Page 96 of I Summon the Sea

I glance around, wondering what is happening, and find a page boy hurrying toward us. A young man, really—as young as Jackal was when I knew him. He’s wearing a uniform similar to that of the guards, minus the creaking wings and tall hat. Instead, he’s wearing a short black cap on his unruly curls.

Another human serving the fae.

“The king has asked for you,” he says, undoing in one stroke the last of the work I’ve been putting into making the humans trust me.

A hush falls over the terrace, the whispers gurgling to a slow death.

Just lovely. I mean, it’s not as if I was having any success. So, I push my plate away and point at myself.Me?

Just in case there has been a mistake.

“Yes, my lady, if you please. Now.”

Of course. We can’t keep the king waiting. My limbs are slow to obey, to coordinate. Grabbing the edge of the table, I push myself to my feet.

“Follow me,” he says, turning to go, and with a sigh, I hurry after him, seeing that I was right. This clinches the deal, and the silence shatters, the murmurs and baleful looks intensifying.

As we enter the palace, the black moth flies away. I turn my head to watch it waft up toward the ceiling and an open window.

You did your damage, I think, annoyed,and now you’re off? Well, good riddance. Return to Jai, if he’s the one you came here for, and leave me in peace.

CHAPTER THIRTY

As I walk down new, unfamiliar hallways winding through the palace, moving past servants, maids, guards, and idle fae aristocrats who openly stare, I struggle with my racing heart.

The king asked for me. Why? This can’t be good news. Who has ever heard of the fae king inviting a human contestant to his rooms?

Granted, I have stuck out from the start by taking another’s place and ending up being carried into the palace by the King’s Sword.

Still, I hadn’t expected him to ask me over.

He’s going to interrogate me. There is no other explanation.

Well, good luck with that, I think grimly.Ask all the questions you want of a girl who has no voice.

Yet it’s also an unexpected boon, a chance to get close to him when all else seems to have failed.

Every magic has a weak point. Earth and air powers, the ones the king possesses, weaken when faced with water or fire magic. My dagger was made from mermaid bones and retains traces of water magic, even if I don’t have any at the moment.

And I’m thinking that right now, my best weapon may be having no magic at all. Being magicless, I may convince the kingto lower his magical defenses, drop his guard, and let me get close enough to stab.

What harm can a little human be, after all?

A stab to the heart should work even on the king of the fae. I’m told their heart is in the same place. Their jugular, too. That’s enough for me.

I will make this work. Even if it kills me.

The page boy is faster than I expected, and I have to press myself not to lag behind. My bitten leg still aches, and my soles still hurt, while my legs throb with pins and needles.

I wonder if that ache will ever fade, if my legs will ever feel normal. The spell I’m under is old and rare. As I understand, it’s ageas, a prohibition on my magic imposed by the Sea Queen, to aid me pass undetected among humans, and only she can break it.

This time, we don’t go up any stairs. Instead, we descend, passing past richly decorated alcoves and rooms with soft carpets and heavy drapes hanging at the barred windows. We aren’t going to the royal apartments, then.

The page boy leads me through a great arch and out into a walled garden with a metal grid serving as a roof. It lets the light and air inside while protecting us from sea monsters at a level that I’m guessing is close to the sea surface.

The feeling is reinforced by the sound of waves crashing and lapping at the outside of the walls, though inside the garden, the rustling of leaves and rich birdsong compete for dominance.

A grove.

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