AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m fine.” I stretch the chain, allowing me to support it with my biceps more. Metal on metal echoes in the empty space. “You can lean on me if you like.”
“I can stand.”
Ten minutes later, she’s shifting left and right. She nods. And an hour or more later I clear my throat. “Are your feet okay?” I ask.
“The shoes are Kai’s. They’re tight. But I’m guessing I can’t exactly throw them over my shoulder like I’m coming home from the bar.”
A low growl comes from my chest. I don’t like thinking about her coming home from the bar. I don’t like thinking about her doing anything back in her human life. She is mine now. Or was mine.
She sways a bit, stepping left and right. “How long has it been?”
“Several hours.”
“You’re sure? It feels like... well, longer. A lot, lot longer.”
“I know time. We train in the dark. At the bottom of the ocean, there’s little light. And we have to know how long to wait.”
“To attack your enemy, the Skyrothasians.”
I jerk back. Bass did such a good job prepping her on the ceremony and basics. It’s shocking when she doesn’t know something as small as our basic enemy. “No, the Skyrothasians aren’t our enemy. We’ve had a treaty with them for so long, they’d all but forgotten we existed until recently. It’s the damn Vikings. They were our ancestors’ enemy and followed us to this planet. The only thing we agreed upon was leaving humans out of our war. They are the ones we’ve been fighting for generations. They are the reason we had to developgeminae—to have a force large enough to fight. They are merciless. They’ve broken every peace treaty we’ve ever signed with them. They have no honor, only a taste for blood.”
“Oh.” Her breathing is shallow again.
“There are a lot of things for you still to learn. But one of the most important is to never go outside of the shield alone. Their subs are always patrolling outside of our waters. And there is nothing more they would like to do than capture one of our mermaids.”
“I don’t have a fluke.”
“You will. I’m confident you will. Bacchus said you would, and you will. The science is there. The Koralli mermaid’s mates turned and had flukes. You will gain a fluke in due time.”
“I’m not so sure about that. They would really kill anyone they found outside the shield?”
“No, there are those who swim to land every day. Or to one of our entry points. Castor does it when he goes back and forth to Athens to work for Drakos Mining.”
Her nose scrunches up. I can see the light flick for her. “Like the Fortune 500 company?”
“Yes. Castor is the current CEO.”
She nods and turns away from me. There’s something else she’s holding back. But here isn’t the place to ask. Our every word is being recorded.
Another hour passes. And when Annabelle’s head finally lands on my side, holding her up gives me more energy than I’ve had. I haven’t slept or eaten since they took me from the Glyden tower, but I can survive a long time without taking care of bodily needs. Breathing in her apple scent gives me a second wind.
Most of all, I like that she doesn’t have to fill every second with idle chatter.
Four hours in, the back wall opens and the judges take their daises again.
Permula raises her hand. “The panel has granted you a reprieve to the Glyden Dome. Guards will be at the ready until our decision has been made.”
The three of them bow and in unison repeat the court’s closing line. “So it has been said.” When they raise their collective gazes, the guard stands at my side. The trio of judges pivot and exit. Their door shuts, and the guard, a burly Braeson, unlocks my shackles. The elevator arrives without us having to push a button. In the brighter glow of the elevator, the dark circles under Annabelle’s eyes are more noticeable. She shivers slightly; while the golden tunic she wears is the perfect symbolic statement, it doesn’t do much practically for a poorly warmed government building.
The doors open, and the bright illumination of the parking dock has us blinking.
Castor wears a smirk on his face. He grabs my forearm, shaking it. “What news?”
“None, I’m afraid. They’ve sent me home to wait.” I cock my head at the guards standing behind me. While I’m not under arrest anymore, I would be if I didn’t go straight back to Glyden.
His chauffeuredsolopulls up to the dock.
“You can sit on Nico’s lap,” Annabelle says as she gets in.
