Page 105 of Why Cruise

“Right. What do mermaids represent?”

“You two aren’t serious?” I looked between them like they were mad. “The Crystal Room, obviously.” They just blinked at me.

“How did you not see the big ass mermaid chandelier in the Crystal Room?” I replied. The two alphas just looked at each other. “The chandelier is literally in the shape of a mermaid.”

“They were too busy angry flirting.” Theo concluded.

“The Crystal Room is three decks down.” Justice was already moving. “If we cut through the casino…”

“No.” Ren’s voice was firm. “Service corridors. Follow me.”

“Are we allowed to use those?” I asked.

“Absolutely not,” Ren said.

“Oh, are we doing crime now?”

We wound through narrow passages, the industrial carpet and plain walls a stark contrast to the luxury of the public spaces. Ren moved, like he’d memorized every shortcut on the ship.

The Crystal Room was empty between lunch and dinner service. The enormous chandelier dominated the space, its crystals catching the afternoon sun streaming through the windows. Delicate mermaid figures were worked into the metalwork, appearing to swim through the cascade of light.

“How are we supposed to get all of us in a photo with that?” I asked, craning my neck to look up at the chandelier.

Justice started arranging furniture and discussing angles while Ren watched with growing impatience. Finally, Ren grabbed the phone, put it on the table with the rear-facing camera open.

“Thumbs up. Make sure it’s in the frame.” The chandelier took up the entire background. He stuck his hand in the frame in the foreground. “It says take a photo. It doesn’t say all our faces need to be in it.”

He logged our photo, and a banner popped up with our point tally.

Ren stared at Theo’s phone as the next clue came in. “It says “Truth or Dare”. If Aria designed this part, we’re all in trouble.”

The screen flashed: Share your wildest dream.

“I, uh…” Theo opened and closed his mouth several times.

“I want my own skincare line!” I blurted out. Everyone turned to look at me. “I mean, I know omegas don’t really start businesses. That’s more of an alpha thing. And it’s silly, probably. But I’ve been making my own formulations and…” I twisted my fingers together. “Never mind. It’s not really appropriate for an omega to…”

“How are we supposed to take a picture of that?” Justice interrupted my spiral, taking the phone back.

Theo leaned over his shoulder. “No, look. There’s a text prompt option.” He pointed at the screen. “Just type in what Mackenzie said.”

Justice’s fingers moved across the keyboard.

“Not that,” I protested. “Type something normal. Something omega appropriate.”

Justice ignored me and hit submit. The screen flashed green with a cheerful “Points awarded!”

Justice read the next clue aloud: “‘Clothes are shed, songs are sung, answer quick before the bell is rung.’” He frowned. “Remind me again why we are doing this?”

“Humiliation ritual.” Ren smirked.

“The theater!” Theo’s eyes lit up. He counted off on his fingers. “Clothes are shed? They had that burlesque show the first night. Songs are sung? The musicals. And remember trivia night? They rang that annoying bell when time was up.”

“That’s all the way back toward the front of the ship.” Justice was already moving.

“Look who’s competitive now,” Ren teased.

We wound our way toward the theater, passing other groups seeking out clues. They were on a mission and my shorter legs had trouble keeping up.

---