Chapter 16 Vera

I looked around the apartment Algrim had pulled me into. It was on the top floor of one of the city’s tallest residential buildings, and, like Cetius’s place, every surface was opulently adorned.

Algrim had gotten a call just as we were swimming in and had left in a frustrated huff, warning me not to lift a fin.

I didn’t have any fins to lift, but I immediately tried to leave the second he was out of sight. No such luck. The place was locked up tight. I was essentially in the galaxy’s most luxurious jail cell.

The door had been modified to require a key card not just to enter but also to exit, and none of the windows opened. I’d tried to smash one of them, but the decorative rocks I’d flung at it just bounced right off. Of course, my throwing arm wasn’t so good under the water, and the stones had moved in slow arcs toward the clear window, mocking me.

Unable to leave, I pulled out my contact conch only to discover it wasn’t working. I’d never heard of bad reception being a thing anywhere in Coral’s Deep; this apartment had no reception at all! Frustrated, I stuffed my device back into my harness and tried the windows again.

I needed to get out of here and get to Cetius. The image of him, pale and motionless, had me worried sick. I might not have known him for very long, and I was only here because Starlight Brides had tricked me, but I’d grown to really care for my Not-so-Ken-Doll.

Could someone survive a spear-sized arrow to the chest? And who the fuck would do something like this, anyway? It couldn’t have been any of the competitors because murder was a little excessive for a title, and all the competitors who rounded the corner had immediately gone to help him anyway.

But what about Algrim? His reaction to his brother getting shot with a freaking arrow was to grin and steal his wife. Something was definitely wrong with this guy. And I was trapped here with nothing to do but to wait for him to return.

I was trying to get reception again when I saw him appear outside the window. Just because I couldn’t use the device like a phone didn’t mean I couldn’t use it at all. I quickly set it to record our upcoming conversation. If I was going to get murdered because this asshole was jealous of his brother’s inheritance, then I wanted everything documented so they could avenge my death.

I shoved the device back into the harness, then whipped around to face him, trying to act more angry than scared.

“Why have you dragged me here?” I demanded. “I should be with Cetius.”

Algrim sneered. “Cetius might as well be dead. The selach was supposed to get him, but that confounded friend of his is always getting in the way. Did you know Cetius named him as second in the company and not me? The whole company should have been mine. It’s my birthright.”

Oh fuck. My suspicions were confirmed. There was definitely foul play going on, and Algrim had a hand in it.

“Anyway, last I saw him, he was still unconscious. He’ll never survive the poison. And it will never get traced back to me, so don’t even think about going to the authorities. They’d never believe a word of it.”

I backed away from him, looking for an exit, but he was blocking the only one.

“Besides, Nerial is going to take the fall for this. All the evidence points to her. And I had someone tip the security off just a moment too late, so they’d catch the shooter. When they check his conch they’ll know it was Nerial right away. She was already so angry that Cetius rejected her. I just heated her water a little more and suggested that if the family business came to me, I’d rewrite the contract and offer her a lot more. The silly female believed me. I helped her set it all up, of course, but no one can prove that.” Algrim had been pacing the room; he stopped now and turned to level a gaze at me.

I backed away some more until I hit a counter.

“My brother had the right idea, going to Starlight Brides. But he got very lucky. It was a risk. They could’ve matched him up with a fucking Gargii.” He shuddered. “But a human. Your kind aren’t bad. No tail, but nice torsos. And now you’re all mine.”

“I am no such thing. My contract is with Cetius and Cetius alone.” Technically, I went to Starlight Lottery for a job, but he didn’t need to know that.

“It was,” he agreed. “And unlike the contracts drafted by our females, yours is forever. In our society, if a male expires, the mating contract legally passes to the next available related male. And that”…he grinned at me, his teeth looking terrifyingly sharp…“is me.”

Oh shit.

“They’re going to find out.”

He shrugged. “And do what? None of it will come back to me. Technically, I had no hand in this. I just gave Nerial the idea. They won’t believe a word you say. Because where was I? In the spectator stands with you and Cetia.” He eyed the rocks I’d thrown at the window which were now scattered across the floor. “Let’s get you out of here before you destroy this apartment. You may return to civilization when you stop acting like a savage and appreciate the things I give you. You’re lucky I saved you from Nerial. She wanted to feed you to the selach.”

I backed away from him, but he moved close to me, grabbed my wrist again, and started hauling me toward the door. Vile hatred and a sense of danger zipped through my body, telling me to run even though there was nowhere to go.

“I know. You are angry with me now. But I will convince you that this is better. By the time I bring you to the family home, you’ll have come around to my way of thinking. I’m doing you a favor, Vera. Cetius is weak. Or should I say was weak. I’m sure he’s dead by now. You will see in time that I am the stronger brother, the better choice for you. I should have strangled him in the womb. Because really, what did he promise you? His pathetic home? A business that’s going under?” He scoffed.

I didn’t reply, especially when he opened the front door and I saw one of those carriages I’d seen around town waiting outside. Shit. If he got me inside that thing and took me out of town, I’d be screwed. Even if I escaped him, out there I’d never survive the trip back to Coral’s Deep, if I even knew the way.

I surreptitiously stuck my hand into my harness, hoping he wouldn’t notice the movement as he tried again to shove me inside. Then I lashed out, slashing him across the chest with my tiny knife. I didn’t give him any time to think or react. I just kept attacking him, cutting anything I could reach until firm hands grabbed my wrist and pried the knife out of my grip. Algrim shook me and slammed me hard against the side of the carriage as the knife drifted down to the street below.

To my surprise, he chuckled. “So you do have some fight in you. Good. This is going to be fun. But we can play later, when we are out of the city. For now—behave.” His hands tightened around my neck and squeezed as he manhandled me into the vehicle.

I fought him, scratching uselessly at his tough scales.

“I said behave,” he snarled. “Or I’ll feed you to a selach myself!”

An angry snarl filled the water, and suddenly, he was torn away from me.

“ Get your hands off my wife .”

Cetius! He was alive! He looked paler than usual, but he was right there in front of me, and he didn’t look like he was going to die any time soon. I would have jumped for joy if I could. He held something that looked very much like a mini crossbow, pointing it at Algrim.

“You’re alive?!” Algrim coughed and quickly changed his tone. “You’re alive! That’s great! I found Vera wandering the streets. I was just about to bring her to you at the healing facility.”

Such a lying asshat! “Don’t believe him,” I yelled. I didn’t want Cetius to let down his guard and allow Algrim to get close enough to finish the job. He might have survived the poison, but he was weak now, and an easy target.

“And that’s why you have pieces of her external gills on your claws? She’s bleeding!”

I looked down, and sure enough, a portion of my gills were missing. Now that I thought about it, I hurt everywhere his claws had dug in. My blood seeped out into the water.

Algrim decided he was done talking and went in for the attack. Cetius pulled the trigger on his crossbow. The projectile, more dart than arrow, hit Algrim in the arm, but it wasn’t enough to stop him as he charged Cetius.

“Watch out!” I screamed.

From the side, Iravan shot out and tackled Algrim before he could reach Cetius. The massive sea serpent pinned him up against the side of the building, holding him in place.

“You have no proof of anything!” Algrim hissed through gritted teeth. “This is assault! I’m going to get you locked up!”

It was only then that I spotted Seena coming out from behind a nearby vehicle. Cetia was here too. They had both been there, filming with their devices the whole time.

“According to all the recordings, you launched yourself at me.”

“Self defense! You were pointing a weapon at me.”

“You attacked my wife !”

But there was no more communication between the brothers because whatever they’d shot Algrim with was starting to work, and he began slurring his words. Then he slumped against the wall.

Cetius started toward me before he himself faltered. Iravan released Algrim’s limp body to help him. Cetius had looked so strong, but it had all been a ruse. Now, he looked ready to collapse.

I wanted to swim to Cetius, to wrap my arms around him and revel in the fact that he was alive and that he’d come to save me, but everything was spinning for me. It felt like everything was moving slow as molasses, and the world was losing color.

I gasped for air, recognizing what this was. I needed air. I couldn’t breathe. I was drowning.

“Her gills! They are too damaged to work properly.” Cetius struggled the rest of the way toward me. “Take her, Iravan. Get her to a place with air. Now!”

A large mouthful of teeth closed around my shoulder gently but firmly. I didn’t know how Iravan managed to do it without hurting me, but he did.

The last thing I saw before the world faded out was Cetius following weakly behind.