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Nico’s next to me now. I hike up my towel, tucking it firmly at my waist. There’s a capsule a little longer than my hand. I open it. There are two ink pens inside, but the shell of the container is super thick. “What do you make of this?”
Nico takes the tin-colored container and turns it around.
Eros appears in the room. “What are you doing?” His voice drops. “Do you know what that is?”
“No?” Nico holds it in the palm of his hand.
“Exactly, so put it down. That’s not a pen case.”
Nico’s tablet dings. He hands the capsule to Eros, who puts it extraordinarily carefully down on the table.
“What is that?” I ask, staring at it like it might explode after the way Eros called it out.
“That’s security council tech. The chamber inside is shielded so you can get it through any scan. But whatever it is, we’re not opening it here. We need a containment device, just in case it’s poison.”
“Poison?” I say. “Poison’s been outlawed?—”
“Security council does whatever they want.” Eros nods.
Nico’s back to the sofa table, his tablet in hand. “Another found dead. A clerk from Tinom. And another off the list, from Diamont. Five missing now.” Nico looks up at Eros. Damn, this is painful. I can’t imagine having a brother on that list.
“I should message my mother.” Eros pulls a block from his pants. “Spare, one of many.”
“Castor had a thought.” Annabelle nods at Nico and Holter. “If this is an attack, what if whoever did it was trying to get information? What if they were after the blocks and tablets locked down?”
“It’s an awfully violent way to hack someone.” Nico waves his tablet with the newsfeed on the screen.
“Yes, it is.” Eros sits on the end of the sofa. Annabelle joins him. “When I was taking a shower, I kept thinking about Michio. Ever since he’s been a governor, he’s been keen on Veneratia. He wants everyone there. Every sibling, Mother, and all our fathers. But the only one he invited today was me. I thought it was because of Marina. Damn it, I don’t like accusing him... but what if he knew? He even said to come alone but didn’t give me any more details. Just that it was going to be an interesting Veneratia.”
I sink to the seat across from the sofa. “That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not.” Nico scrolls through the newsfeed. “Three more Permula members found alive. List is down to two.”
“Michio and who?” Annabelle leans over to see Nico.
“Forrest Mason, governor of the Stele dome.” He closes the tablet. “I have an alert set for Michio’s name. It will ping if anything comes up.”
“Forrest Mason is another security council member,” I add.
“Yes, he is.” Eros shakes his head. “At this point, I’m letting everything out. My contact with the security council has always been Tristan Bellucci. While years ago there were other members who knew I was an agent, they’re all dead now.”
Annabelle gasps.
“From old age. Or at least, that’s what was publicized. There’s a lot of layers. To keep things hidden or balanced, as they liked to say.”
“With the governor of Vitrom gone, you’re done.” Nico nods at Eros.
“I am. But I would also be one of the biggest suspects.”
“Even with Michio missing?” Annabelle asks.
“Yes. My brother Kaemon will take over as governor,” Eros says. I’ve never seen him so serious. It’s understandable. But weird.
“Until they find Michio alive,” Annabelle adds.
“I also pushed Tristan.”
“Out of the way from the falling plaster,” I add.
