Page 69 of I Summon the Sea

Or, I remind myself,you got used to the cold.

You got used to the dark deep, to escaping.

Escaping the pain.

“If you wanted to find the other human contestants,” Arkin says conversationally, breaking through my musings, “you should have gone the other way. They are gathered in one of the parlors.”

I halt. Shoot him a suspicious look.

He winks. “But the southern terrace is right around the corner, as you heard me say. Are we by any chance heading there?”

I shake my head. I’m not heading to the southern terrace, and I’m not going to see Jai.

Nope.

So it’s kind of weird, isn’t it, that the southern terrace is exactly where my feet lead me.

I ignore Arkin’s snort as I walk down the long portrait hall, also ignoring the endless portraits of sneering fae nobility gazing down at me as I pad on my bare feet over soft carpets.

Reaching the end, I step out onto an atrium filled with light. It’s spilling through the oval glass skylight in the ceiling. The door is half-open, and I push it…

Stepping out into the bright day.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The moment I step outside, the wind slams into me, sending me stumbling sideways. I find my footing before Arkin grabs at me again.

Small mercies.

The light blinds me, but I keep walking, my bare feet glad for the smoothness of the tiles paving the terrace. Reflections play off the sea, tormenting my gaze but also lightening my heart.

White, blue, gray, gold.

Sea salt coats my lips, different from the salt of water magic, pure and energizing. I lick them as I keep walking among trees rooted in the pavement, savoring the zing on my tongue.

The wind whips the thin silk of my dress against my thighs, trying to trip me up.

Arkin’s footfalls behind me have gone quiet. I turn to look and find him standing at the door I went through.

He gives me a small wave, smirk firmly in place.

Frowning, I turn back around and resume walking. If he left me alone, it means Jai is nearby, as promised. Unless Arkin wants to get rid of me, and an assassin or monster is lurking beyond the trees.

There is also that to consider, since I barely know him.

The only person I can trust is myself. I’m not even sure I can trust Queen Amphitrite who sent me on this mission at this point, or my memories of the deal I struck landing me here.

The terrace feels endless and vast, the view of the sea interrupted here and there by more trees, white pavilions, and higher terraces accessed by wide stairs. A nightgold and dragonbone rail girds it to prevent anything eldritch and monstrous from climbing into the palace.

Where is he, then?

It’s curiosity, I tell myself, that’s what brought me here. Arkin’s words managed to hook me. Certain words feel like a window into a story, words likesurviveandreturn,manageandattempt…

The memory of the blood dripping from Jai’s chin may have also nudged me here, or the memory of his hand wrapped around my arm, hauling me to safety, his shadows curling around us, cradling us…

Of his dark eyes on me.

This is ridiculous. I should still be looking for the royal apartments. Instead, here I am, that strange tug back in my chest, padding down a terrace jutting over the sea.

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