39. Nico

"You're notCalvin Degree of Braesen, the scientist?"

The male that answers the door at Calvin Degree's apartment shakes his head. He's older than my fathers, certainly the right age to be the guy we're looking for. But that doesn't mean I don't want to kill him there on the spot. Being old isn't an excuse for your past behavior. Hell, even I know that, and I've got a trail of ghosts behind me. But years in the service are different. At least, that's how I used to think of them. Different. The culture of our military has never been the same as the culture of our science and technology. At least, it was never perceived that way. They've been fighting for our civilization, our way of life, for years, the same way I fought back the Vikings, but instead of tridents and knives, they use the power of science. But now? Now all that is in question.

Holter, Eros, and Castor are off finding an address for Jupiter's apartment. Annabelle and I stand in the doorway of what we thought was Calvin Degree's apartment.

"No," says the man again. "I told you I wasn't, and I'm still not. Stourch's my surname. But you should come in." He steps back and lets us enter the apartment. It's old and full from a lifetime of collecting, but it's clean.

Little Krill touches my arm. She's asking if she can take point. I nod. She'll have more patience than me.

"Did you know Calvin Degree?" she asks.

"Of course." He clamps his jaw tight and sits at the crowded kitchen table, a mug of tea in his hand. But then it might be seaweed gin from the way he smells.

"And how do you know him?"

"He was my pod brother."

Annabelle smiles and grips the top of the chair across from him. "And did he work with Richeal Callis?"

"Of course." The old male smiles at Little Krill, and I want to wipe him from the ocean. But that might be my anger at the governor's brother coming through.

Annabelle nods. "Right, right."

The old male pinches his nose. "I only have one pod brother left. You know, the two of us are just hanging on to make the other one stay here in pain. Calvin's been gone a long time."

"Oh, ah. I'm sorry to hear you're in pain."

"You shouldn't be. I was a horrible male, and Calvin was worse. But it was necessary. I had a duty to perform. You understand duty, don't you? Second coming of Poseidon, my ass."

So he does know who we are, despite the charade he put on at the door. I don't think we're going to get any information out of him.

"How closely did Calvin and Richeal work together?"

"Close enough that she figured everything out. Or at least Calvin thought she did."

Is he even telling the truth? Why is his mouth running like she's got a trident pressed to it? I take a step forward, but she puts her hand on my arm and smiles at him. "Richeal figured things out. Like how Braesen has a lab underneath their dome."

His cup clatters to the table. "Everyone knows that. I mean, if they stop and think for a half a minute. It's not a secret now, is it? Not anymore. Not with the governor yapping his trap."

"I suppose, but back then? Back when... Nico was a podlet? Then it was a secret?"

"I guess, sure. Yeah, a lot of people didn't know."

"But Richeal did."

"Yeah, and if she'd told anyone, Calvin would have paid for what they were doing. He was one of the links between the government lab and the other one. They'd come in the night and pull him away. Our mate... our mate. She would have been broken if that happened. I couldn't let that happen. I had to keep him alive."

"So you killed Richeal?"

"What? That's crazy. No. I would never hurt a mermaid. No, I wasn't like Calvin. I could never let a female come to harm. No."

"No?" Annabelle pursed her lips.

"Calvin didn't harm Richeal either. He could never. He'd loved her before our mate. But then Muster vetoed him. Calvin was my friend, and our mate was kind and let him join the pod. Calvin loved our mate, he did, but he always had a soft spot in his heart for Richeal."

"If Calvin didn't kill Richeal, who did?"

"He told the governor. Not Haden—he's a clown fish. No, the governor at the time: Haden's mate's father, a heartless male. And while Calvin became the same, he wasn't then. No, he wanted the truth to come out. But Haden, and his father-in-law before him, saw our tech as a way of dominating the city. More importantly, if our mermaids controlled the most important pods, we would rule the city."

It's a lot to take in, but Little Krill doesn't miss a beat. She's nodding along with him. This tracks with the messages from Haden about the "lesser domes." The Braesen have been simmering a lot longer than anyone would ever have known.

"There would be no more shared king," Stourch continues. "There would be one king, a Braesen king to rule forever. The governor had Richeal killed. And I altered the evidence to save Calvin from knowing the truth. Though I think he did, anyway. He became hardened inside." He gulped at his cup. The final sips gone, he let out a gust of seaweed gin breath. "Our son...our son now works trying to undo all the harm his Baba did."

"Where is your son right now?"

"Oh, I don't know. He might be with the Kraken. They help him, you know."

My eyes flick to Annabelle.

"No, I don't know. How is he helping?"

The male's eyes go wide. "No, it's not all out there. But that's for him to tell you."

"What's your son's name?"

"Fero Stourch, but he's not done anything wrong. He's a good podlet. Well, he's hardly a podlet, but he's not... not like the others."

"Of course he isn't." Annabelle grasps both of his hands. "I truly am sorry you're in pain. I'm sure the doctors could help you."

"I don't want help," the senior Stourch says.

Annabelle nods. "That's a decision you're making today, but you could make a different one tomorrow."

I'm half expecting him to scream at her, but he ducks his head. "I'll think about that." He takes a sip from his empty cup. "You know, you remind me of her."

"Your mate?"

"No, Richeal. You're smart and as kind as you are beautiful. I'm sorry." He looks up at me. I don't want to feel remorse for this male. I never feel remorse. But I do. Fucking hell.

I place my hand on Little Krill's arm. "We should go."

Annabelle nods. When we're out in the hallway, I pull the male's door tightly shut since he doesn't get up to do it himself. The second I turn around, she throws her arms around my neck. "I love you. You did really well in there."

"Well? You're the one who found out all the information, Little Krill. You are the one who did well."

"No, you didn't yell at the old male. And you let me ask the questions."

"You asked the right ones."

"Ugh, Nico. That's not what I mean. What I mean is you didn't lose your temper."

"Why would I lose my temper? The male I want to kill is on the other side of the apartment building."

Footsteps come from around the corner, the rest of the guys.

"Sunshine, if he doesn't realize he's turning into a sea cucumber, that's his loss. It makes it easier for us." Eros turns his block over and shows me that he's found an address for Jupiter. He's not living here as we thought but in housing next to the main scientific labs. Not the secret Braesen ones, but the ones on the outskirts of the city where Holter was born.

"Calvin Degree is dead," I say. "We're looking for his son, Fero Stourch, now too."