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I nod because, honestly, I don’t know how I feel about it. For naturally-born mermaids, when a dark blue circle appears on their hand, they are fertile. The circle on my palm isn’t complete. More like three quarters of a pie. I stare at it for a second before I close my hand and pull it back out of sight. Not that it’s not always there, reminding me of how I’m changing. How I’m becoming someone, something else. “It’s not a full circle.”
“No, it’s not.” Kai glances over her shoulder. “Do you mind? I think we’ll be fine for a few minutes alone.” She shoves at Holter. He shakes his head and meanders down the back hallway. “You too.” She points a long finger at Nico.
“You going to be okay?” Nico stares at me.
“Yes.” I resist laughing because Nico means well. And while the rest of the city thinks of him as the second coming of Poseidon, I think of my mate more like a big marshmallow. A big deadly marshmallow. Nico gives me a nod and heads for the back hallway but then turns and gives me a quick kiss on my cheek.
“Do you not want to be a mother?” Kai rests her hands, fingers intertwined, on her belly.
“I . . . I’m not sure I’m ready. And this . . .” I stare at my palm.
“It seems like a lot of pressure. Yes, we’re having a lot of problems keeping our population naturally stable, but there are things you can do if you don’t want a podlet yet.”
I nod.
“We can talk about them later. Your ring isn’t ready. You have time.” Kai tries to tuck a foot under her bottom and fails, placing it on the coffee table instead. “Now, what else did you want to talk about? You said it was private.”
“Yes.” I crane my neck, but the guys aren’t in the hallway. From under the sofa, I pull out one of Nico’s mother’s books. It bounces on the cushion between us. “What do you know about Richeal Callis?”
“Well, she died before I was born.” Kai picks up the old text. “She liked books. We have some of her library in my mother’s collection.”
“What?” My heart beats in triple time.
“Yeah, well, she was my mother’s best friend. And the apartment they had didn’t have enough space. And Mom had just moved into the penthouse. Yeah, there’s a whole bunch of them up there. I used to try to look at them when I was little, but my mother always stopped me. Said they were too special to be played with. Like I was playing with them and not reading. Granted, they’re written on a twenty level and I was still in primary school, so now as an adult, I can see her point. Plus, they are, you know, paper, and a little mermaid forgets to dry off sometimes. Yikes.” Her eyes go wide and she clutches her stomach.
“Are you okay?”
“I mean, yeah. But I’m scared. What if I get a podlet like me that’s a terror, instead of a nice calm one like Soren or Nole or Milo? What if my child locks me in the bathroom?”
I shrug. “They don’t start out that big. I’d be more worried about what happens when your mates get out of the bathroom.”
“Well, hopefully they’ll punish me.” Her smile turns wicked and her eyes glass over. “Sorry, hormones. Was there something specific you wanted to ask about Richeal?”
“No, but I would love to see the rest of her books.”
“I know they don’t want you going around the city right now, but the penthouse is safe. You should head up there. Come with me.”
“I should.”
“No time like the present.” She takes my hand.
“I need to tell the guys and get my gloves.”
“You think my mother won’t see through your gloves? You really do need to get out of the dome more.”
I shrug. “I’ll tell her I’m cold.”
“Sure.” Kai laughs.
I’m halfway down the hallway when the elevator alarm buzzes and Holter darts out of the bedroom. “It’s a full load. Why don’t you go see who it is?” He smiles at me, and I jump. Because there can be only one person, or rather male, that he knows I’m looking forward to showing up in the elevator.
I race across the room. Nico’s walking strides are equal to my running steps. But I’m ready to hip check him out of the way if I need to. I fling the door open, and there in the locked elevator, looking tired, dirty, and oh so good, are Eros and Castor. Oh, and four of Kai’s mates, who are looking none too happy. But I barely glance at them.
“Open the damn gate,” Castor says. “Kai?—”
“No, we’ve got this,” Dar says.
“Maybe you don’t have to unlock the gate?” Kai smiles at Holter.
