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Back in the room, Nico’s lying in the middle of the bed, alone.
“Where’s Sunshine?”
“Bathroom.”
I nod and put the collection of things I brought from the kitchen on the bedside table. I head into the bathroom. Sunshine’s washing her own back. Her own back! “Can I help you?”
She turns and smiles, but I can tell she’s been crying.
“What did he do? I know an awful lot of people have tried to kill him, but I can be the one to finish the task. Just say the word.”
“I know you’re joking.” She purses her lips at me.
“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. That depends on what he did.”
“He’s just oblivious. And I love him so much but...”
“I get it.” She told us her thoughts, that we couldn’t tell Nico. “Did you tell him?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“And it was like shouting into the Grand Canyon.” Her hands rise to the ceiling, and she shakes them.
“I’m guessing that’s not a good thing.”
“Sorry, right, no. Not a good thing. A very frustrating thing.”
“He doesn’t believe it?”
“No, not yet, but I’m guessing that he can. Eventually it will just have to sink in. But I’m not sure we have the time. When do you think Castor will have to mate someone to be able to become king? I’ve lost track of time. I don’t even really know when the election is. I keep meaning to study up on it, but then I end up spending time trying to read Richeal’s notes.”
“It’s okay, Sunshine. It’s not a definite date anyway. The governors have to set it. The election of Glyden’s candidate has to be put up by the end of the third year of Atlas’s coronation. The people of Glyden put up a candidate, and then the governors confirm it.”
“Right.” She turns, and my hands end up cupped over her breasts. Her eyes close, and when they open, the haze of mermaid lust is firmly in place.
“Right,” I repeat after her and rinse the soap from her chest. “Atlas still has a good bit of time left.”
“Okay. Wait.” She shakes her head. “Doesn’t Castor have to campaign?”
I know what the word means, but only from my time on land doing various projects for the security council. “No, he puts his name on the list and people vote.”
“Will there be lots of names on the list?”
“No. Because unlike humans, Dorians are smart. They know being in charge is nothing but a headache with no rewards or monetary compensation. Turn.” She turns, and I scrub her lower back.
“Right, I suppose that’s true, but why would anyone want it, then?” Sunshine looks over her shoulder at me.
“Prestige. Which is just another name for idiocy, if you ask me. My parents were so set on having one of us be a governor. Michio too—he’s wanted to be one since he was little.”
“Does he want to be king?”
“It doesn’t really line up for another Zaffiro king in my generation. We had our shot at the king before Atlas. Oceanus Titan. He retired after he passed the crown to the next dome and then died last year. He was really too old. The stress, I think, killed him. Crazy how much pressure something like that can cause.”
“Really? The thing with politics for me is that the whole getting elected process seems crazy. The actual making of a government. Helping the citizens of the country or state. That seems like something I would love. Not the popularity contest. You know?”
“No Sunshine, I don’t know about that. The less I have to do for my government going forward, the better.”
