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“I’m not a veteran, and I don’t need people fussing over me. I’ll be back out in the field by next week.” Alder’s leg twitches as he speaks. I don’t think he even knows he’s doing it. Which is what the doctor told me. There’s a considerable bit of nerve damage. He’s never going to work again. Shifting is questionable too, which is going to drive the old flounder nuts.
“You’re going to have to do some therapy before that can happen.”
“Therapy? No. I’m fine.” He wiggles his knee like he’s going to get out of bed. I clamp my hand on his leg.
“Alder, Dad, no. You need to heal.”
“I need to get out of this sinkhole.”
I laugh. “I know. Holter will get you home.”
“Holter needs to live his own damn life, instead of trying to fix the lot of us––you, me, your father. We’re not good enough for him to fix.” He crosses his arms over his chest.
“You’re right.” There’s nothing more to say than that.
“I know I’m right. I’m always right, and you need to get your shit together too.”
We haven’t told him anything yet. Not about me being exiled or about me having a mate. “How exactly do you think I need to do that, Dad?”
“How? Well, you’re the one who needs therapy with your night . . . whatever they are.”
“Night terrors.” I clear my throat. I had no idea he knew about my issues. They weren’t full-blown until after the battle.
“Right. Night terrors. Why do you get them, anyway?”
My eyebrows shoot up. This isn’t something I want to talk to him about while he is recovering. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
“It’s because of Richeal’s box. My box. Isn’t it? The one Holter found in the closet. I should have moved her barnacle shit out a long time ago. But I can’t bear to part with any of it. It’s the last bit I have of them left.” He turns away from me. I’ve never seen him cry, but he wipes his eyes and turns back.
“No. It’s not because of you, Dad. Or any box Holter found.”
“Lies. I hate lies. You know that.”
“Yes, Dad. I know.”
“Then tell me the truth. All of it. I’m not as old and frail as you think.” He pushes up on his pillow. “The truth, because when you’re not here, I can hear the nurses talking in the hallway.”
“And what did you hear, Dad?”
“That you’re mated to a human. That, in their words, ‘she’s the sexiest mermaid they’ve ever seen.’ And that they’re shipping you off to the chasm.”
I blink. “True.”
He breaks out into a smile. Which wasn’t what I expected him to do when he found out I’ve been exiled. “You know that’s what Richeal was killed for, right? Well, more her hobby. She loved science. Loved wild ideas. I’m convinced that’s why oursolowas blown out of the water.” He shakes his head. I reach out and grab his hand. That’s what Holter would do. But I have to keep him calm. “You don’t remember your mother.”
“I do.”
“As a child. You remember her as a child, as the one who held you when you were upset. You remember her as the one who gave you hugs and read you stories. But she was fierce. Wanted to change our entire society. Stop our isolationist ways. Come out to the humans. She’d be so proud of you. Proud of your mate. I look forward to meeting this warrior.”
“Warrior?”
“Yes, this Arabel.”
“Her name is Annabelle.”
“Ah, that’s such a human name. Good. Good. Your mother would love it.”
I nod. I’ve heard about my mother’s world before. It’s one of the reasons I believed in Bacchus’s scientific theories, when he said that human females with certain DNA could be turned.
