4. Annabelle

I'm goingnuts worrying about Eros and Marina. The only thing that keeps me from losing it is reading. I'm four partial volumes into Nico's mother's notebooks. Nico wants to move the translator tech here. It's safer in Eros's dome, in the secret library, but Eros's apartment isn't someplace we can keep going to. It looks fishy. Why would I want to be over in his bachelor pad? And then there was the attack on the Glyden lobby, something we're all quite on edge about but no one mentions. So I'm stuck using a much inferior translator, one that's modified for my block. One that has no clue as to what Richeal's notes in the margins say. Not being able to translate her notes is frustrating. Not that I've translated any of Richeal's notes that are truly relevant yet.

The elevator buzzer sounds, and I jump. Ever since the attack, they've locked down our entire floor. The pod who technically lives on the other side spends most of their time with their oldest son. A lot of people are afraid, and living next to the hybrid isn't something they want to risk. It's not just the lobby being destroyed. There are whispers about Alder's attack not being natural going around too.

The plan originally was for us to be out and about. Let people get used to me. But every day that we don't have an answer about who caused the Glyden attack is another day for fear to ramp up. And it's not just Glyden who are scared. Other domes are too. I'm not sure I'll ever be accepted in the Veiled City now. And with Marina being taken and Eros in America? It's logical the neighbors don't want to stay. The guys won't admit it, but I know they're nervous too.

We've gone on a few outings, but with each one, Nico and Holter become more cautious. I'm surprised they let me out to play with my guard sharks. I hardly think of them as guards anymore. But last week, when one of the Glyden scouts got too close to our windows, Chompers and Mickey drove him away from our apartment. I'd hate to think about what would have happened to the scout if he hadn't been wearing armor.

I'm down the hallway to the living room when the buzzer rings again. Holter stands by the door checking the video on his block. "I've got it. It's Kai."

Kai. My heart soars. I haven't seen her since I got back from Athens, before Nico defeated the chasm. And I haven't seen much of her brother either. But Castor has things he has to do regarding the company and becoming king. Still, I wish he would come around a little. I know he shouldn't, but I miss him. My heart hasn't caught up with my reality. Reality? I'm not sure what that even is anymore. Castor can never be part of our pod. He has obligations.

Nico's waiting at the door. Holter has to go and unlock a barred grate installed over the front of the elevator, kind of like the ones that are over department stores when they close.

"Move out of my way, grumpy." Kai races toward me. It's been too long since I've seen her because her belly looks more like a woman who should be holding a balloon at a gender reveal party than someone in their first trimester. She jumps for me with her arms wide open. Remarkably quick. I move to catch her in my arms.

But she skids to a stop, and instead of hugging me, she grabs my hand, pulling it to her face. "Oh, Poseidon! You've got a marking." She jumps up and down with my hand. The back of my legs are pressed against the sofa, but Kai's got an impressive leap. She's jumping almost as high as the cushion.

Nico clears his throat. "Kai." She doesn't stop. "Kai, cease your bouncing. You can't tell anyone. And you need to be careful in your condition."

"Nico," she growls, "I'm pregnant, not ill." Nico growls back, and that gets her to stop jumping, but she doesn't let go of my hand. "You're wrong. She has to tell the whole city. The entire world, the freaking universe. This is amazing." Kai drops my hand and pokes Nico in the chest. "You were the one who was going to lead the way. You made this change, now you've got to own it, bucko."

"Bucko?"

"Yeah, bucko. I've learned lots of things from your mate." She pivots, leading with her belly. "One of them is that you didn't let her have a block, for like forever. And with me not being allowed out of the apartment until today..." She rubs her belly. "I'm not letting people tell me what to do anymore. And by people, I mean anyone." She holds up her hand and counts on her fingers. "Mates, mother, my fathers, you, and especially not any of my brothers."

"Congratulations, Kai." Nico looks at the main door to the apartment.

"Thank you. Oh, if you're looking for my mates, they wanted to come with me, but I tricked them and locked Ari and Bennett in the bathroom. The other three are out for the day." She turns to me. "They're nesting. Dar has this elaborate plan for the nursery." She sinks to the sofa next to me. "It's sweet, really."

"Kai?" Holter looms over us. "They're going to be worried about where you are. And the bathroom?"

"I'm not staying long. But I wanted to see someone else besides my mother and her mates. They're all acting like I could break."

"You're carrying the Drakos family heir," Nico grumbles. "Of course they're concerned."

"Nico!" I glare at him. "Kai is more than a vessel for the Drakos family offspring."

He scowls at me, and I turn to Holter for support, but he's not much better. "You need to get back upstairs, Kai."

"Let her visit for a minute. Do you want something to eat?" I put my arm around her shoulders and give her a squeeze. I've been longing to talk to her too.

"You said there were some things we had to talk in person about. So I'm here to talk, one prisoner to the next," Kai says, leaning the rest of the way back on the sofa cushion. Her short legs pop up, seemingly without her control. I make the mental note to look into the pregnancy length of the Dorian people as a whole. Because she didn't have a belly at all when I arrived in the city. And that wasn't that long ago.

Kai takes my hand again and traces the circle. "This is whoa, crazy. You don't even have four mates yet, and you have the start of a mark. Wow!" She shakes her head.

I nod because, honestly, I don't know how I feel about it. For naturally-born mermaids, when a dark blue circle appears on their hand, they are fertile. The circle on my palm isn't complete. More like three quarters of a pie. I stare at it for a second before I close my hand and pull it back out of sight. Not that it's not always there, reminding me of how I'm changing. How I'm becoming someone, something else. "It's not a full circle."

"No, it's not." Kai glances over her shoulder. "Do you mind? I think we'll be fine for a few minutes alone." She shoves at Holter. He shakes his head and meanders down the back hallway. "You too." She points a long finger at Nico.

"You going to be okay?" Nico stares at me.

"Yes." I resist laughing because Nico means well. And while the rest of the city thinks of him as the second coming of Poseidon, I think of my mate more like a big marshmallow. A big deadly marshmallow. Nico gives me a nod and heads for the back hallway but then turns and gives me a quick kiss on my cheek.

"Do you not want to be a mother?" Kai rests her hands, fingers intertwined, on her belly.

"I . . . I'm not sure I'm ready. And this . . ." I stare at my palm.

"It seems like a lot of pressure. Yes, we're having a lot of problems keeping our population naturally stable, but there are things you can do if you don't want a podlet yet."

I nod.

"We can talk about them later. Your ring isn't ready. You have time." Kai tries to tuck a foot under her bottom and fails, placing it on the coffee table instead. "Now, what else did you want to talk about? You said it was private."

"Yes." I crane my neck, but the guys aren't in the hallway. From under the sofa, I pull out one of Nico's mother's books. It bounces on the cushion between us. "What do you know about Richeal Callis?"

"Well, she died before I was born." Kai picks up the old text. "She liked books. We have some of her library in my mother's collection."

"What?" My heart beats in triple time.

"Yeah, well, she was my mother's best friend. And the apartment they had didn't have enough space. And Mom had just moved into the penthouse. Yeah, there's a whole bunch of them up there. I used to try to look at them when I was little, but my mother always stopped me. Said they were too special to be played with. Like I was playing with them and not reading. Granted, they're written on a twenty level and I was still in primary school, so now as an adult, I can see her point. Plus, they are, you know, paper, and a little mermaid forgets to dry off sometimes. Yikes." Her eyes go wide and she clutches her stomach.

"Are you okay?"

"I mean, yeah. But I'm scared. What if I get a podlet like me that's a terror, instead of a nice calm one like Soren or Nole or Milo? What if my child locks me in the bathroom?"

I shrug. "They don't start out that big. I'd be more worried about what happens when your mates get out of the bathroom."

"Well, hopefully they'll punish me." Her smile turns wicked and her eyes glass over. "Sorry, hormones. Was there something specific you wanted to ask about Richeal?"

"No, but I would love to see the rest of her books."

"I know they don't want you going around the city right now, but the penthouse is safe. You should head up there. Come with me."

"I should."

"No time like the present." She takes my hand.

"I need to tell the guys and get my gloves."

"You think my mother won't see through your gloves? You really do need to get out of the dome more."

I shrug. "I'll tell her I'm cold."

"Sure." Kai laughs.

I'm halfway down the hallway when the elevator alarm buzzes and Holter darts out of the bedroom. "It's a full load. Why don't you go see who it is?" He smiles at me, and I jump. Because there can be only one person, or rather male, that he knows I'm looking forward to showing up in the elevator.

I race across the room. Nico's walking strides are equal to my running steps. But I'm ready to hip check him out of the way if I need to. I fling the door open, and there in the locked elevator, looking tired, dirty, and oh so good, are Eros and Castor. Oh, and four of Kai's mates, who are looking none too happy. But I barely glance at them.

"Open the damn gate," Castor says. "Kai?—"

"No, we've got this," Dar says.

"Maybe you don't have to unlock the gate?" Kai smiles at Holter.

Holter shakes his head and opens it.

Castor and Eros step out, and Dar pulls Kai in. "Did you enjoy your adventure, little mate?" His voice vibrates.

Kai licks her lips. "Immensely."