Page 62 of I Summon the Sea

Perfect.

Finally allowed to get up, I realize I need to take my time. I fight dizziness just by sitting and swinging my legs off the narrow cot.

While waiting for my head to stop spinning, I take in my surroundings.

The heavy drapes at the tall, narrow window have been pulled aside, letting daylight spill through. I study the domed roof of the chamber and the line of cots along the walls, all of them empty. The walls are painted a light yellow, likely to promote recovery from illness or injury. The door through which the healers are now leaving is blue like the sky on a clear day.

Then there’s me. When I look down at myself, I find I’ve been stripped of my stolen, shredded, and filthy gown and clad in a yellow, silken robe that closes at the front, tied at the waist with a cloth belt of the same color. I’m still filthy, and when I peel down the bandage a little, I see that my bitten leg bears twin red marks where the fangs got me, a darkening bruise around them.

It reminds me of the marks on Jai’s neck.

My legs look otherwise all right. I peer down at them, checking for any change or other damage. I wiggle my toes. Rotate my ankles. Bend my knees.

Nothing.

Nothing to indicate that my legs can fuse again anytime soon and form a tail.

I chew on my lower lip, turning this little fact over in my mind. Was I lied to? Sacrificed for the cause? Is the change permanent?

I admit I didn’t pay close attention to the details of the deal. I don’t have anything to lose. Except, the success of this mission hinges on the spell lifting. Otherwise, I can’t get to the king.

Nothing for it now, though, I tell myself as I carefully stand up. My knees are shaking. I force them to straighten and lock. I’m fine, good to go. I’ve been delayed enough and I need to get?—

A sound from behind me, a scraping on the flagstones paving the room, has me jerking around. With a gasp caught in my throat, I pat my skirt—which I’m not wearing—for a dagger that isn’t there.

The quick movement was a bad idea. The world spins faster and faster, and I stumble backward, bile rising in my throat. A sharp breath leaves my lungs as I sink back down on the cot, clawing at the bed covers, darkness crowding my vision.

“My lady?” The voice is soft and feminine, and as the darkness dissipates, I see her standing just inside the door.

It’s a young woman in a plain blue dress, her dark hair pulled back in a forbidding bun. Yet her face is young and sweet, and her large, dark eyes are wide.

I’m staring. Who in the hells is she?

“I’m sorry, did I startle you? I’m Daria. I’ve brought you some food.” She approaches and places the tray on the cot beside me. “When you’re done, I’ll take you to your room for a bath, and I’ll find clothes for your stay here.”

I glance at the tray and the array of bowls filled with cooked meat and sauces. The aromas are wonderful, but my stomach roils. I don’t know if I’m ready to eat just now.

Daria, I form the name with my lips.

“I’ve been assigned to you for your stay. It’s exciting, isn’t it?”

I gesture.What is?

Her smile dims a little. “Oh, you can’t speak? That’s…” She rallies her enthusiasm back. “Thefestivalis exciting, of course. Being so close to the Pillar, in the middle of the Central Sea, at the king’s sacred palace! And being present for these balls and auditions with the king. The girls in my village are green with envy that I got this position.”

Your village?Where?

I see her struggling to read my lips and my frustration mounts. To be honest, I haven’t met many mute people in my life—I can only think of the miller’s daughter in my town—and I had never realized how hard communicating could be. So much respect for them now.

“I come from Tenea,” she says, color rising to her cheeks. “You wouldn’t know the place; it’s no more than a hamlet off the Tagra Forest.”

But I know the place. I can picture it perfectly in my mind, the low, beige-washed houses surrounded by rolling green fields and canals, the squire’s manor at its center, marked by its great arched doors.

More dizziness hits me as the images superimpose themselves over blue water and seagrass, fishtails, and grins full of danger.

“My lady,” she says, “you need to eat and get your strength back up. The trials aren’t over, and the festival can be dangerous, too.”

I frown at her, both for the honorific and the warning.

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