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“Okay. Good.” She shakes her head. “Evil doesn’t lie down and die. You have to put it in the ground. Or whatever the equivalent is here... anyway, that’s not the point. Of course they’re going to deny it. But we have things we can do. We can find Calvin Degree.” She scrubs her arm with the sponge with so much force. I realize all of us are watching her. “And we can... Oh, I had a thought as I was falling asleep. Alder was attacked by a shark or a Kraken, something big. Have you talked to Constantine to see if he might know anyone training something like that?”
Castor shakes his head. “No, I haven’t. We pulled all the film we could. A search was done of the area. But as far as I know, I don’t think anyone interviewed a Braesen.”
It feels like such a long time ago that Holter and Nico’s dad was attacked. It’s hard to imagine a time when I didn’t know Sunshine.
“We can go talk to him.” She nods at Castor.
“Yes, it’s a good idea,” he replies.
Nico laughs, and we all turn to him. “Yes, it’s a good idea. If Constantine can help find Alder’s attacker, it could lead back to Richeal’s?—”
“—and our fathers’ murderer,” finishes Holter.
“Yes,” says Nico.
I narrow my eyes at Nico. I see humor where others can only find pain, but I’m at a loss as to why he’s smiling. “What’s up with you? Castor’s right—it’s creepy.”
“If we go see Castor’s parents, he’s going to have to tell his mother about us. And I want to watch. It will be fun.”
“Nico.” Annabelle stands in the tub and gives him a playful swat on his arm. “That’s not nice.”
“Ophelia’s going to blow a gasket,” I say.
“She doesn’t like me, does she?” says Annabelle.
“Oh no,” says Castor. “No. Shut it, all of you. It’s not funny or fun. I mean, watching my mother lose it is a bit fun. But not this. It’s not you, Annabelle. She loves you. She would never have sponsored you at the first ball if she didn’t like you. And she knows—hell, all my parents know—how much I’m head over fluke in love with you, so they’re not going to be surprised. Not in the least. It’s just not part of her grand plan. And she doesn’t like it when she has to shift her plans to something else. She’ll get used to the idea of us. It might take her a little while, but she’ll come around.” Castor puts the stack of blocks down and wraps her in a towel.
“I know one way to win Ophelia over, Sunshine.”
“How?” Her blue eyes blink up at me. Our mate is something else. One minute she’s steadying us to prepare to take down the Braesen, the next she wants to convince her mother-in-law to like her.
I put my hand up to her.
“Give her a high-five?”
“No, Sunshine, show her your mark. The thought of a second grandpodlet will make her forget about all her grand schemes for Dorian political domination.”
“I don’t know about that.” Holter holds out a robe for Sunshine.
“No, Eros is right. My mother will faint if you choose to show her that mark. But that’s up to you.”
I take the towel from her and dry the side of her leg she missed. There, on the back of her thigh, a faint purple marking of scales shines beneath her skin. But just like on her foot the other day, they disappear as quickly as they came.
Another block dings from the stack Castor brought in. Castor hands me mine.
I read the message. “Atlas heard back from the Kraken king. Marina is on her way home. And the northern route to Asia is now shared with the Kraken.”
Nico’s eyes widened. “That’s a big concession.”
“Indeed.” My stomach sinks. I’m glad my sister is being returned to where she belongs. And I would have paid any price. But this is a big one, one that a good portion of the city is going to be furious about when they find out why it’s happened. Marina is going to have a truly hard time finding a mate now. No family is going to want to link their son to her. Well, that’s not completely true, but Marina will have to lower her standards drastically.
“My sister is coming home. That’s fantastic.” Sunshine jumps. “This day couldn’t get better if we tried.”
“Well then, we should definitely go see Ophelia.” Nico’s trying not to laugh. But when Sunshine walks into her dressing room, his menacing smile returns.
In the elevator, Sunshine straightens her tunic on her shoulders. Her eyes go wide. “Does my hair look okay?”
“It’s beautiful,” I say.
