Page 99 of I Summon the Sea

He means to invade more worlds.

If he means to leave and take his troops with him, what do I care? It would save me the trouble of killing him. And yet my chest tightens at the thought of more worlds suffering what mine went through.

“What do you know of the prophecy?” he asks now.

Still shocked by the revelation, the implications, I shake my head. What does he want with me, toying with me like a cat witha mouse? Why has he brought me here? I lower a hand to my dagger, feeling its hard shape amid the folds of my skirt.

“Answer me!” He surges to his feet and catches my wrist, eyes flashing. His grip is vise-like, cold as ice. “Athdara saved you during the trials. He went after you when you left during the grand banquet. What has he told you? What has he shown you?”

Nothing, I mouth and try to free my arm.Not one single thing.

His grip hurts. I know I’ll have a ring of bruises there tomorrow. “What did he see?” he whispers. “Fire and water can never mix. What did he see when he looked at you?”

Let me go, I breathe, though no sound emerges from my lips.

Fire and water. Is this about Jai and me? Why is he so concerned about Jai showing interest in me if Jai is loyal to him?

Enough of this confusion. I palm my dagger in its sheath and glance to the side, pretending I’ve noticed something. Even a fae king can be duped the first time, it seems, because he turns his head to follow my gaze.

The moment his grip relaxes, I yank my hand free and rip the dagger out of its sheath. Turning, I reach up and stab at his chest, going for the heart.

A true aim, a perfect shot. I can see my hand arching up as if time has slowed down, the white blade rising and then falling like an Eosphor streaking across the sky, I see the shock flashing through his eyes?—

I strike a wall of magic, the blade of the dagger screeching as it bends.

And something wraps around me, yanking me away from the fae king, throwing me to the ground. The dagger falls after me, clattering against stones.

It’s shadows! Shadows that stopped my blade, that are now wrapped around me, shackling my arms and ankles, pinning me to the grass.

Fear grips me. What in the hells is this? Why didn’t anyone tell me about it? He isn’t supposed to have shadow magic.

Nobody but Jai is.

A rare gift. One he shares with the fae king? How is that possible? How could this happen?

“You meant to kill me.” He says it with only mild interest. The lack of guards now makes more sense, seeing as not only are his magical defenses up at all times, but he also has a power nobody ever told me about. “With an old bone dagger.”

Put that way… Crazy, right? The fear is still coursing through me like poison. I should have known. Without my magic, I can never get him.

He paces along the pond, his robes dragging in the grass, dipping into the pond, green and black seeping into the blue. “A bone dagger and a trace of magic… She has an eye on her back… He has a name written on his chest…”

What is he muttering about? He sounds as mad as Jai right now.

The king turns back toward me. “So very interesting…” He waves a hand dismissively, and the shadows retract, freeing me, allowing me to sit up.

Interesting?My dagger lies beside me, twisted beyond repair. Despair grips me.

“Now go and prepare for the ball,” he goes on. “We’ll speak anon.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

So that’s how I find myself hours later pacing my room from side to side, from the door to the window and back, from the oval mirror showing me my disheveled state to the four-poster bed.

Better than shaking, curled up on the floor, I suppose.

Been there, done that. Curled up and shook while the human contestants ate and drank and made plans for the second trial. At least, I assume that’s what they were doing.

But now I’m done with that.

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