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His other hand is up. “What do you regret from your actions in Boston?”
“As always, the loss of life.” This is controversial. There are those in the upper ranks of society who don’t care about the life of ageminae. At least, notgeminaeswhom they didn’t know. I will take down a fool, be theygeminaeorviro.
Diamont huffs, but he can’t ask a follow up. I’m pretty sure he’s going to come around again, though. He hasn’t said much, and until now, I thought I had him locked up. I’m going with my gut.
Seolfor’s hand is up, and the tick in the back of my eye is back. “Why would you take it upon yourself to change the course of history?”
“Change begins with a spark. I had the information on my mate. I trusted our scientist. I knew she would gain a mermaid form.”
Seolfor raises his other hand. “She doesn’t have another form yet, only swim lungs. Why do you think mating her changes anything?”
“She’s gone through the change. She has the urges.”
All three of them snap their heads to Annabelle, like she might suddenly strip off her clothes and start sucking me off. I can tell they want to ask her some questions, but they’re done with her.
Permula raises her hand. “Has your mate acted on her urges with more than you?”
“Yes.” Fuck, I can see where this is going, and I don’t like it. At all.
Seolfor cocks his head, his hand slow to rise. “What will become of your mate if you are no longer in Doria?”
“Grand Dame Duchess Ophelia Drakos is her sponsor.” It’s enough of an answer.
Seolfor uses his second question. “And will one of her sons take Arabel on?”
I nod.
No other questions come. I throw a side-glance at Annabelle. She looks like she’s going to pass out. We’ve stood here for hours. Her hormones must be raging. I remember when Kai went through the change; she slept most of the day. Ophelia had to bar any unrelated or unmated male from the apartment to keep her from mating them.
The bell rings again. The Permula judge nods at me.
I raise my hand. I have two questions, and two questions only, I can ask of the judges. “Our mythology says ancestors traveled through the stars to bring us here. They fought their own nature and unified us into a nation of ten domes with one greater goal. We’ve lived the life they set up for us. They were brave in settling on this planet, hiding from humans in the ocean we love. Thuner.” I name the ancestor who was brave enough to bring us here. “Would Thuner have kept us hidden if our society was dying out?”
“No,” Seolfor answers. But the anger in his eyes is evident. He doesn’t like that I’ve made a comparison between myself and our ancestor. Mythical or real, it doesn’t matter. He’s revered by all.
I have one more question. And while there are many I could ask, I want to use it to protect Annabelle. She didn’t ask to be here. While many don’t die from lost pod illness, it happens. It’s painful.
“How will history view you if you pass this decision off to the council?”
Seolfor narrows his eyes at me. “Only time will tell if you are viewed as a champion or a traitor, and us along with you.”
A bell chimes, and they stand down from their daises. The wall opens behind them, and they step through the blinding white hallway, Vitrom technology. And we wait. I glance over at Annabelle. She’s breathing in shallow breaths. It’s dark in here, but my vision has adjusted. She should hate me, but she’s too good for hate. Too rational. I see it when she looks at me. It’s more confusing. What is love, after all? It’s what got my mother and two of her mates killed. It just gets in the way.
“What now?” she whispers, her blue eyes on the mark on my neck.
“We wait.”
“For how long?”
“A minute, a week.” I’m back to watching the far wall. It’s too hard to look at her. From the moment I made my claim on her, I knew this is where it would end.
“Oh.”
“Do you need to use the—”
“No!” She glares. “I’m fine.” Her eyes flick to the cuffs on my wrists. They are made out of steel and iron. They’re heavy.
“Are you okay?”
