Page 45 of Caged By the Ruthless Thief

“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 thesolonow 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 thesolo. 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 thingwith 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.

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