Page 57 of I Summon the Sea

“How would you know?” a woman yells. “Snakes can swallow huge prey.”

“She’s not a real snake. She’s a fucking wyrm.” Jai sounds way too patient and calm. “She can’t swallow us all at once. Just don’t let go.”

So we follow his instructions, grabbing one another, huddling together.

There isn’t enough air in here. My head is swimming. Just the idea that we are inside a dread wyrm is enough to take my breath away and crush my chest. And then there’s this stench of rotting meat that wafts up, turning my stomach.

Another lurch sends us into one another. The earth dragon is moving, and the floor slides from under us, the sides of the mouth becoming our new floor and ceiling. We tumble and crash, elbows cracking against backs, heads cracking against sides.

The dragon hisses, shaking her head, and us with it.

Could she be unhappy for having her mouth crammed full of squirming, yelling humans, getting between her teeth and spoiling her nap time? Who wouldn’t?

“We’re too many,” a man says, “we’re too many, she can’t close her mouth. We’ll fall out!”

Nonsense. Dragons, like snakes, can surely crush their prey. Why wouldn’t she be able to close?—?

“Oh, by the Sleeping Gods!” a woman cries. “We don’t fit, he’s right. One of us has to get out!”

For all the gods’ sake. Are they seriously going to do this now?

“Not me,” another woman hisses, shoving at the man beside her. “Youget out.”

The man shoves right back. “No,youget out, you ugly bitch!”

Yes, they are doing this now.

Unbelievable.

The dragon shakes that massive head again, rattling us around, throwing us against her sword-sized teeth as if we’re pumpkin seeds inside a gourd—and now we’re sliding toward the widening opening of her mouth.

The light reflects on the water down below. If she opens her mouth more, we’ll slide right out and fall into the arena, into the water.

I grab for something to hold onto as my feet slip on the inside of the wyrm’s mouth.

Jai plants a hand on the wyrm’s flesh and lets himself slip a few feet down, toward the opening.

What is he doing?

The realization hits me when he lets himself slip again. He’s about to jump out, I realize. To allow the dragon to close her mouth.

To let us live.

No.I let myself slip down, too, so I can grab at him. I snag his forearm and shake my head.Don’t.

His dark brows go up.

No, I mouth the word.Read my lips, read my thoughts. No.

“I won’t let you die,” he snarls.

His fury takes me aback, my hold on him loosening, but then something crashes through the dragon’s gullet, and barrels down.

It takes the awful woman with it, kicking her out so fast she doesn’t even make a sound, dragging her out of the opening and into the sea.

The wyrm’s mouth slams closed.

And then we’re moving again.

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