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“Assume I haven’t,” said Merletta grimly.
Sage’s gentle face set in firm lines. “No, I’m not saying anything more until you give me a straight answer, Merletta. Where were you this last month? You didn’t,” her features showed a hint of fear, “you didn’t leave the triple kingdoms, did you?”
Merletta didn’t answer, but her silence clearly spoke volumes. Sage’s eyes grew rounder, and she clutched at Merletta’s arm.
“Merletta, you could have been killed! What were you thinking? It’s not safe out there, now more than ever.”
“It’s not nearly as dangerous as they claim, Sage,” Merletta said. “It never has been. But what do you mean by now more than ever?”
Sage looked deeply alarmed now. Before she could answer, a movement behind them caught both of their attention. Someone was swimming across the drop off, most likely a Center employee returning from some errand to Skulssted.
“Come on,” muttered Merletta, and the two mermaids began to swim toward the complex.
“Should we go to the barracks?” Sage asked, her anxiety still clear in her voice. “Everyone will be at lunch, so we’ll be able to talk properly. I don’t mind skipping the meal.”
But Merletta shook her head. Agner’s words had been rolling over in her mind. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d been trying to give her a warning. What had he said? You won’t get far on your own. Merletta still had no idea how it was possible, but it seemed that the other trainees didn’t know what had happened a month ago, when Ileana had caught Merletta in the act of fraternizing with a human, and had led a guard patrol to attack the two of them. Someone had hushed the whole thing up, for reasons Merletta didn’t yet know.
One thing was for certain though—her reappearance couldn’t be helpful to whatever plan was behind the deception. It was really a stroke of incredible luck that she’d run into the group of trainees before anyone higher up got wind of her return. They couldn’t make her disappear now without questions being raised. And she had a feeling that she would be smart to press that advantage. She should try to be seen by as many others as she could. And she should avoid being alone until she knew what to expect.
“I think we should go to lunch,” she said decisively. “We can talk later.”
“All right,” said Sage, not sounding entirely happy. “But I have classes this afternoon, and we won’t be able to talk in the trainee barracks tonight. Ileana might not be part of our class anymore, but Lorraine will be there.”
“Oh, that’s right,” said Merletta absently, as the two of them swam toward the dining hall. “I forgot about Lorraine.”
They entered the dining hall a minute later, and Merletta’s eyes were drawn to the mermaid in question. She was sitting next to Oliver, and beside his darker skin, her pale face looked particularly white. Or perhaps it was the contrast with the brown of her hair, or the strong purple of her tail. It wasn’t surprising that Merletta had forgotten about the new trainee. Lorraine had only started her first year studies a few weeks before Merletta had sat her own first year test, and they’d had little to do with each other. Merletta had gotten the impression that Lorraine had been avoiding her, although she’d been far too distracted by her upcoming test to care.
“Who’s that sitting across from her?” Merletta asked Sage, as they drifted across the room.
Sage followed her gaze. “Oh, that’s Andre. He only started a week ago. I’ll introduce you.”
Merletta nodded, slipping into a seat at the round trainees’ table that stood at one end of the dining hall. In spite of the new faces, it felt strangely empty. Merletta realized with a jolt that she and Sage made the rest of the group. With Emil graduated, and both Ileana and Jacobi having failed out of the program, there were only five of them.
“Andre, this is Merletta,” Sage was saying. “She’s just finished her break after her first year test, and she’s back for second year.”
“Of course,” said Andre, holding out an eager hand. “I’ve heard all about you, and I’m glad to finally meet you.”
Merletta shook his hand, a little taken aback by his manner. His skin, almost as dark as Merletta’s, looked a little flushed, and she could see his crimson tail swishing slightly in excitement. Oliver, Sage’s fellow third year, had a look of disdain on his face at the enthusiastic display, but he said nothing. Lorraine, Merletta noticed, was watching the interaction with a guarded look.
“You’ve heard all about me?” Merletta repeated, carefully. “What do you mean?”
Andre gave a small laugh. “You’re the first trainee from Tilssted in generations,” he said lightly. “Surely you must realize that you’re sort of…well, famous I guess.”
Merletta blinked. “I am?”
He nodded wisely, shoving a handful of octopus tentacles into his mouth. “Did they mob you in Tilssted, over your break? They must be very excited to have a representative in the Center for a change.”
Oliver cleared his throat, and Andre threw him a glance. He seemed to realize his exuberance was causing some irritation, because his tone dropped a little.
“Anyway, it’s good to meet you.”
The meal passed quickly, Merletta feeling like she was in a dream. When she left Vazula that morning, she’d considered it highly likely that she’d seen her last sunrise. The slim hope of it being possible for her to continue her studies had propelled her to take the risk of returning, but she hadn’t really imagined she could just swim back in and keep going as if nothing had happened.
And why should she do that? Something had happened, something that changed everything. The Center might want to cover up what she’d discovered, but that didn’t mean she had to help them along. She had the power to expose their secrets if she just told everyone what she’d seen.
But did she have that power? She hesitated, glancing around the bustling dining hall. What would actually happen if she rose from her seat and announced her activities to the room at large? How many of these Center employees already knew—and were helping to conceal—at least some of what she’d discovered? And even if they didn’t, would they believe her? If they did believe her, she would surely be punished for her part in what happened. That might be worth it to expose the truth, but only if it would actually achieve that. She had no desire to sacrifice herself pointlessly.
She frowned as she thought it over. Playing along for now would decrease her credibility if she wanted to speak up later, but it would surely increase her chances of survival. She needed to find out what exactly Ileana had told people. And she needed to find those guards, the ones who’d seen her with Heath. Her frown turned into a scowl. The ones who’d attacked him.
