AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The door opens up, and the one who most definitely doesn’t want me—or is even more confused than I am—stands there.
“You should knock, Drakos.” Holter frowns at Castor.
“I should,” he growls back. “But I’ve got news—”
“The shark trainers are already here,” Holter says.
“What? Oh, right, that. No. The governors can give him a new trial.”
“What?” I jump up, my feet leaving the marble floor. “Really?”
“Really, Annabelle.”
I turn to Holter, expecting to see him as excited as I am, but he’s grimacing at Castor.
“This is great news.” I wave my hands in the air, like a crazed back-up dancer. “Is it? Or is it just postponing the inevitable? Does Nico know yet?” I’m bouncing.
“I don’t know. He’s being kept in isolation.” Castor folds his arms over his chest.
“And are you going to tell him this was your family’s doing?” Holter cocks his head at Castor.
“What does it matter how it happened?” I ask. “This is good news, right?” Inside, I know this is good news. My internal battle over my feelings for Nico has been won over the last few days. What he did was wrong. But he did it for the right reasons, and he’s capable of change.
“If the Drakoses bought off other governors, there will be favors that need to be returned. It will cost the Glyden Dome more than gold but favors we might not believe in the future. Nico hates this type of transactional trade among the domes. How is he going to feel about it for himself?”
“He’s going to feel alive. That’s how he’s going to feel, Holter. You call him your brother. Maybe you should start acting like it instead of enjoying playing house with his mate.”
“Playing house?” Holter fumes. He takes two steps toward Castor, but I step between the two of them. “Belle,” he growls.
“Don’t you ‘Belle’ me. You’re both on the same side. You both don’t want Nico to die. So start acting like it. And if you’re going to start throwing punches, leave me out of it.” I leave the living room. There’s two new pieces of furniture I hadn’t noticed before. And a new rug. They must have come after I went to bed last night, but I’m not going to spend any time talking about them now. I march down the hall, my robe flowing open behind me.
“Belle, wait.” Holter is at my side.
“What? What do you want?”
“It’s just, before you get ready for the day. I thought you might want to go outside and get the training session done with the sharks.”
My chest heaves. I’m so angry with both of them. I want to lock myself in Kai’s old dressing room and read a book all day long. But I don’t have a dressing room. Or rather, there’s space for one, but it hasn’t been set up yet.
“How is she...” Castor begins.
“Exactly how am I going to go outside without shifting into a fluke?”
Holter tugs me into the bedroom he’s been sleeping in. “I’ve got it here.” He holds up a bandage gun like the one the medic on board theCentauriused. Only this one is smaller and not attached to the wall. “We use these bandages for tattoos.”
“Right, not to be literal, but I don’t have a new tattoo. And won’t it be suspicious if every time I need to been seen swimming, I have a tattoo bandage? And no old tattoos?”
Castor laughs. “She’s got you there. But Annabelle, I don’t think it’s such a bad idea.”
“Fine. I’ve always wanted one, anyway. But I never had the money for it.” I hold my arm out and then immediately realize my error when Holter stares at me like I’ve lost it. “Right, it will need to be somewhere that would shift.” I flap the robe open and give him my right leg. He points the bandage gun at my calf. “No, put it up here.” I point to the wide part of my thigh. “I won’t rub it when I kick.” More like flail, but whatever.
He waves the spray bandage gun back and forth over my thigh. It’s cold and stings a little. I suck in my lips.
“Does it hurt?” Castor takes my hand.
“No, it doesn’t hurt.” I’m irritated he even asked. But I temper my expression when I see the look of concern on his face. “I didn’t expect it to be cold.”
“That makes sense.”
