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“Now, you must be Annabelle.” Her face lights up. “I’m Porcia. I have a human mate.” She reaches her hand out, and I stare at it for a second.
“Oh. Yes.” I shake her hand.
“My mate—or husband, as you will—taught me how to do that. My friends are just leaving. May I join you?”
Dahlia nods overenthusiastically. And I understand why. I feel like we’ve just been joined by a supermodel with the charisma of an angel; the whole room just feels cozier and brighter at the same time.
“Now, Annabelle—if it’s okay that I call you that?”
“Yes, it’s her name,” Kai says, putting a whole roll in her mouth.
“I know people were trying to foist a Dorian name on you. I wasn’t sure if it had stuck.”
“No, I’m Annabelle.”
“That’s good. A mermaid needs to know her boundaries.”
Dahlia has pulled out her block, but she also places a leatherbound notebook on the table. She has a brilliant blue fountain pen in her hand, her eyes wide. I think she’s going to take notes.
“Oh, how sweet you are.” Porcia smiles at her.
“Right, well.” Kai closes her eyes tightly, and I have a really good feeling that I’m not going to like what comes out. “Do you know anything about a massive lab cavern under Braesen?”
It’s hard for me to keep track, but I’m pretty sure Porcia isn’t from Braesen, but rather either Seolfor or Koralli.
She’s cool; there’s no reaction on her face. “That’s an interesting question.” She taps her finger on her lips. “Oh, I love interesting conversation starters. Did you know my fifth mate is from Braesen? I should have made him my fourth. Order is so important, you know. But I didn’t know it well enough when I was younger. Love and all.” She stretches her neck to Dahlia. “You should write that down.”
Dahlia gives her a nod and scribbles madly.
“I love the analog; it’s so quaint. Right. Fifth mate, from Braesen. His Papa was a scientist. He’s gone now. I took care of him during his final days. He talked a lot about his youth. How he didn’t have to have a solo, how life was so easy. I asked him how he liked swimming to work, and he became furious. He said, ‘I don’t swim to work, Porcia, I take the lift.’ I’ve thought about that ever so often.” She reaches for my water, and I nod for her to take it, but a server appears with a complete set of dishes and drinks for Porcia. “Thank you.” She smiles with closed lips and waits until they are gone. “I told my mate about it, but he said I must have heard wrong.” She gives her head a slow shake. “But I never hear wrong. He knows that now. Anyway, so, yes. Do tell me why you think there is or isn’t.”
My jaw drops. I... don’t even know where or how to begin to answer Porcia.
“Come now, I heard you are all kinds of clever. Decide now—am I trustworthy or not?”
It’s an hour of calculations in a minute. I go with my gut. I do trust her. Her story is believable. What ulterior motive could she have for telling me that? “Do you think Braesen is working on the female fertility rates on their own and that’s why there are so many pods with more than one female podlet?”
“Oh. A question to answer my question. Are you trying to run for Glyden governor? You know, you would be good. And I think you are clever.” She tosses back a drink that looks like seaweed gin. “Yes.” For a moment I’m not sure if she’s agreeing with herself or if she’s saying yes to my questions. “Yes, they definitely have something stinky going on over there.” Porcia holds up a finger. “Don’t write that down.”
Dahlia crosses out what she just wrote.
“What do you do?” Porcia leans back, raises her chin to the server, and her glass is refilled. She’s talking to Dahlia, who hasn’t lifted her head from her notebook. “Apart from taking analog notes?”
“Oh, me. Right. I’m Dahlia.”
“Yes.” Porcia nods. “From Zaffiro. Your mother is Coralina. You used to play with my son when you were little.”
A blush spreads up Dahlia’s neck. “I didn’t think you would remember me.”
“Yes, well, you’ve become a lot more serious since those days.” Porcia’s eyes flick to her notebook.
“I suppose.” Dahlia looks out over the top of Kai’s head into the restaurant. The crowds are thinning now. “Actually, no, I’m not.” Her face blooms into a smile. “It’s just I’m worried about my friend.”
“Oh, you were going to show us Marina’s message,” Kai says.
“A message? Yes, let’s see it. What is it about?” Porcia holds her hand out, and Dahlia places her block in it without hesitation.
“Hmm, very interesting. And where is your friend now?” Porcia hands the block back to Dahlia.
