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I glance at my watch and laugh.
“No, seriously, I used to accompany Castor’s mother here, and I could read an entire novel. But then I think she had a thing for Rockney’s uncle.”
“Rockney comes from a long line of charmers, then.”
Holter blinks. “It appears that way. Did you get everything you wanted?”
“I got what I needed.”
“They’re one and the same.” Holter’s hand brushes mine, and I want to take it. But I shouldn’t in public. Not with the political mess Castor is weaving.
Holter guides me away from the store. The stalls are a lot less chic, unlike the farmers’ markets in downtown Boston. Most of them still cater to the traditional male eye. Weapons. The hawkers call to the passing males, but they don’t say a thing to me.
I stop by one. Castor told me to not take too long, that I have too many things to learn. But then what sort of things are they really willing to tell me?
I stop by a weapons stall. The back wall is blue. The owner must be Zaffiro, Diamont, or Glyden.
“Arabel Porch-mouth, it’s lovely to meet you. I’m so glad you made the choice to stop at my stall.” He’s displaying lots of tridents, long-handled ones and short ones with buttons that transform into long-handled knife-like things. I step inside the stall, ignoring the straightening of Holter’s spine. I’m clearly doing a no-no. And right now, I don’t care.
“You certainly have a lot of things.” Darn it. I’m getting visions of my dad calling my seventh-grade art project interesting, but I can’t help it. How do I compliment weapons when I don’t know anything about them?
My heart pounds in my chest. Everyone here seems to have a trident, just as most people back home have a shotgun, although we weren’t shooting people but coyotes, wolves, and weasels in the chicken coop.
I pivot to Holter. “I want you to teach me how to use a trident.”
The shopkeeper turns to Holter, almost as interested as I am in his answer. The gleam in his eyes tells me that, unlike Rockney, he’s not going to be keeping my secrets. Holter nods. “Anything you want, Annabelle.”
“Anything?” As much as I want to call him out, he’s not exactly the yes man he appears to be. After all, he refused to mate me as well as refused to let me escape when he could have. So no, I don’t buy the “anything.” But I cock my head at the display of large tridents on the side wall.
Holter grimaces. “Maybe we don’t start with those.”
“I have something that might fit you better over here.” The shopkeeper lifts a woven tapestry from over a trident that looks like a Bedazzler has thrown up on it. Only, I’m pretty sure they’re not red and green crystals but rubies and emeralds. I really need to work on hiding my expression because the shopkeeper quickly puts it down. “Or maybe something more practical.”
“And better balanced.” Holter tugs the cloth back over it, covering the weapon that is more ceremonial than useful. Which reminds me of how Nico used his ceremonial trident back on theCentauri. A small shiver runs through me.
The shopkeeper doesn’t seem to notice, but Holter does. He intentionally brushes his arm against mine.
The owner steps deeper into his stall, which is barely wider than I am tall. But it’s a lot deeper than I imagined. “What about this one?” It’s small and golden, but when he hands it to me, it’s not heavy. “It’s super-charged, for deep ocean use. Which makes it compact and lightweight.” He holds it out for me, and I take it. The metal is cool, but it feels right. Like it’s something I should get used to. “It’s not charged, of course. We don’t have loaded weapons in the common dome––anymore.” He glances up at Holter, and I have a feeling there is yet something else I need to learn.
“Yes, this will do,” I say as I run my hands over it. Pushing my shoulders back, I lift my head. “I’ll take it with me.” I keep my tone as firm as possible. Because the midnight dress might not make it to my room, but this sure as heck will. And I’m going to learn how to use it too.
“Oh, that’s not necessary. It would be my honor to deliver it to you.”
“How kind. But I’m still taking it with me.” I lift my head.
“Right.” He turns to Holter, who appears to be holding his breath.
“She’s taking it with her.” His tone is firm. And I suddenly don’t want to buy anything from this eggplant, but I’m going to let it go because I want this trident. More than anything. And it’s a want I should have. Holding the cloth-wrapped package to my side, it’s comforting.
13
Castor
This is the longest day of my life. The speed with which my mother is orchestrating this ball is crazy. Nothing moves that fast in our city. Nothing but trials and matings, anyway.
I’m sitting in the dining room, working with my tablet that interfaces with my computer back in Greece. We’ve got a crisis on our hands here in the Veiled City, but that doesn’t mean things have stopped moving with the company. There are several messages from my assistant stating that members of the board want face-to-face meetings with me as soon as possible. Cutting my week short on land has left me with a lot of fires to put out. I look up, and my mother is standing next to me.
“How’s the company?”
