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“I’m leaving via the airlock. I don’t think I can see Annabelle right now. It... I’ll go. If you change your mind?—”
“I won’t.”
“If you change your mind, let me know.” He says it again over me, then he’s through the hall into the airlock. I follow him out. The sound of the airlock filling is going to attract Annabelle. And it does.
“Castor?” she asks, her eyes wide.
“He’s going.”
“Oh.” She nods. Her lips pucker in thought, and for a second, I feel the judging stares on my skin. But not from Annabelle. It’s from Holter and Eros standing behind her. The two of them have their heads cocked at the same angle. Like I’m the villain here. I suppose I am. But it’s what has to be done. We can’t all just eat raspberry pastries and drink sugar tea all day long. You have to have your seaweed and tuna steaks too.
“You’ll be okay.” I nod at her.
Annabelle’s chest swells with a large breath. “I should go check on the sharks. Make sure they’re not agitated by Castor leaving.”
“Not on your own.” I can hear the final chamber empty. Castor will be long gone before she gets outside, but she shouldn’t go out there.
“Nico,” says Eros, “she will not be okay, and neither will you. But I’ll go with her. A little movement will do us all good.”
“I’ll come too.” I reach for my shirt, but Holter’s hand hits my shoulder.
“I need help with something in the kitchen.”
“What?” I cock my head. “You don’t need any help in the kitchen.”
“No, I don’t. But you need to give Belle some space. Eros will stay with her. She’s not going to go and do anything hotheaded. You’ve got that routine all worked out for yourself.” He puts his hand up like he would when we were young and he expected me to pin him for saying something stupid. “Let’s go.” He moves around me.
“She’ll get over it. She doesn’t even seem upset.”
“Poseidon, and I don’t mean you.” He grabs my shoulder. “Are you that much of a cod’s head that you can’t tell she’s holding it together for you? So you better get over yourself. You’re not vetoing Castor because you don’t think Belle will be safe. You’re not even vetoing Castor because you think he won’t become king.”
I hold up two fingers. “Then why?”
“Yeah, apparently I’m not allowed to tell you.”
“What the fuck?”
“You’re to figure it out on your own.”
“There’s nothing to figure out.”
“I told her you wouldn’t be able to do it.”
“That’s because there’s nothing to figure out.” My toes clench against the marble floor.
“Right. You know, I think I’ll get something delivered. I’m going for a swim with Eros and Belle. Don’t come.”
I glare at Holter’s backside. What the hell?
8
ANNABELLE
The swim might have worked out the kinks from being inside for so long, but it didn’t push out my frustration with Nico. Eros and Holter are letting me have space while we wait for Nico to get home with the food.
“You ready?” Holter ducks his head into my little study. “Nico’s back. They gave him extra tots, you know, for being the return of Poseidon and all.”
“Seems fitting.” I turn off the translator and tuck the journal to the side.
