 of I Summon the Sea

The forest on the platform isn’t what it seems.

Not a big surprise. I should have guessed by now that nothing the fae show us is as it seems. It’s all half-truths and almost-lies, tricks and illusions.

The trees growing out of the thick soil aren’t trees at all. At first, upon approaching the grove, I thought they might be enormous mushrooms, but no, they’re something else altogether, their rustling canopy forming vertical fans of white and red filigree.

A coral forest out of the water mimicking life on land.

Pieces of coral are strewn on the ground underneath them, too, I realize when my bare feet crunch on them.

A man cries out and falls to the ground. His leg is streaked with bright red blood.

Corals out of the water, broken up and sharp as blades.

My feet already hurt when I entered the trials, and now I’m leaving a crimson trail, starting to limp. I can’t keep walking on shredded feet. So I strip another band from the hem of my dress, leaving it somewhere about my knees, and bend down to bind my bleeding feet.

Better.

The noise of crashing among the giant corals tells me that the other contestants have entered the grove. We’re all making our way toward the tower.

Before the petrified trunks block my view, I glance back one last time, despite myself, in case Jai—I mean Athdara—has made it across, but I can’t see him. The heaviness in my chest is sudden and overwhelming, stopping my breath.

It’s annoying.

Incomprehensible, really.

I have way too much resting on my shoulders without having to worry about that annoying, absurdly attractive man.

Who saved your life,the voice in my head pipes in helpfully.And the lives of those other humans. And who entered the games for no discernible reason, except…

Well, that is his business, not mine. I shouldn’t give a damn.

A shrill scream, very close to me, has me hesitating.

It cuts off sharply.

Bending again, I pick up a sharp piece of coral and strain to hear while holding it at my side. Was that an accident, an animal attack, or was it a human act of violence?

Another scream, and I realize the ground has started to writhe.

Gods above.Snakes! The ground is covered in them.

One of them raises its triangular head and hisses at me, long fangs bared. I throw the sharp coral piece I’m holding at it, and it cuts its head and flings it away.

But around me, more heads rise, graced with small horns and long fangs, forked tongues flickering.

There’s no remedy to this. The only solution is to run. Outrun the snakes. My cut-up feet sting and throb, my tread ungainly, ending in a limp-and-lurch kind of jog. I keep the hiss behind my teeth as I make myself continue.

Don’t stop. Keep going.

A pale mist winds among the trunks, near the ground, wisps and tendrils wafting toward me. Lights twinkle in it like fireflies. Where it touches the ground, the coral fragments seem to ignite.

It’s a pretty sight.

A tendril of mist touches my hand, and I gasp, recoiling. It wraps around my arm, and where it touches my skin, it burns, blisters forming instantly.

Hissing, I back away and try another path. Glowing poisonous fog? Trust the fae to create deadly, pretty things to torment us with. The damned fog follows me, and I duck under low coral fans, searching for another way.

Birds screech overhead. One of them dives down suddenly, and I duck around a trunk, my heart pounding harder. Another bird screeches and dives down, batting its wings between coral fans. It’s colorful like a rainbow, but its beak is long and crooked, not to mention strong, judging by how it’s using it to hack through the coral fan.

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