Page 53 of I Summon the Sea

Jai?I mouth his name. The relief I feel is undeniable, layered over the guilt I feel for leaving him behind.

When did I go from calling him Athdara to this? And why does using his name—a simple sound, a simple name—make him seem so much more real?

So much more human?

But despite the blood dripping down his chin, he’s fine, up and walking, and that’s all that I need to know. I pull my hand away from his, and when he doesn’t reach for it again, I follow behind him.

We’re both going in the same direction, and I tell myself that he’s not my problem anymore. Not that he ever was, except for being a thorn in the humans’ side, a problem for all of us.

His tall form, clad in black, is startling against the pale backdrop of the hazardous forest. It takes me a moment to realize he’s talking as he walks, as he changes directions and ducks to avoid attacking birds.

“I hope we won’t have to kill the dragon to escape,” he’s muttering. “What? No, it’s not that simple. Stop… Untether the platform. That’s an idea. No, no killing, Phaethon. Godsdammit, I said no! Eos wouldn’t want this. Just… shut up.”

Why does he sound like he’s having a dialogue with someone?

No killing whom? Who is Eos? And I heard the name Phaethon used before.

My original plan got thrown out the window the moment I entered the arena, shredded by circumstances. Ι was supposedto ace this and reach the palace—not easily, but at least with a certain degree of certitude.

Stumbling after the fae King’s Sword through a murderous coral garden wasn’t the idea.

Amphitrite, what have you done? Did you trick me? Was this your aim all along?

Having to deal with one close call after another, I didn’t stop to wonder if this is her doing.

And now, as the base of the tower glimmers between coral trunks, a whiter white with hints of gold, I can’t stop, either. Can’t slow down.

Except, the fire crawls through my veins with each pounding step, rising through my chest, through my head. My sight wavers, edged with sparkling darkness. The poison is getting to me.

We burst into a clearing with the tower standing in its middle, other people already climbing it. We’re just a few feet away from it…

Just a few feet away, when I stumble and fall in the dirt, darkness closing over me like water. I sink into the depths of the ocean inside my mind, knowing I’ve failed.

No matter the excuse, it won’t change anything. I’ve failed, and this is the end.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I drift somewhere deep, a place I don’t recognize, and yet it feels strangely familiar. A warm, soft darkness, a velvet bed. A sense of peace and calm, of letting go.

Someone is kneeling beside me, a young man, the tumble of hair in his eyes achingly dear.

Mars, I think.Mars?

I’ve had this thought before, though, and I was mistaken. How many times do I have to commit this error, go through this painful wrenching feeling while hoping he’s still alive when he’s not?

No, Mars is gone. He’sgone. Why do I keep seeing him when he was taken from me so long ago? Too long for any human to still be in this world.

Because you’re scared, a voice tells me.Because you don’t know if this is going to work, if everything you’ve planned will fail, and he was your one bright light, for the short time it lasted.

I blink, and a face swims into the light, hanging over me. That godsdamned black hair hangs in his eyes, but once more, I find myself looking at the humans’ nemesis, the King’s Sword.

Jai.

“You’re hurt, it’s…” He prods at the burning ache in my leg, and I swear the blood drains from his face. “Fuck, it’s venom. A coralline snake got you.”

I know.

I’m dying.

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