Page 29 of Caged By the Ruthless Thief

“Shit, sorry, sorry.” It’s one of Castor’s younger brothers. I can’t look up and see which one. The stabilizers turn on, and theomadalevels out.

The middle bench is laid out flat, and there’s a pile of blankets next to it. Kai and one of her mates are perched on the far bench.

“What are you doing here?” Castor yells at him. He’s holding my arm steady and helps me lower myself. I try to ease into the seat, but my joints are on fire, and I end up collapsing onto it.

“Shut it, brother. I’ve got a level forty in medical.” Kai opens my robe. “Damn. Right. Bennett, give me a sponge. And some antiseptic spray. Why didn’t they take you straight to the hospital?” Her mate hands her things.

My eyes are closed, but even so, I can see the look Castor gives his sister. One that says,You know our government; it’s about appearances.

There are voices, and then the door to theomadashuts and it pulls away.

15

EROS

The two bags of food are tucked under my arm. I made a quick trip to the Zaffiro food provisioner in the main dome. There’s lots of traditions about mating and food. And one of them is that a mermaid isn’t supposed to make her own food after mating. It’s silly, but I darted out to get something better than the dry packets I have in my dome.

So far, I’ve avoided any conversations with anyone. I take the lift back to the lobby, the one you use when you don’t want anyone to see you. But today... today I’m not that lucky.

My sister is standing by the elevator, a large basket under her arm. I could try to avoid her, but it will lead to problems later. Mainly when she mentions it to one of our fathers and they come to talk to me about it.

“Marina,” I say as quickly as I can while crossing the lobby to the corridor that leads to my ground-level dome.

“Eros, isn’t it exciting!” She’s vibrating.

“Yes.” I take a few steps.

“Oh, Athena. You don’t know. I know something you don’t.” She sings it. Because that’s Marina.

“I’m sure that’s not the case.”

“Then what is the entire city excited about, Eros? Hmm? What?”

“Okay, Marina. You’ve got me. I’ve been... busy. What is the entire city excited about?” I left my block back in my apartment, and my hand itches to find out for myself.

“Nico Portsmouth returned with the biggest, fanciest, ancient trident that anyone has ever seen.” She jumps when she says it and puts her hands next to her mouth, like it’s a surprise birthday party.

It’s an expression I hate, but my heart stops. My throat seizes up, and all the while I’m doing my best not to let Marina see my reaction. I’m not proud of my talent, but I can fool anyone. My victims never know what is about to happen to them. But my own sister, that’s a little harder. “And when did that happen?”

“You really have been sleeping with the fishes. He’s back.”

“One, two, three hours ago? When? Could you be more specific?” The lobby spins as the reality of her words hit me. Nico is alive. Nico is alive! Oh, and I’m so dead. But at least I’ll get to see Sunshine happy. I shake off the inevitable dread of facing Nico.

“I don’t know. Cod fish, Eros, what does it matter? There are going to be some furious people over in the Tinom and Stele domes.”

“And some happy ones over at Glyden.”

“True, but what difference does an hour make, brother?”

I hold my lips together while Marina looks me up and down. “I suppose none.” Or everything. If he’s still in the government building, then they are questioning how he got out. Something I would like to know as well.

But maybe this will play out well for me. I can say he slid by me, threw a giant eel at me, and then disappeared into a small opening at the bottom of the chasm and I never saw him again. Fucking fishbones. I need to re-read my great-great-great uncle’s journal again. Because he definitely swam in and out of the chasm the same way. At least from the journal entries I read. The journals are awfully scattered, and picking apart fiction from his madness is harder than getting all the bones out of a herring.

“Do you have a new suit for the Vividaria?” Marina’s let the empty elevator come and go.

“No, Marina. I’m not going.”

“But you were so excited to go to Ophelia Drakos’s ball. Why is that, brother? I saw you dancing with Annabelle Portsmouth. Heck, the entire city talked about you dancing with her. Are you trying to join her pod, or just warm her bed?”

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