Chapter 11Cetius

Chapter 11

Cetius

I had been having such a good time exploring the city with Vera; it was a shame Nerial had to stop by and ruin it. I knew she hadn’t ever actually been interested in me. Her proposal to me had been purely a means to an end. She’d sent my brother the exact same proposal, word for word, at the same time she sent it to me, clearly to hedge her bets.

I only knew all this because Cetia had requested a copy from Algrim, claiming it was so she could learn how to write a proper proposal when the time came.

Unfortunately, because my brother had accepted her proposal, I had to at least try not to strangle her for the next four years while she was technically temporary family.

But Nerial did have a point. I had not offered Vera everything she was due. Sure, she was only staying for one year, but that was not really all that different from some of the contracts put forth by our females; it was just a little shorter. She still deserved a proper celebration.

“If you wish, we can hold a party to celebrate your arrival,” I said, hoping late was better than never.

Vera waved the thought away. “Pssh, don’t worry about that. I don’t need a party, and you’re doing plenty for me already.” She looked the way Nerial had left. “And I don’t mean to be bitchy, but forget dodging a bullet; you dodged a fucking harpoon with that one. Your poor brother.”

That had me choking on my drink and guffawing as my translator confirmed that her words really did mean what I thought they meant.

“I didn’t know Earth used harpoons too.”

“Not anymore. A long time ago. They used them to hunt giant marine mammals and fish.”

“You’re pulling my tail. Humans hunted in water ?” I tried to imagine humans hunting anything in the ocean and promptly failed. Any marine animal worth hunting with a harpoon would drag the poor human hunter under to a watery grave.

“Not underwater. From big boats.”

Ah. That made a lot more sense.

“How do your kind use harpoons?” she asked.

“We use them on prey much larger than ourselves. It’s less of a killing weapon and more a way of tracking where they are so we don’t lose our prey if the hunt goes on for days. I was on such a hunt when I was younger. It was very tiring.”

“I bet.” She took another absent-minded sip from her drink and was disappointed when she got nothing. She pouted at the empty orb, which had shrunk in her hands.

“Nerial as a harpoon or not, do not worry about my brother. They are perfect for each other.”

That had Vera frowning. “I keep hearing about Algrim, but none of you will tell me anything more than I already know, which isn’t much. And I still haven’t met him.”

“Yes, for good reason. He is…unpleasant. I guess we should thank Nerial for keeping him busy planning their big coupling celebration. Did you know they’d expected to hold it at the family home until our grandsire put his foot down and insisted that they find a more suitable venue?”

Vera made a face. “I haven’t known Cetion long, but he doesn’t strike me as the type to want random strangers showing up to his home to party.”

“And you’d be correct. My grandsire likes to keep his home private. I know it upsets him that Algrim and Nerial are treating it like it’s theirs already. As the eldest male of our generation, Algrim has been used to getting everything he demanded, especially after what happened to our parents. My grandsire spoiled him. Then again, he spoiled me and Cetia too, and we turned out all right. At least, I think we did.”

“You totally did. Can I ask why you and Cetia have similar names to Cetion and Algrim doesn’t?”

“Algrim was named after our sire, Algone.”

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. Gosh, I’m sorry your brother turned out to be an entitled prick.”

“It wasn’t just the entitled behavior that tipped us off that something was wrong; it was the violent outbursts. The first time, we had to bail him out because he’d attacked someone over a disagreement. We paid the media to stay quiet about it and compensated the victim handsomely.”

Vera did not look impressed. She was probably thinking it was proof that we were all entitled. Unfortunately, the story got worse. Seeing as there wasn’t anyone within earshot of our bubble booth, I continued. “But only a few moons later, it happened again. This time, there was no amount of wealth that could keep the spotlight off our family. It was all anyone talked about for a whole moon cycle.

“The media lumped me and Cetia in with him, calling us spoiled delinquents, too wealthy for the law. Cetia was younger then, and at that age, words hurt her more than they should and affected her a lot. My grandsire and I tried to get to the root of his new behavior, reminding Algrim that we were family and that if there was anything bothering him, he could talk to us. He lashed out, smashing and breaking things. He shoved our grandsire pretty hard too.

“Since then, many of the staff living at the family home have quit, claiming that he threatened them. I managed to convince Seena, who’d been with our family for decades, to work for me instead. Since Cetia had moved in with me, she readily agreed.”

“And he wasn’t like this before?”

“No. No sign of violence at all when we were growing up. Unless you count the need to go out and hunt, but that’s normal for all of us.”

“I think I see why your grandsire is handing the business to you instead.”

“We’ve received messages from many of the businesses we work with saying they are ecstatic I will be taking over. It’s a first. It is customary in our culture that the business always goes to the eldest.”

“So that’s why you work so hard. You feel you have something to prove.”

How did Vera know me so well in such a short time? “We lost a lot of shareholders because of Algrim’s behavior. I want to restore Ebb Tide Trading to its former glory out of respect for my grandsire. It’s one of the reasons I work so hard on the family business.”

“And what’s the other?”

“There were plenty who thought Ebb Tide Trading would end with Cetion. They believe that I, like my brother, am too spoiled, and that I’ll run it to the ocean floor.” My tail flicked with annoyance, remembering the moment I’d read those words. “I want to prove them wrong.”

She smiled, baring those cute little flat teeth of hers. “You will. I know you will. You might have been raised with a silver spoon in your mouth, but you’re not spoiled or entitled. You work hard. You really care. And you have your granddad’s drive to grow and explore. Whoever said that about you is going to be eating his words!”

She said it was such certainty that I wanted more than anything to believe her. I realized it was the first time I’d said any of that out loud. I hadn’t had anyone I could confide with up till now.

Starlight Brides had known exactly what I needed and sent her to me. I knew she might still want to leave for the human colony when the year was up, but I was beginning to think that perhaps I wanted a real wife after all. Not just to make my grandsire happy, but for myself and my future. That went double if that wife was Vera.

And that had me thinking about what Nerial had said again. The female had definitely come to cause mischief. She’d called Vera the cheaper option and mentioned the lack of a celebration in the hopes it would hurt her. I’d already felt a little bad when Cetia had asked why we weren’t having a celebration. I’d told her that I was giving Vera a chance to get settled.

What if Nerial’s words had hurt Vera more than she let on?

“I didn’t go to Starlight Brides because it was the cheaper option,” I said quietly.

“I know.” She played with the tube to her empty drink orb awkwardly.

Damn. She was hurt. I could tell.

“If you want a celebration—”

She put a tiny hand on my forearm. “It’s okay. I don’t know anyone here. And we don’t know what’s happening after the year is up. But if you want a celebration because it’s what’s expected and it will make Cetion happy, please, go ahead and plan one. But maybe make it small and low-key? I think Cetion would enjoy that more.”

A lump formed in my throat thinking yet again that our time was limited. Which was strange, considering I hadn’t wanted a wife to begin with.

And earlier, when she’d suggested going out to explore the wilderness with me, I’d been thrilled by the idea until I remembered she wasn’t a Thalassonian and wouldn’t be able to survive in the open waters. I wished I could bring her out to explore with me. I had loved exploring, but it got lonely sometimes. Having a companion would have been so much better.

When I’d gone out into the open ocean, I’d brought home everything and anything that happened to catch my eye. All those things that now graced my home, from the tiles on the floor and walls to the lights that illuminated my hallways, had all been brought home from my travels or made from raw materials I’d found out there.

Some of these items ended up forming part of Ebb Tide’s extensive catalog. That catalog hadn’t had anything added to it in a while. Perhaps I’d been looking at this the wrong way. I’d thought that Ebb Tide needed me in the office working and guiding it. But that wasn’t my forte. We had people who were more suitable and better trained for that. Perhaps I could be more use out there looking for more treasures, something to give our offerings new life.

It was definitely something to think about.