Page 60 of I Summon the Sea

My heart jolts.Jai, I think.

But it’s not him, and I crumble. I don’t understand why I feel crushed to find he isn’t there.

The man sitting beside me is blond, his eyes clear, and the handsome face bared when he looks up reveals him to be Tru.

He’s seated on a stool, all straight and proper. He’s dressed in a different uniform from the one he wore on the barge, black pants and boots, a golden tunic to mid-thigh, a black leather belt, and leather epaulets and gauntlets. His blond hair is caught in a tail at his nape, the long strands hanging over one shoulder, and he has a black spear propped against the wall beside him.

His hazel eyes look very green as he leans slightly forward to look at me. “You’re finally awake.” His sloped ears poke out of his hair, decorated with a few silver hoops—a spartan adornment compared to most fae I’ve met in my life. “The healers feared the worst when you wouldn’t properly return to consciousness. I know,” he lifts a hand, “what you want to ask: it’s been a day and a night since the wyrm disgorged you here at the palace.”

That’s not what I want to ask, I want to ask if Jai was here, but I swallow hard and work on schooling my features into a blank mask.

“As for Athdara,” he goes on, “he was here all night by your side, but he needs to rest, so I took over. He’ll be glad to hear you’re awake.”

Wait, what did he just say? I forget all about blankness, all about my annoyance.

He was?I mouth, because I still don’t have my voice. My heart lodges in my throat.He was here all night?

“Oh, yes.” Tru sounds annoyed. As if reporting an inadequacy on Jai’s part.

Jai had been here.

I should hate him, so why do I feel my eyes prickle with tears?

It’s the venom, I think, the panic of the trial, the near misses, the almost-failure. It’s shaken me.

Just don’t let those tears fall.

Why?I ask Tru. I’m aware of my mouth moving, needing to get all these questions out even if no sound betrays them.Why?

But Tru had a keen eye from the start. A keen eye and a kind heart. “You know the answer.”

Oh, well.Keen eye and kind heart, but obviously shit for brains. I am asking, aren’t I?

I don’t know!I gesture at him.Why? Tell me why.

He’s still watching me. “You should ask him yourself.” He pats an item in his lap. A hat? “I talked to the healers. They’ll release you soon, in time for the king’s banquet, and then the grand ball. I hope you know how to dance.”

A ball. What in the hells? I’m still struggling to keep the tears back, my hands clenching in the covers, and we’re talking about balls? I don’t have anything to wear, I’m not sure I remember how to dance, and this little thing might just end up breaking me. I can’t handle it, not after the trial, after everything I had planned went crashing down.

My panic has to show on my face.

Tru’s pale brows knit together. “Didn’t Athdara tell you about it? Don’t fret. Nobody expects you to arrive at the games with an expensive collection of clothes. According to the festival law, you will be given everything you need for the next three days anduntil the next trial, including gowns, shoes, and maids to look after your every need.”

So he did tell me the truth about that. I relax a little and lean back against the pillows.

“I should go.” Tru gets up, a conical hat in his hands. So itwasa hat, after all. “Lots to prepare for the first trial celebrations.”

I reach for him, my fingers snagging in the soft fabric of his sleeve.Jai… Athdara.Tru’s eyes are on my mouth as I form the words.Where is he?

He doesn’t reply to my question, even though I’m sure he read my lips. “I’ll see you around the palace,” he says, smoothing down his gold and black uniform. He jams the conical hat onto his head. “And, Rae, when you meet our king… be careful.”

What is he warning me about? Of course, I’ll be wary of the king. He’s a fae, a king, and a sorcerer. A cruel, selfish prick of a man who came from another world. Who in their right mind wouldn’t be wary?

In the end, I’m glad when Tru finally leaves, giving me space to compose myself.

This can’t happen again, this weakness, this breaking down.

The plan is on track. I’m here now, inside the palace, and this is when my real work begins. I need to recover and prepare for what comes next, the most important part of this trial.

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