Page 90 of I Summon the Sea

Holy shit.It was real, wasn’t it? But the sheets are cold. He must have left with the dawn, and I didn’t even notice.

I sit up, my head spinning, and glance around at the still unfamiliar surroundings—the tub and the window with a view of the sea and land, the table and chairs by the fireplace, the small desk, the oval mirror on the wall.

The four-poster bed I’m sitting on.

The room is empty except for me and Daria who is shooting me curious looks. I probably look as much a mess as I feel. I can still smell him, feel the phantom imprint of his lips on my brow.

“I’ll be here.”

A promise that shouldn’t have reassured me like it did. I relaxed, dropping off into deep sleep, letting him cradle me, keep watch over my dreams. As if I trust him, as if my body and mind know things I don’t, as if they are trying to tell me I should believe him, even care for him…

It’s all wrong. What is this hold he has on me?

Tru’s words from yesterday return in echoes—about the king finding Jai and bringing him to the Land Palace, seat of the royal throne, about his rare powers, and Phaethon, the ancient Eosphor.

“The other soul I carry in me.”

What am I to believe? Even Tru sounded skeptical. An ancient soul inhabiting Jai? How is that possible, and what does it mean? Could it be his own mind playing tricks on him?

Grief and stress can deceive you. I should know. But joining the games was his own choice, as is serving the fae king.

Just like your family served the fae to avoid bloodshed?

My family never betrayed the humans.

Didn’t they? How do you know? How did your family get to live in peace side-by-side with the fae for so long?

Just…Stop.I swat at the air as if that will silence the smug little voice inside my head. Here I am, wondering how Jai can hear voices when I have my own little tormentor inside my mind, spoon-feeding me doubts and fears, poking at nightmares and memories that won’t stay buried.

“My lady,” Daria says, “you seem distracted. Let me help you wash up and get dressed. Today you should eat and rest. No more running about the palace. Gather your strength for the next trial.”

My head throbs. I rub at my crusty, bleary eyes. Is that from crying? I haven’t cried in ages, but last night I broke down. I need water to drink, water to scrub my face and… justwater. I’ve been out of the sea too long. I feel strung out and dried up like old sea kelp.

Something on the pillow next to mine catches my attention, and the sight punches the air from my lungs. A round black pebble, small and gem-like, it gleams opalescent, iridescent, gray spots like droplets of ink dotting the surface.

Is this a gift? Did he leave it for me?

I reach down to touch it and gasp when it unfolds onyx wings and flies away from me, toward the window.

A moth. Just a moth, not a gem. Not a gift. He didn’t leave it for me after all. Didn’t leave anything.

Look at you, like a star-struck maiden, hoping for more.

Gods above, my inner voice is as nasty as Jai’s evil alter-ego.

“Oh, my goodness, it’s a Jaiet. An obsidian moth!” Daria claps her hands, a smile spreading over her face. “They’re so rare and beautiful. I’ve heard about them but never seen one until now.”

I shoot her an inquiring look.

“They say they are drawn to fire magic, smoke and shadows,” she says dreamily.

Drawn to Jai. She’s saying that he draws these moths to him.

Gods, I have to stop thinking about Jai, about the fact I spent the night in his arms. I’ll stop the memory from assaulting me every time I move, every time I think I catch his scent.

Impossible to do. It has imbued my pillows, my sheets, my skin, the very air of the room.

The moth circles back and flies toward me. I lean back, alarmed, afraid it will land on my face, and wouldn’t that be a hoot? That after all that has happened to me, I might lose it because a rare moth has landed on my face?

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