Page 80 of I Summon the Sea

Ice spreads down my spine.

“Please, rise Athdara, and…?” He gestures for me to stand. I can feel his gaze on me more than ever, heavy and oppressing. “What is your name?”

I open my mouth, but of course, I can’t speak, and for a king fearful of the finnfolk and their magic, losing one’s voice is a suspicious sign.

What if he figures it out…?

“Her name is Rae,” Jai says, his bass, slightly hoarse voice ringing out, rolling over the table. “And it is our honor, Your Majesty, to offer our lives to the Pillar.”

The king nods and waits for a few beats. Then he lifts his arms. “Let us be thankful.”

Thankful!He truly is. The fae can’t lie, can they? He’s rejoicing, glad and proud of his deeds.

I fall back in my seat, panting. This man, this fae who took everything from me. My home. My family. All those familiar, beloved faces, stilled by death.

My mother.

My father.

My brother.

My lover.

I feel the pain as if it were yesterday, twisting in my gut like a rusty knife. Like the day my beloved was snatched away from me, and then… And then everyone I cared about was gone and erased, leaving me to flounder and sink into the mire.

“Before I let you return to your dinner,” the king says, “we bid our right hand, our dragon speaker and shadow weaver, our adoptive son, to regale us with a small show of his power.” His voice drops. “A show of shadows.”

“Athdara,” the fae whisper, their voices rising. “Athdara, dragon speaker, shadow weaver!”

Ah, here it comes. I’d guessed as much, hadn’t I? A shallow magic show to impress the nobles and cement their faith in their king’s decisions and plans, such as his choice of his second in command.

The antithesis to the telchin’s light show.

A game of shadows.

Jai is still sprawled in his chair.Insolent. The word takes a whole new meaning as he remains slumped in the presence of his king and adoptive father who is standing, commanding him.

I wonder for a moment whether he’s thinking to refuse and disobey. Unthinkable. That would be treason.

But Jai lifts his hand in a negligent sweep that sends the shadows swirling around the hall, drawing exclamations of amazement from the gathered fae nobles.

They know about him, but they haven’t witnessed his power in person, I realize, living in their towns and estates. Most ofthem have never met Athdara before. They were never touched by his magic.

They were never rescued and carried over a metal cliff by shadows, didn’t feel that warm embrace as they wrapped around them… Never gave it much thought, I suppose, were only told tales about him and decided he was just a pawn, a tool for the king to command the world.

But now…

Now his power spreads. The shadows grow into fantastical wings behind him, reaching the ends of the hall, touching the ceiling and the doors. They linger there for a few heartbeats, washing up and down, a black wave.

Instead of fading, though, they darken, rising like water. Swinging across the hall, they fling the doors open and crash against the walls.

What is happening? Is this normal?

Through my narrowing tunnel of vision, I see him bend forward, planting his hands on the tabletop, dark strands of hair falling over his brow, and his dark eyes glitter… gazing in my direction.

The shadows keep growing, rising and falling, turning into a living thing, a living darkness. I didn’t expect them to roar and splash across the walls, leaving stains that linger.

Like black water. Like blood.

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