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“Oh.” She pulls her robe tighter. “And why is she doing that?” Ophelia stands a little taller. She glances at one of her mates.
“She’s become enamored with our science.” I don’t believe Ophelia and her mates had anything to do with the deaths of my parents. Not like Holter did for such a long time. But on the off chance she did, I wasn’t going to give her the opportunity to cover things up.
“Yes, well, she’s a smart mermaid.” Every time Ophelia calls Little Krill a mermaid, I try to not like her more, but I can’t help it—I do. Damn, the duchess knows how to push buttons.
“Indeed, she is.”
“So they’re in the library?” Ophelia takes her delicate steps fast enough to keep up with the long legs of all the surrounding mermen. Before the door, she floats to a stop. “I can take it from here.” She puts her hand on Julius, the mate closest to her. The disapproval from the rest of them rolls off. “I’ll be fine, really.”
“You always did like to play with fire, O.” Prescott smirks. “Don’t stay up late. We have more things we need to take care of.” He pivots, and his cloak floats down the hall behind him. The others follow.
Constantine, the youngest of her mates, moves last. “Not everything needs to be dredged up.” He shakes his head.
“Constantine. You know, maybe you should stay,” Ophelia says.
His smirk turns into a grin. “Yes, love.”
Ophelia moves out of the way, letting Eros, Constantine, and me inside.
On the floor next to Annabelle and Holter is a long board. Ophelia picks it up. “I thought you might have found that.”
Annabelle holds up a looseleaf notebook. “What did we find?”
I turn to Ophelia “What is this?”
Ophelia raises her chin at Constantine, and he closes the door to the library. “That’s your mother’s life work. Work that got her killed. Work that doomed her. She made me swear to keep this safe until the day came that the city was ready for change.” Ophelia leans over the table, her finger swiping over the strange, unreadable language of my mother’s. She picks up a blue leatherbound book with golden inlay and hugs it to her chest. “And now is the time. Yes, now is the time. You know, you were both loved so much by her. She never held you, Holter, but she was thrilled to know that you were on the way. It was right before your birth that she had her big breakthrough. At least, that’s what she called it. She wouldn’t tell me what it was. Said it was too dangerous for even a Drakos to know.” She places the book back next to the other papers.
Constantine shakes his head. “There’ve been secrets sleeping in the city for a long time.”
Ophelia’s normal smile vanishes. “How did you find it, Annabelle?”
“If I hadn’t been tired and had continued pulling the books out one by one, I wouldn’t have. But when I pulled three books out together, the false back didn’t line up perfectly with the shelf above. And here it all is.” She fans her hands over the top of the stack of papers yellowed with age.
“Your mother was fond of analog. She said it kept things more secure. But not secure enough to keep her alive.”
My blood boils. “If you’ve known about this for this long, why haven’t you said anything? All these years, Father and Dad haven’t known what happened.”
“You’re right; they didn’t know. It was her biggest heartbreak to not tell them. But she knew...she knew that if they knew, they would want to take immediate action. And the time wasn’t right. It’s so fitting that you are the one to shake things up. You who made us come out of our bubble. You who brought us all the way out into the world with the humans. But we’re still not ready. The Dorian people weren’t ready for your mother’s work, and that hasn’t changed.”
Constantine cleared his throat. “Well, you’re right. Nine out of the ten domes aren’t ready, but Braesen? They’ve known a good part of this for a long time. Generations, if your mother was right.”
My eyebrows shoot up. Constantine grew up in Braesen. I’m about to ask what he means when Annabelle leans forward.
“They have a lab, in the caverns under their dome. Do you know who killed Richeal?” Annabelle asks. She holds her focus on Ophelia. And I’ve never been prouder. The Grand Dame has brought grown males to tears with just a glance.
“Not officially.” Ophelia pauses. “I don’t know who killed your parents. I never have. But Richeal was afraid of something, or she wouldn’t have asked me to keep her papers. She wouldn’t have asked me to do a lot of other things.” Other things. The words ring in my head. What other things?
I’m about to ask when Constantine paces behind us. “I’ve heard of a cavern. It’s rumor, of course, one they use to threaten podlets who don’t behave. Then again, it’s been a long time since I lived in Braesen.”
“So you were threatened often.” Ophelia laughs.
“Yes.” He smiles back but then drops his gaze to the table. “There is some truth to it, though.”
Annabelle straightens her shoulders. “I want to see it.”
“No,” I say. Eros and Holter nod at me.
“That would be too dangerous, Belle.”
