Page 67 of Song of the Abyss

Mira took a seat opposite from her, arms crossed over her chest with that ever present grin on her face. “It might not be Alpha, but we have food here. Good food.”

She didn’t even care if there wasn’t salad dressing. She’d been missing vegetables so much that her stomach clenched and her mouth watered embarrassingly. Still, she put a good chunk on her fork and held it still while she said, “To be honest, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I agreed to leave my home.”

And then she shoved the fork full into her mouth so she couldn’t say anything else. Maybe she’d learned a thing or two from Daios after all.

Mira’s head tilted to the side. “Well, at first we thought we would sell you back to your father. Get him all riled up that the princess of Alpha had been taken right from underneath his nose, and force him into a deal that allowed the undines to live without the achromos involvement.”

“Achromos?” she asked, mouth stuffed with food. “I’ve heard Daios say that.”

“It’s what they call humans.”

“Right.” She remembered that, she did. Maybe she was drunk on vegetables.

“So here’s the thing. Your dad doesn’t seem all that upset you’re missing, which goes against everything I’ve heard about him and you. Every city knows that the General and his daughter are two peas in a pod, closer than a normal family should be.” Mira leaned her elbows on the table, her eyes searching Anya’s as though she could see right into her mind. “Why do I feel like that’s not the case? From what I’ve heard, he’s not panicking at all.”

She just wanted to eat in peace. Why couldn’t they let her at least do that? Around another mouth full of food, she replied, “Dad already knows where I am.”

“Here?”

“Well, not exactly. He has cameras outside Alpha, so he saw Daios take me. They sent ships after us, but none of them could find us. We were in the...” She waved the fork in the air, jabbing at the air. “Spiky coral.”

“Ah. So he knows you aren’t in the city. That’s why he’s not sending messages out to the other cities for people to find you.” Mira and Arges shared a look. “That makes things a little more complicated. But Byte should be able to send messages to Alpha if we still want to try that.”

“It won’t work, anyway.” Anya set her fork down, putting temptation aside for this long conversation. “He doesn’t care if I’m missing. He cares if I behave. The only way to get the city to work against him is to show them all the terrible things he’s done. And the only way to do that is through a broadcast from the inside. I’ve already thought all of this over with the other people I work with. Trust me when I say I know exactly how to take my father down with the least amount of bloodshed.”

Arges leaned forward, and she noticed he did so specifically so she could see his lips as he repeated, “The people you work with?”

She wanted to tell him it didn’t matter if she could see his lips. He was speaking in a language she did not know. But instead of being snippy and tired, she said, “There are a group of us who have been working for ages together. This is the best plan.”

“Then how do you expect us to get someone into Alpha? We barely got you out.” Mira spread her hands wide, as though the issue was only getting bigger. “Unless you and your friends have a plan for that?”

They didn’t. She didn’t think, at least. “I can ask.”

“Please do.”

Anya stood, stepping a little distance away so she could talk with Ace, but then she rounded back to the table and grabbed the bowl to take with her.

Wandering toward a back wall, she started when the wall moved. The panel must be motion censored, and it slid open to reveal a massive garden on the other side. But even better, there was a glass ceiling on this one.

She could send messages much easier without all that metal getting in the way. This was perfect.

“Bitsy,” she said, chewing another bite. “Send a message to Ace to see if we can connect.”

“On it.” The words floated along with little hearts bubbling up from the plants. Clearly, Bitsy was in a good mood. Soon enough, she’d ask about Byte and what that history was. Just not right now.

As she stood in the garden, looking up at the glass, she saw a shadow in the distance. And she’d know that body anywhere. The massive shadow glowed red the moment her eyes locked on it, like he knew she was looking at him.

With a wave of her hand, she waited for him to mimic the movement. Even from this distance, she felt better knowing he was out there. Waiting for her to come into the water and see him again.

Bubbles appeared as Ace jotted out a quick message. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.”

“Been a little busy.”

“We’ve got a problem.”

“What do you mean, we have a problem? Did the new guy not get into the city?”

Bitsy even seemed to hesitate before the message appeared in front of her eyes. A long message that made her heart break. “He’s dead, Queenie. We sent him in, just like we planned, but your dad has everything locked down. One moment he was there, and the next, all I saw was nothing. I saw the footage after hacking into it. Your father had one of his goons cut his head off and left him there at the port for other people to find. It was a message. Anyone who gets in your father’s way? Dead.”

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