“You said you have a lead.”

  “I do. Her shark.”

  “Her shark?” Alder pipes up. I’d forgotten that Dad was in the room. My world had closed in around Annabelle.

  “She’s grown attached to some sharks Constantine put on the apartment as security. They’ve become fond of her. Anyway, the biggest of the lot—Mickey, I believe she calls it—has been found circling the gardens outside of Zaffiro,” Castor answers Dad.

  “And this is a lead?” Dad says what I’m thinking.

  “Outside of Eros Herod’s garden dome.” Castor raises his eyebrows at me.

  “Fuck.”

  Castor nods. “My thoughts exactly.”

  “Well, go get her.” Alder is now sitting up all the way, like he’s going to spring out of bed and do the getting.

  “We’ve just figured it out. Holter is trying to get in touch with Eros.” Castor’s a pro at business. I’m sure he’s left businessmen wondering what he was thinking. But they didn’t grow up with him. They don’t know his tells.

  “What else are you leaving out? Because I know Holter. The second you figured out where she might be, he’d be over there.”

  “Right. After they dropped you at the chasm, there was an attack at the main entrance of Glyden. Someone tried to get in. They did get in, but when they couldn’t get into your apartment, they left.”

  I pull at the straps of the bed.

  “Nico!” Castor yells. He pauses, and then in a lower tone continues. “If . . . if she is over in Eros’s dome in Zaffiro, she’s safer than here. And us making a lot of noise and storming over there is only going to put her in more danger.”

  “Fuck. Use your channels and find out who the hell is doing this.”

  Dad glares between the two of us. “Do the two of you ever follow any laws?”

  Castor and I are silent.

  “I’ll take that as a blue whale of a no.” Dad’s head drops to his pillow.

  21

  HOLTER

  Dad is in his room down the hall from Nico now. Muster is staying with him. They’re both enjoying Ophelia’s cook’s food. The doctor wants to observe Dad, and it’s going to be a long road back to being able to shift. If he ever can.

  My leg bounces. Castor held me back from racing over to Eros’s apartment. He’s right, she’s safer there, if that’s where she is. I’ve messaged him every half-hour, and so far I’ve gotten nothing in return.

  Now I’m glaring at Castor from beside Nico’s bed.

  The straps around Nico’s bed swing loose against his bed frame. With Castor and me in here, they aren’t needed. Nico’s never suffered from narcolepsy, and with what we’re going to talk about, he’s not about to spontaneously fall asleep.

  “How’s your neck?” I ask him. The trident is leaning against the wall behind his head.

  He rubs his neck. “My head’s still attached. So that’s something. The skin is tender. I want these off.” He holds his wrists up. The bandages on his ankles are large too. And with him rubbing them in his sleep, he’s now wearing giant cloth booties. The nurse is floating around the room, so Nico says, “I’d like a word alone with Castor and Holter.”

  “The doctor has said I’m not to leave.”

  “I promise not to get upset like last time.”

  The nurse eyes me and then Castor before he ducks his head down and firmly walks from the room.

  “Why in hell haven’t you gone over there yet? If not you or Holter, we could send one of your brothers.”

  “She might not be there. The agency is still looking into where she might have gone,” says Castor. “But all eyes are on us. Whoever attacked Glyden is looking for her. Holter has left enough messages for Eros that he knows he has to keep her safe. And right now, safe is away from us.”

  I lean forward. “I’ve watched the tapes. She runs out of the airport. She stands on the curb for a few minutes looking around, and then the video feed goes fuzzy. It’s a handheld interrupter. When the feed comes back on, she’s gone.”

  “And you’ve done a complete search of the other area cameras? Follow the feed of interruptions, and it’s going to lead you to our guy.” Nico coughs.

  “I’ve done that, and we’ve come up empty-handed. Right now, we’re running a comprehensive listing of cars in and out of the airport. The interruption of the feeds only lasts an hour. This wasn’t random. The cameras around her gate went dark right around the time she should have been there too.” Castor paces.

  Nico stretches his neck, his hand clamped to his side even though the straps are gone. I can’t imagine how he’s going to get through this. I’m on fire on the inside. “That means it was a Dorian who took her. You’ve given Eros enough time to answer. He has a sister, doesn’t he? Make a loud announcement that you’re coming to talk to the Herod family about making a match with Cypress and Eros’s sister. He’s on the Omicron. Who’s to know it’s not true?”

  “Ho.” I glance at the door. “Poor Cypress, if he’s to end up with Marina Herod. She’s a lot.”

  “Castor will make it up to him later.” Nico’s got his commander persona back.

  “And if it’s not Eros but someone from Skyrothasia . . .” suggests Castor. “We’ve been trying to take their mermaids. Why wouldn’t they take Annabelle?”

  I stand. “They don’t know she’s turned. Or anything that’s happened to her. The Vikings have this tech too. But they know even less than the Skyrothasians. It’s not them.” I don’t want to bring up my idea because both Nico and Castor are going to hate it.

  Nico’s glaring right at me. “What aren’t you saying?”

  “Atlas wants to talk to you again. More than a hello this time. He knows something’s up. I think we should tell him.”

  “The king. The king who can’t handle any of this. The reason why we’re almost at war on two fronts?” Castor’s doing his best to contain his feelings.

  “I think you’re right,” Nico says to me. “Atlas can help, and for as much as he is a shit politician, I trust him. If you don’t want to go over there.” Nico raises an eyebrow. I should just get the controller for the solo now because we’re going to finally be going over. “And the ruse of Castor talking to Nerida and her mates about her daughter . . . it’s not a bad idea.

  I nod and turn to Castor, who says, “You’re both crazy. He’s an orca loose with a bunch of seals. He’s going to play nice until he’s hungry.”

  “But he has access to the full tech. Things that the research teams are still working on. We might be able to pinpoint her. Or you can let me go over to Zaffiro and see if she’s there.” I’m pushing Nico’s idea because it will get Castor to move on the other one.

  “We can’t go racing over there and accuse Eros of taking Annabelle, and we can’t let anyone know why we are going.” Castor shakes his head. “Yes, I’ll go to Zaffiro to talk about a mate for Cypress.”

  “And if he denies having her, I think we should just beat the scales off of him and leave the rest up to the sharks.” I cock my head to the door.

  “I mean, that’s one way to go about it. Are you sure the two of you didn’t switch bodies?” Castor nods at Nico.

  “I wish,” Nico answers quickly.

  “Can we just get going? I need to get over there for myself. Yesterday. The second we heard about the sharks from Constantine . . .” My skin is hot and sticky, and there’s a twitch in the back of my leg that makes me want to shift and race over there. Forget the solo. Even the Gorsca couldn’t be faster than me right now. I can sense her. Why would that damn shark be there if she wasn’t there? I’m going to make Eros pay for it. Everyone thinks Nico is the one who’s off-kilter. It’s not. It’s me.

  “Give me a minute while I get something ready, Holter. An hour, tops,” Castor says.

  “You’re not her mate.” I cross my arms in front of my chest.

  “No, but—”

  “No buts. You’re. Not. Her. Mate. I’m not waiting anymore.” I stare at Nico for confirmation.

  “Holter,” Nico growls, “if Eros has her, she’s not in danger. He clearly likes her. What could he do?”

  “Fucking mate her.” I’m on edge.

  Nico’s eyes go wide, and his legs under the blanket twitch. The Arg-leth seizure shakes him.

  “Get the doctor,” Castor commands, and I’m out the door, searching the hallway. The guard that’s been here since Nico arrived isn’t in his chair, and the hallway that’s normally full of butlers and housekeepers is empty. Not a single mate of Ophelia’s is walking around like they have nothing to do.

  “Hey,” I yell. I’m into the grand salon where Constantine is sitting. “Where’s Pertusio, Kai or anyone? Nico is convulsing.”

  “Pertusio left, but Kai is down in the music room.”

  We both race down the hall. Thunderous steps echo.

  “Kai,” we both yell.

  The piano stops, and Kai and Dar come out into the hall. “What is it?” It’s clear on my face. She dashes down the hall with me. “What happened?”

  “He got upset and started convulsing.”

  She runs into the room. The guard who is a medic is with Nico. I take a step inside, but she shouts, “Everyone out, now! Close the door.”

  Castor closes the door behind him.

  “We need to get there now.” I cross my arms over my chest. Mates are more than able to soothe each other. Their presence causes healing to happen faster. I want Belle safe, and I don’t want Nico to die. Damn, I’ve become a greedy bastard.

  Castor looks back at the shut door. “Agreed.”

  The thing with Zaffiro is their domes are different. Glyden has five domes, one being the major one. Ours are tall and sleek and elegant. I don’t like that word, but that’s what they are. Permula’s all match, and they’re ugly as sin, but they look cohesive. Zaffiro, they like to build, and they build and build. Tall domes, short domes, freestanding domes, domes stacked on top of other domes that aren’t connected, domes stacked on domes that are connected. And they never clear away the old ones, they just keep building. Glyden’s are new. We shift things around, take down the old and start fresh.

  I’ve studied on the map where Eros’s garden dome is. Because I’ve been watching the movements of M32 on my block since Castor told me about it hours ago. My throat is tight. I want to get in there now. “We should have come in fluke.” I alternate between glaring at Castor and studying the water behind us, searching for anyone following.

  “The entrance is over here.” He pulls the Gorsca into the airlock and parks it. I would have thought the time it took to get over here would have calmed me down. But it hasn’t. My throat is swelling shut, and I’ve got acid swimming in my stomach. If he has Belle, I will tear down all of Zaffiro. I will be the name the city remembers for an eternity. But if he has Belle, he’s also keeping her safe. Safe from whoever attacked us.

  I take long steps into their lobby. I’ve been here, but it’s been a long time. So long I barely even remember it. The walls are the same weird green-blue color; the floor twinkles with sapphires. Lucky us, their main source of income is the production of gems. That and modified dumbed-down computer chips they sell to the humans. Castor smiles at a mermaid and her mother, and the young female turns pink.

  I shoot him a look, one he doesn’t respond to. He’s acting like nothing is wrong. While I can contain myself in battle, I can’t here. Belle has changed the wiring in my head. Thinking she could be in danger and not being able to do anything about it is making me crazy.

  I turn left.

  “It’s this way.” Castor points down a long hallway.

  “No.” I keep going to the spot where M32 is hanging out.

  “This way. Eros lives in the tower with his family.”

  “I don’t care where he is right now. I care where the damn shark is. That’s where Belle will be.” I cross my arms. It’s a standoff.

  “Fine, but I’ll have to pay a visit to his mother before we leave.” He follows me past an elevator and down a corridor. There are side corridors along the way, but I’m following the positioning on my block in front of me like a homing beacon. The corridor goes on for a long way.

  When we get there, there’s no bell but rather a brass and sapphire knocker.

  “That’s ugly.” But then Glyden always feels that way about brass objects.

  I reach out and knock with my hand. There’s no answer and no denotation that this is actually Eros’s apartment.

  “Are you sure?” Castor looks back at the corridor. This section was made quite a while ago. One of the reasons Glyden is always building is the ocean is hard on our domes. And this one, while not run down, is not pristine anymore.

  I hold up the block and show him the circling shark.

  “Put it away. We don’t want him to know.” Castor pulls a package out of his bag on his shoulder.

  “And that is?”

  “A gift. He gave her a book. I took one from my parents’ library and added something extra special into it just for him.” Castor eyes brighten with mischief.

  We ran out of Ophelia’s apartment quickly after Nico’s incident. My block buzzes, and I ignore it. Castor’s right. Letting him know we’re watching the shark is the last thing he needs to know.

  I bang on the door again.

  22

  EROS

  The door vibrates with a knock. It’s Holter and Castor. Through one of the cameras I’ve hacked, I watched them leave Glyden, piloting away in Castor’s Gorsca. An alarm sends a message to my block every time it picks them up leaving Glyden. It works most of the time. The shiny golden solo is easy enough to spot. I don’t need to have a citywide tracer on it.

  “Sunshine. I need you to go into the library. Please don’t come out, no matter what. We have to get things straightened out before we can get you back to your mates.”

  Hands on her hips, she tilts her head at me. “Who’s at the door, Eros?” She doesn’t whisper. But then my uncle was a paranoid old fool, and the entire place is soundproof—except for, apparently, the windows when a great white shark decides to ram them.

  I want to say it doesn’t matter, but she’s not going to agree to that. She’s not Marina; I can’t bend her to my will. “No one can know you’re here.”

  “Exactly who is no one?” She points to the door, taking a step.

  Fuck. I rush her and throw her over my shoulder. I can’t have her going back to Glyden now. Mating her was the most impulsive thing I’ve ever done, and I’ve done a lot of impulsive things. She’s kicking at my stomach, but I’ve got my arm clamped around her waist. The door to the library is open, and I drop her. Not carefully, either. She lands on her butt, and I have just enough time to slam the door to the library shut, locking it. I move the secret panel back into place.

  I do a quick glance around the room, but there’s nothing of Annabelle’s because, as she reminded me before, she doesn’t have anything here. I hit the scent blaster next to the door. Another gadget my uncle added to keep the scents of any conquests or pods he had in his dome away from the other pods he was playing with. Damn, at one time I thought I wanted to be like him. But not anymore.

  No. Now I need to deal with Sunshine’s admirer. Damn Castor and the damn fool who is keeping her at bay, when we all know he wants her.

  I yank the door open. “If it isn’t the golden prince.”

  “Clam the fuck up, Eros,” Castor says.

  “I was talking about Holter. But okay. Why do I have the privilege of having two of Glyden’s finest sons in my little dome today?” The shark rams the window. “Shit. I swear I didn’t steal that damn shark. I guess it liked me and followed me home. Unless you think we should make him into steaks, you can take him home with you.”

  “Right, well, I’ll be sure to tell Annabelle how you feel about her favorite shark.”

  “Sharks are food, not pets.” What I’m damn grateful about now is that Annabelle can’t hear me in the library. And I’m pretty sure I can’t hear her yelling for help. Because I’ve seen how she looks at the glass every time the shark’s massive head hits it. If she had to choose between me and the shark right now, I’m confident she would be feeding me to the damn beast.

  Castor looks at Holter. And I think they’re going to turn around and leave.

  Then Holter rips something out of Castor’s bag. “Annabelle wanted you to have this.” He shoves a book at me.

  I tilt my head to the package. “I’m glad she’s fine, after the attack.” I stare at them. If Holter thinks I’m going to hand over Sunshine to him without him telling me the truth, that they left her in Athens without a way of contacting them, to have her brain scrambled by a hagissa . . . Fuck that. They can fess up first.

  Now, if I didn’t know my Sunshine was fuming in my library, I’d be thrilled with a gift. But you don’t get to be the government’s go-to thief without knowing a thing or two about acting. I grab it from him like my brothers taking the last piece of cake from the serving dish. “Really. Do you know what it is? She really liked the book I got her, didn’t she? Damn, she’s got to be the smartest former human on the planet.”

  That has Castor buying my act. His eyes widen and his shoulders drop.

  Holter? Yeah, I don’t have him yet. He’s walking around the main part of the living room, going over to the windows. “Why do you have all the blinds drawn?” He pulls at the taut edge of the curtain, but it doesn’t move.

  “I’m not a big Vividaria fan.” I slap my pants. “All the parades and noise, it comes back into the gardens. I like my sleep.”

  “Right.” Holter nods to the window and then to the package. “Are you going to open it?”

  This is where I need to be careful. If I didn’t know that Annabelle was twenty feet away, I wouldn’t open it. I’d want to savor it. “No, I want to enjoy the experience. And that’s best done alone.”