Page 86 of I Summon the Sea

They have to be, because he blanches, face going as white as the bleached whale bones washed out on a beach. “Where did you…?” He seems to collect himself, giving his head a little shake. “I should leave you to rest. It’s late.”

No.No, he won’t leave me hanging like this, not after botching my nighttime operation. Pushing the chair back, I surge to my feet and grab his sleeve just as he turns to go and tug. Yank on it. Then I point at my piece of paper, abandoned on the desk.

Tell me, I mouth.

He glances down where I’m clutching his uniform sleeve, my hand small and white against the dark velvet, and his eyes narrow. “You should forget about that.”

Yeah right, like that will happen. I yank again, injecting as much death as I can into my glare.Tell. Me.

A sigh escapes him. He casts the door another longing look, then turns back to face me. “Phaethon’s story is from another world.”

What world?I wave my hand to keep him talking.Well?

“Our world. The one we came from.”

I stare at him. I tug again on his sleeve.Tug, tug, tug.

“Phaethon was a great Eosphor.” Tru sounds resigned. “Some say the greatest of all. His story was old when our world was still young. He was trapped on the firmament with his faithful followers for centuries, if not millennia, living in theruins of previous Reversals, lighting up the night sky. But he managed to take possession of a human king’s mind, using him as a puppet to wreak war and destruction in his attempt to rule the world, regardless of his imprisonment.”

Yank, yank.And then?

“The king went crazy.”

I swallow hard.Sounds familiar.

“The Eosphors broke loose, and there was war on the ground. The dragons in our world can’t fly, they are great legless wyrms, but they fought against the Eosphors and won. Nobody knows what happened to Phaethon after that battle. And as for Athdara… Jai. He didn’t mention the name until recently.”

I make a questioning gesture.

Tru huffs out a breath. “He said… said that Phaethon is inside his mind, trying to control him.”

“I’m trying to control him.”Jai’s words echo in my mind.

My hands shaking, I grab my paper and jot down,‘You don’t believe him?’

“I believe… that his mind may play tricks on him. He loved a woman once, but she died, and losing your loved ones can fuck you up. You can lose track of what’s real. Then there’s his power…” Tru swallows hard, the knot in his throat bobbing. “Whoever wields great power is at risk of losing his mind.”

So now you do think he’s crazy.I stab at the paper, then at him.Huh?

“It could be a hallucination, a story his mind made up,” Tru says, “though the telchin has called him Two-souled. What do I know?”

I remember that now.Two-souled…

Tru rubs at his chest. “He’s not crazy, Rae. But he’s not well, either. He’s a creature of shadows, and that power is born of grief and death. It’s darkness, and darkness corrupts and destroys whatever it touches. He knows that, so he avoids touch.Avoids people. He’s… lonely sometimes because he would never hurt those around him, at the detriment of his own happiness, and…” Regret glints in Tru’s hazel eyes. “Look, I’ve told you too much. Go to sleep, you will need your rest for the days to come.”

I bite my lip and grab the plume again. I have more questions. So many questions.

“No more.” He starts for the door, opens it. Then he stops. “And don’t try to break out again. It won’t work. I’ll be right outside to catch you.”

I give him my little finger in salute.

His jaw clenches. He turns his head slightly. “Did anyone tell you what happened when you stepped out of the dragon’s mouth after the first trial?”

I shake my head.

“You dropped to your knees and fell senseless to the ground. Jai was the one who scooped you up and carried you inside the palace, demanding a healer, the best healer, demanding that they examine you immediately and administer the antidote for the venom. The man who avoids touch, who avoids other people, made it his mission to save you.”

He did?

---