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Want isn’t all it takes to be a good mate. I need to be able to not have regret. And right now, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have regret.
The ride down to their apartment is the longest its ever taken. I swear it’s longer than normal. And when the elevator stops, it gives a little shake. Like it’s trying to say get the fuck out.
I’m cleared for the apartment. I should be able to just walk right in, but I don’t. It’s one, in the afternoon. And damn, the way the tides are this week, we are going to need to leave in a few hours.
I raise my fist but stop. There’s sound coming from inside: laugher. I’m like the fucking grim reaper. My knock sounds on the door, but they don’t hear it. Not over Annabelle’s giggling.
I give a good thud this time, and Annabelle opens the door. She’s barefoot and mid-laugh. “Castor! It’s so good to see you.” Her hair is wild and her smile radiant. She’s a well-fucked mermaid. And the pang of jealousy at being left out hits me hard. “Did you hear the good news?”
“No, what?” I haven’t heard the news from anyone. But I can smell it and guess it, even if I can’t see Holter’s mate mark.
“Holter and I are mated!’”
“Congrats.” It’s hard not to smile when she’s this happy. But behind her, Holter and Nico are both standing, their faces stoic. Holter’s jaw ticks. Annabelle turns around and stares at them.
“No, no, no. Not yet. They can’t take Nico.” She’s on the verge of tears, and it pulls me apart.
“He’s not here for me, Little Krill.”
Her forehead furrows. “He’s not?”
“He’s here for you,” Nico says.
Holter grabs her hand. She looks at him, and he nods. “You’re going home.”
“Home.” It’s like a foreign word coming out of her mouth. “Like, Boston?”
“Yes, you’ll get to finish your doctorate and have a wonderful life. All this will be like a faint dream,” Nico says.
“You want me to go home?” She’s looking at Holter.
“That’s what you’ve wanted all along. You can sit on the beach and look at the stars.” Holter nods.
A thud hits the window. It’s one of the sharks. He’s rammed the glass. We all stare at it.
“I’m okay, Mickey. I’m okay,” she says to the window. Annabelle turns back to Nico and Holter. “I...”
“This is what you want, right?” Fuck, what am I doing to this female? I’ve mucked with her emotions enough. “Home will be good for you,” I say more firmly.
“But how?” Her mouth is open, her eyes wide in wonder, and yet her forehead is creased in worry.
“We have a short window before Nico is taken. We need to get you out of the city. Once he’s gone, the sharks swarming around your apartment will be mermen. We can get you out now and say that you escaped.”
“Taken . . . but the governors? They could overrule the judges? Isn’t that why—”
“Belle.” Holter’s next to her. He shakes his head. Nico must have told him.
“Really?”
Nico shakes his head again.
“But won’t they come looking for me? If you let me go back to Boston, I mean.”
“No. To most of the population of the Veiled City, the human world is a scary place, one they would never dream of going to. No. You’ll be safe, plus you’ll have this.” I hand her the packet.
“What’s this?”
Nico puts his hand on the swell of her back. “It’s my inheritance, and my savings.”
