47. Holter

"You'resure you're okay to stay here by yourself?" Belle asks Marlee again.

"Definitely. Just me and the sharks outside." Marlee laughs. And we all know it's not Belle's pets she's talking about but the males that Mickey keeps chasing off. "Besides, Mom should be back from her date soon."

"Right." Belle gives Marlee another hug.

"I'm good. One mom is enough. Thanks, though." Marlee sticks her tongue out at Belle.

"Okay. We'll be back." Belle turns, and the blue and gold ribbon she wore back on the Centauri shines in her golden hair.

"I'll be here." Marlee points to the sofa she's been on for the last two weeks. One thing Belle and Marlee have in common is a love of reading. Other than that, I don't see any similarities.

Belle takes my hand and Nico's. She winks at Castor. One of Castor's mother's huge black omadas is at the dock.

Milo, Castor's youngest brother, is there next to it. "Sirs, Madam, I have your ride for the evening."

"Really now?" I cock my head over Belle at Nico. I thought we were just going out to dinner—why would we need a driver? Nico looks as confused as me. I glance back at Eros and Castor. They're not as innocent. My eyebrows rise as I lean into Castor's youngest brother and say, "What are you doing here, Milo?"

"Nothing else to do but drive your lovely mate and your sorry asses around." He winks at me and whispers, "You're going to love it."

We take a drive to the Razor Edge, and they have a table waiting for us. The ma?tre d' kisses the back of Belle's gloved hand. "It's amazing to have such intelligence and beauty with us this evening."

"Yes, my mates are rather handsome."

The old male chuckles and takes us to our table. It's the same one tucked back into an alcove that we sat at last time.

The waiter pours us seaweed gin and brings Belle a glass of wine. But when he's gone, she switches Eros's gin with her wine. She holds up her glass. "To the best family a girl could ever hope for. I love you all. Salvomaris." Cheers, she says in Dorian.

The table next to us coos. They raise their glasses to us. "Salvomaris."

A male at the next table stands. "To the savior of Doria."

Soon the entire restaurant is standing, glasses in hand. Everyone knows it's Belle who found out the secret of the Braesen. Without her, they would have continued to try and bring down our democracy.

She smiles and waves around the room. And I think about the woman she was when she first came on board the Centauri. That woman wouldn't have taken a compliment. She would have shaken it off. But our mermaid? She's the same woman but more of herself. I look over at her. I have no right to be proud. I am, though. I'm so damn proud.

Nico leans over and fingers the ribbon in her hair before giving her a quick kiss behind her ear.

After the first course, an older mermaid comes over to our table. "The Savior of Doria, the Hero of Hestert?tten, the Golden Prince, the Second Coming of Poseidon, and..." She looks at Eros.

"Eros, mate to Sunshine."

"That's a good title," the mermaid says.

"I think so too." Eros laughs with the older mermaid.

"Is there any news on the geminae mermaids?" Belle takes a sip of her gin and coughs. Eros switches her back to wine.

"They're females," I say.

"I bet not. I have one little gene and I'm a mermaid, but those innocent podlets certainly have more mermaid DNA than I do. And I have a tail now." She smiles and takes a delicate sip of wine. But then she pauses. "Castor, did you ever think that Marlee looks a heck of a lot like––"

"Like the painting of the grand dame duchess Theodora Drakos, the one that hangs in the front foyer of my parent's apartment?"

Belle raises her glass. "Yes, exactly. My grandmother was born in North Carolina and moved to North Dakota with her parents when she was little. From the old pictures I've seen, she doesn't look anything like her parents. Not that it means anything, but do you think . . . do you think she was a geminae podlet?"

The table is silent. "Maybe," I say.

"And I could be a granddaughter of one of the original podlets taken to America." Her hands move rapidly and her words are rushed. I love Belle, but an excited Belle is even more captivating. "The scientist who found the gene... the one still on the Omicron . . . Bacchus?" Belle pauses.

The table nods in confirmation. He's an arrogant prick, but he's been stuck on a sub dealing with the Timon governor and the Skyrothasia mess for a hell of a long time.

"With Bacchus's help," she continues, "we––I could trace the gene back to a common ancestor. Here in the city."

"Mateo Bacchus—he's from Glyden. An ass, but brilliant. He could help you," I say. "If the Omicron ever docks again."

"It better," says Belle. "Nole's mate Sara has had enough. But I'd like to work with Mateo on that. There could be thousands of women walking around with the gene. I suppose as long as they don't mate a merman, they'll be safe from dying in the shower like I almost did. But we have to study it. We have to find these females, both little and big, and keep them safe."

"You will. We'll be there to help you." Eros raises his glass. "To our brilliant mate. We are lucky to have her, but so is our nation. Salvomaris." We clink glasses around the table. But Belle's brain is still spinning.

"What is it?" I ask.

"And there's no records of where Fero took his podlets? None at all?" The media has been referring to the podlets by the name of each male who saved them: Fero, Ziad before him, and Driss who was the first to save the little podlets.

Nico shakes his head. "I asked Atlas. Fero is working with them, but the haggisa who adopted the podlets out to human families is nowhere to be found. Ziad and Driss left no records and are long gone."

"They can't find Fero's haggisa contact?" Belle asks.

Nico nods at Belle. "When a sea witch wants to hide, there's nothing you can do to find them. But they are going to continue looking."

"Oh."

"Michio told me they're meeting next week to form a plan for what actions will be taken against Braesen." Eros takes a sip of his seaweed gin.

Castor nods. "Yes, Nole said the same. They're waiting until the Omicron is back."

"I don't know how I feel about it. There are a lot of people who are ready to spill more blood in the water. And there's been enough destruction." I pass the bread to Belle. Her eyes light up.

"Speaking of destruction, I took my solo out to my other place, you know?" Eros means the place where he kept all his agent tech.

"Yes," we all say.

"It's gone. Not a trace of it."

"Mmph?" Belle says around her bread.

"Gone. I thought it would be, and I'm not sad it is." Eros wraps his arm around Belle's chair.

I've been avoiding asking Nico, but he's been deep into research on what attacked Alder. Jupiter never told us. "Any news on what B988 is?" I raise my eyebrow.

"Nothing in any of the Braesen databases that Fero can find." Nico's been working closely with Fero, keeping things secure. "We're moving the podlets out to the birthing dome next week. The doctors say the females?—"

"Mermaids," Belle corrects.

"The mermaids will be old enough that if something malfunctions with a pod they can survive. There's a lot of people just dropping by. So many I had Atlas put a security detail on the lab."

"Someone wants to hurt the mermaids?" Belle drops her bread onto her plate.

"No, adopt them. There's a long waiting list."

Belle smiles. "Oh, thank goodness."

The meal is delicious, and we even get a few minutes without well-wishers coming over to our table.

"That was fun." Belle holds on to my arm as we head out to the dock. Milo is there holding a basket.

"What are you doing?" Castor ruffles Milo's hair.

"Your tunics. You're swimming home."

I cock my head to Belle. "We are?"

"Yes, we are. I've been studying, and I have a tour planned out."

"You're giving us a tour, Little Krill? Sounds like fun. But I can assure you there is no place in this city that I haven't been to."

"Oh, I know you've been there. But not with a guide." She winks at Castor.

"Okay, let's get this tour going," I say. Our clothes, Milo, and the omada vanish out the vehicle airlock, and we slip out the swimming one.

Belle looks at Castor. He nods his head to the right. After me.

I'd follow her anywhere, with or without a fluke. But hers is the most stunning one I've ever seen. She kicks and the purple and blue blend sparkles in the evening light.

Castor nudges her to the left. Our first stop is just up here. It's a gate on the side of the school yard where we all went to school.

In the middle of this gate, you'll see sculptures, one of a male podlet and the other a female podlet. But if you look at them closely, you'll see on this side they're young, just starting nursery school, and on the other side you'll see how the artist aged them, showing them ready for the world.

This is my school. I've seen them many times,I reply.

Okay, Holter, but do you know the artist's name?

My stomach twists, and I swim closer to the gate. On the tail of the boy are the initials S.C.

Salvatore. Our Baba made these.

Yes. She nods. Aren't they amazing?

Yes.I turn back to Nico. Did he know? He shakes his head. He had no idea either.

Next stop is outside the hospital. There in front of the entrance is a large sculpture of a merman holding up two others. It's massive. Sure, I've seen it before, but I never really looked at how amazing it was. Then I see it. The face of the merman on the right—it's Alder. Salvatore put Alder in the piece. We swim around it in awe. Or at least, I'm in awe, but when I look over at the others, I see they feel it too.

The next one is freshly reset into its base. There are other sculptures around it too. But Belle knows just which one to direct us to.

It's called "Mother Justice."

I recognize Richeal's face immediately. I take Belle's hand to kiss it, but when I do, the glove floats away. I kiss her palm, but when I open my eyes, I see that the circle is complete. I hold it up to her. Her eyes widen, and she shows it to the rest of the guys.

When you're ready, and it's up to you, Isay, there are things?—

I know. Kai told me.

Thank you for showing us this. I can't believe she planned this for Nico and me.

Oh, there are more. She laughs and takes off with a kick. Turns out, three of the sculptures in the sculpture garden outside our secondary school were by Salvatore too.

Nico hides behind a statue. Like we used to when we were kids.

I see you, Castor calls out to him. You've always stunk at this game.

The night lights of the city are on before we swim the rest of the way home.

The sharks are out, and Mickey comes racing at Belle. He's loving all the attention and guarding he's been able to do since Marlee moved in. But the wag on that shark's tail—I understand. I feel the same way every time I see Belle too.