Page 64 of I Summon the Sea

But the question is…why?

“Of course he told you.” Arkin chuckles, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “I should have seen it coming. The man went out of his mind the moment he saw you. Search me why.”

I aim my elbow at his midriff, but damn him, he has good reflexes and steps out of the way. I hope my glare sets his red hair on actual fire.

“A feisty human girl,” he muses, resuming his place beside me as if nothing happened. “Found in the swamps, bedraggled and half-drowned, she decides to enter the games without being forced to… and for some reason, Athdara, the King’s Sword andfamed dragon speaker of the Seventh World, decides to follow her to what could mean his death.”

I wave a hand at him. What’s his point? It’s not like it’s my fault he entered the games.

“You’re right, heisa hard one to kill.” He nods thoughtfully, his long red hair in that high ponytail swinging. “Though one is often tempted to try again.”

I shoot him a sharp look. Is he joking?

Heisjoking. He’s grinning that unnerving fae grin full of sharp teeth. The fae prefer to give tight-lipped smiles most of the time, as if embarrassed by that animalistic mouthful of fangs to go with the pointy ears and sharp senses.

Arkin doesn’t seem to care, though, and I kind of like that about him. He doesn’t seem to care about much, if I consider what I’ve seen from him. Unlike Tru, who is always so careful and cautious.

And Athdara…Jai.Still hard to get used to the name. Did he really send his friends to watch over me? Why? And why hasn’t he come himself now that I’m awake if he was so damn worried?

Something doesn’t add up, and I snarl at myself for softening toward him. None of this makes any sense—him joining the games, helping me survive, sending his friends to hover over me… In fact, the fact he’s keeping himself away from me makes the most sense of all.

It’s as if he’s keeping secrets. But why would he, when I’ve never met him before, when I know nothing about him?

What is he hiding?

My thoughts are cut short when Daria stops in front of an arched, lilac door with a symbol like a crown engraved on it in black and gold.

I frown at it while she unlocks and ushers me inside, into a vast bedroom with a canopy bed and a sitting area, drapes, carpets, and paintings, all made in tones of lilac and mauve. A lit fireplace dominates one wall, flames jumping merrily in the grate. A table and chairs are arranged before it, and…

A bronze clawfoot tub, that’s what snags my attention. I walk toward it, entranced.

Placed at the other end of the room, filled with steaming water, it is set against a vast floor-to-ceiling window giving over the sea, then the land beyond. We’re facing away from the Pillar, and despite the weirdness of being in such a room, I find I’m vaguely disappointed I can’t see it.

A man clears his throat somewhere behind me. “May I?—”

“Please, stay outside, sir knight,” Daria says sweetly. “I must look after my lady, and time is short.”

Sir knight?They are actual royalknights, not just nobles acting as ceremonial guards for the festival? I turn around to find Arkin opening his mouth as if to argue with Daria, but upon finding me staring at him, he shuts it again.

The confused expression on his handsome face is comical for a few brief moments.

Then, with a curt nod, he steps outside, and the door closes, hiding him from view.

“Men,” Daria mutters under her breath. “Can’t he see you’re about to take a bath and rest? He’s not your betrothed, nor your bonded mate, he isn’t even supposed to set foot inside a lady’s room…”

That is… yes, it’s definitely funny, and I crack a smile in spite of myself. When she looks at me, I mouth,I’m no lady.

Not anymore.

“I know a lady when I see one.” Daria bustles about, carrying a folded blue bath sheet and placing it on a stool by the tub.

Well, I can’t argue with that, and the tub full of water draws me like a drug, like a promise of relief and lightness. Of peace.

I need to be alone, so I shoo her with my hands.Go. Go away.

“I’m staying to help you bathe.” Daria looks startled. “To scrub your back, to?—”

I can scrub my own back. In fact, I don’t intend to do any scrubbing. I shoo her again. Then, when that fails, I actually take her hand and lead her to the door.

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