AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Plus, you can’t just go into another dome. Not unless you’re invited,” Constantine says.
“Braesen love animals.” Annabelle leans away from the table.
“It’s true.” Ophelia places her hand on Constantine’s shoulder.
“I like animals.” Annabelle smiles.
“Animals like you back. In fact”—Holter turns to Constantine—“M32, the great white shark you trained as a guard, is obsessed with Annabelle.”
“Oh, my. You’re not in danger, are you?” Ophelia takes Annabelle’s hand.
“Oh, no. Mickey would never hurt me.”
“Mickey?” Constantine’s eyebrow raises.
“I’ve named the sharks who are guarding our apartment. Mickey, Chompers, and Sharknado.”
“Oh, well. That’s interesting.” Ophelia smiles at Annabelle. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, but I see the gleam in your eyes. It reminds me a lot of Kai. So I know what I say isn’t going to keep you from doing it.” Ophelia purses her lips.
“But we will.” I raise my chin to Ophelia.
“That’s cute that you think you can control a mermaid. The only person who can control a mermaid is the mermaid herself. Males,” she scoffs. “But do be careful and remember that you represent Glyden first and then our new age.” She pats Annabelle’s arm, and her eyes flick to Annabelle’s fingerless gloves. “Not to put any pressure on you.” The way she’s being so reasonable, I have to wonder if she knows what happened with Castor yesterday. “Nico.” Her voice drops to the scrape of a hagissa. She knows. “The papers are yours, but do keep them safe. And dry.” She glares at Holter when she says it.
“We will,” Holter promises Ophelia.
“Good night, Annabelle and your males.” Ophelia’s robes flutter as she and Constantine leave the room. Her glare stays with me as the door vibrates shut. She doesn’t want Castor in our pod, but anyone rejecting one of her podlets, even the podlet of her best friend, had a penance to pay.
Annabelle glances up at Eros. “Do you think we can get some of the papers to Zaffiro and the translator tech? I’ve tried scanning them with my block, but nothing comes up.”
Eros nods. “Yes. But can we do it tomorrow?”
“Are you okay?” Annabelle cocks her head at Eros.
“He’s just found out that the recording might not have been faked. That they might really have captured Marina,” I add.
“No.” Annabelle tosses her arms around Eros’s neck. “How can we help? How can we get her back?”
“I don’t think you can. I don’t think anyone can help.”
Annabelle looks from Eros to me. “Castor could help. He’s acting as Nole’s proxy while Nole is on the Omicron. That’s how he got in to speak up for Nico. Right?”
I nod. “True.” The look of disappointment on her face when she talks about Castor to me is palpable. I don’t want her to feel this way about me. But having Castor in the pod? It’s not going to help anyone.
Annabelle pulls her block from her pocket faster than an orca going in for the kill. Her thumbs race over it with speed and ease. Damn, she’s adapted to our ways and our tech faster than I figured out anything back on land my few times there. The block buzzes, and she smiles. “He’s coming upstairs.”
“Of course he is.” I keep my eyes from rolling.
The door opens within minutes, and Castor storms across the room. He stops inches away from Annabelle. Close, too close. He tucks a strand of hair behind Annabelle’s ear. “And all of this was up there my whole life? That’s baffling. I would never have known. But I guess that’s the whole point.”
“Yes.” She nods. “But this isn’t the only reason I asked you to come upstairs.” She messaged him quickly and did it in neutral territory, making it harder for him to turn down. “The message from Marina might be faked, we don’t know. Can you go talk to the governors?”
I can see the pain on his face. And I should care about the harsh words he’s biting back like, “If I was part of your pod, Marina would be my responsibility too. I would have no option but to help her.” But he doesn’t say it. Instead, he glares at me. I’m doing this for his own good. For her own good too. He can hate the messenger. I’m used to being hated. He can hate me all he wants. I don’t think my Little Krill hates me, but she’s not happy with me. It’s okay, she’ll get over it. They both will. I don’t let any emotions show on my face as I look back at Castor.
“I’m the representative of Glyden. I’ll go talk to them.” Castor cocks his head at Eros. “But your brother is a governor too. Don’t you think it would be best if he’s there as well?”
“I’ve messaged Michio. I’ve even shown him the evidence that it might not be faked. But he’s of the opinion that it’s something she would do. And he’s not willing to risk his seat. Even for our own sister.” Eros’s forehead wrinkles, and I can’t help but think we aren’t hearing everything. I’ll ask him what happened when we have a moment alone. That’s for sure.
“I’ll do it,” Castor says, looking into Annabelle’s eyes. “But I’m not doing it for your pod or for Marina. I’m doing it for you, Annabelle.”
