17. Eros

I cupmy hands and get ready to say it again. I'm done with this shit. Sending a sub? What the hell does that mean? To search for her? We know where she is. They need to open talks with the Kraken, not send a sub on a joy ride toward Kraken territory. If they're not going to really do anything for my sister, I'm going to at least do something for Annabelle's cause. "Ask the Braesen governor about his secret lab. Tell us, tell us." I start a chant that others pick up. "What are you hiding?"

"Tell us. Tell us." The crowd on the balcony chants with the same enthusiasm as fans of a ball team. Mobs are great for that, and there are none more willing to be a mob than the family of the governors.

That's when I feel Sunshine at my elbow. Her lips purse into almost a smile. I wrap my arm around her. I'm not sure how she got in. Not without me at her side. Technically, my whole pod can come. Really, anyone who wants to come should be able to find some sort of ephemeral link to a governor. Michio, my brother, is the governor of Zaffiro, and he should be the one getting Marina's name out there, keeping her name out there. But he doesn't want to do either. I love my brother, but I don't like what he's doing—nothing. I have no idea who he's becoming.

Tristan Bellucci the Vitrom slug dares to stare at me, and his eyes flick to Sunshine. He's being bold enough that Nico picks up on it. Damn, if he even thinks of laying a finger on our mate, it gives me one more reason to kill him. Sunshine squeezes my elbow. It's like she knows what I'm thinking. He's my connection to the security council. He controls my destiny, and I hate the fucking spineless blubber fish.

The governor's dome is all for show. A clear circular cut lets them see the ocean above. I think there's supposed to be something hanging down. I don't remember... a massive bronze light fixture. The floor is ringed with ten chairs, each with a podium. Half of the balcony is filled with family for today's festivities, and the other half holds the chair of a now cranky king.

The sharks above the dome circle faster than they did before Sunshine arrived. Their shadows dance on the floor below. I glance up. Nico does too. The rest of the balcony focuses on the governors below. Something's not right. Sure, the balcony is chanting. Sure, there's chaos in the room. But my senses are picking up on something else. I calm my heart, but my intuition is usually right. Holter's beside me.

"Get her out of here," I say firmly.

"I'm staying. I want to hear how they respond. I'm not a child—podlet. I need to be here."

"Fine," I grunt, but I can't get over the feeling that something is off. I scan the chamber doors on the lower level.

The chant from the crowd is dying out, but no one from below has answered. In fact, I'm not sure what's going on down there. Several of the governors are talking in a tight ring. A few others are yelling at each other, and Castor is just staring up at us. It's chaos on the chamber floor. I can make out some of what's being said. "Lies, that's all you ever spout." But I'm not sure who said it. Others are stunned, and still more are shouting at the Braesen governor, "Tell us the truth," and, "I've heard that, but I thought it was just a podlet tale."

Atlas stands on the other side of the balcony. He looks right at us and slams his trident on the floor. It's then that a crack opens in the dome's top, a sliver at first but enough to make people stampede to the door.

"Calm," Atlas shouts. The shock on his face at the cascading water from the roof tells me he didn't know it was going to happen.

The Maelstrom has stood for a long time, longer than most buildings. It consists of three domes linked together: the governor's chamber, the judicial dome, and the administrative dome, with a docking dome out front for solos and omadas. The governor's chamber is the smallest of the three, and people are streaming from it, racing for the administrative lobby or the docking dome. But here we have direct access to the waters of the Veiled City, so heading for the administrative lobby will get you trapped and the docking area will be dangerous if the water reaches it—every vehicle will be knocked away. A flooded docking dome is a death trap.

Getting crushed between two free-floating solos isn't how I want to die. It's too late to leave that way.

Screams echo. Yes, we all have flukes—all of us but Annabelle—but if a dome crashes down, it doesn't matter that you can breathe water; there are a lot of other factors at play. Pictures of what I need to do flash through my mind like cue cards for a school presentation.

"Get on Nico's back." I pick up Annabelle and put her on Nico's back, then I hand my hidden trident to Holter. "Out the top."

"Definitely," Holter and Nico say together.

I take three racing steps to the railing and grab it, holding on tight as I catapult myself over it. I hold on to the railing until there's a few feet of water, then I hit the floor. The governors are scattering, but I don't care about them... well, two of them, I fucking guess. But I see Michio's back heading out the large door, fleeing to the administrative building. Fuck, why is he going that way? Castor's eyes are trained up on Sunshine. Tristan Bellucci the coward is gathering something up. And I'm really sure that I want whatever he has in his greedy hands.

I rush toward Castor. "They've got her. Help me with something."

He nods. The crack in the glass is larger—and it's been all of thirty seconds since it happened. "What?" he asks.

The thing with having a room with no cameras and no surveillance is that there are no cameras and no surveillance. All tech is removed from both governors and visitors. The only ones with tech that can get through the screening detectors are those who work for the security council.

I pull my shielded knife out of my pocket and take five sloshy steps to the governor of Vitrom, Tristan. There's a tearing thud above me, and I glance up and act on instinct. I give my hate a good shove down because it's not going to do me any good. Hitting him around the waist and seeing him skip along the floor—damn, that felt good. We go skidding toward the wall just as a piece of plaster falls where the governor had been standing. I pull him up to his feet.

"You attacked me," he growls.

I point to the spot where he had been.

"You saved me?"

"Yes, well, everyone has their flaws." Castor gathers Tristan's things into a bag.

The water is up to our bellies, chests, and necks. I pull off my pants and am ready to shift. Castor's doing the same. The window at the top of the dome is going to give way any second.

"Give me my things," says Tristan, paddling to keep his head afloat.

"I've got them safe for you. It's too heavy for you to get out safely." Castor's right. But also, if we can end up with Bellucci's bag, that's going to be a win for us. I feel it in my soul that he's caused this. There's got to be a piece of advanced tech in his bag. I need it.

The governor's eyes go wide. He takes two steps to the door.

"Not that way," Castor says.

But he's not listening. He's not put any thought into the fact that if the whole facility floods, the parking area will too. Solos and omadas will crash and bob together, making the dome a deadly balloon full of ghost vehicles playing bumper cars. Up and out of the dome into the water corridors of the city is the only path to safety.

Tristan swim-runs to the exit. Castor still has the governor's bag. If there was tech in it, he wouldn't have given it up so easily. But I'm not following him into danger. I glance up at where Nico and Holter have Annabelle. There are other groups there too, all waiting for the same thing. They're under the protection of the solid overhang of the roof, away from the outer edge of the glass dome. Castor and I aren't so lucky.

I shift and duck under the water, staying as low to the floor as possible. I paddle upside down. But the water is too murky with debris—that's going to be the real threat. Castor grabs my shoulder. His golden fluke waves next to mine.

The force of the crashing window shakes our bodies and pushes us to the floor. It's only a minute, and then waves slosh back and forth, filling the building. It won't collapse. Not fully. They are made to withstand something like this. Though something like this doesn't happen, not to a government building, not to a dome, even one that's about to be replaced. Maybe a small garden structure that's hit just the wrong way. Maybe. Not like this, though.

Something scratches along my arm. It's not deep, but it fucking hurts. Castor holds on to my shoulder. He has the crossbody bag over his chest, and I can't see much more than that.

There are a lot of voices in the water, but I pinpoint my thoughts on Castor, shutting out the other ones. Ready? We've swum like this before, when we were young and dumb and explored caves.

Ready.

I kick off with as little force as possible from the floor. It's not until I'm sure I've cleared the balcony that I put power behind my kicks.

There's a flag floating in front of me, and I push it out of our way. I'm feeling with my hands. I'm sure the glass is completely gone. It's designed to shatter into chunks to keep it from cutting anyone, but that doesn't mean I'm not still cautious.

When I break out of the dome, it's like taking that first gasping breath after shifting back. I can feel everything around me. Castor's there. And toward the restaurant quadrant there are groups of males and some mermaids huddling next to a bright blue dome. I scan the area for Sunshine and the others, but they're not amongst the ones standing and watching. But of course, they wouldn't be.

Nico would get her home as fast as possible.

Agreed. I am with Castor on that.

As we escape away from the government building, an emergency omada races toward it.

What the hell was that?asks Castor.

No, not here.Anyone could pick up on what we're saying. Communications when shifted are the least secure of any type. You could post something on the human internet, and it would be more secure.

I glance back at my arm. I'm leaving a trail of blood. Just enough to make Mickey like me even more.