Page 31 of Seduced By the Mermen
“What do you think your punishment should be?” This might backfire. I used to ask Marlee and Annabelle what they thought their punishments should be, and they always picked something much worse than I would have.Please don’t say death, please don’t say death.
He glares at me and takes a long time, and I’m starting to think that he might say it. Death.
“Banishment from the marketplace for a year, and I need to do labor for the Portsmouth pod.” He looks from Sterling to Eros and back to me.
“Banishment is good enough. I don’t want you around my apartment,” Eros says.
“Okay.” His voice doesn’t shake, even though he’s facing banishment.
“Wait, no.” Eros shakes his head. “What dome are you?”
“Braesen.” He looks down again.
“No, you’re not banished from the market. You will come to the Zaffiro jewelry store tomorrow. At nine before the market opens. My brother will be there. You’ll scrub the back room and wash anything else he tells you to. For a year,” Eros says.
“A year? That’s not fair.” I glare up at my new nephew.
“You’ll be paid. Not much until you prove yourself,” Eros adds. “Give me your information so I can send it to my brother, Azzurio.”
Sterling pulls the cuffs off. He doesn’t look happy at either me or Eros. The two younger beefy guys with him look downright angry.
But the male doesn’t seem to notice. His smile gets too big, and he grimaces. “I will let everyone know what a kind mermaid you are. And what a fierce punch you have. No one will ever touch you or your daughter again.” He backs away. I want to stop him and say I’m not a mermaid, but semantics seem like a foolish thing to get involved in right now.
Our ten-minute head start’s long over, and there’s a crowd gathered. They’re keeping their distance.
“Can I give the three of you a ride home?” Sterling asks.
“Yes,” I say at the same time Eros looks up from his block and says, “No.”
“How else are we going to get back to Glyden if Annabelle and the others have taken the omada?” I ask.
“We will take my vehicle. And we will move out now.” Sterling lifts his chin like no one would ever think to not do as he asks.
“I guess our outing is over,” I say.
“It was over when the teahouse became more crowded than Calypso’s Depth,” Holter adds.
I nod. I have no idea what Calypso’s Depth is, but I’m guessing I should put my hand on ice. I can’t help but be a little disappointed. On the way to the teahouse, there were so many interesting things to look at. And now that we’ve caused a scene, I’m wondering whether Marlee and I will ever be able to go out again. So when Sterling sets out at double time, I’m dragging my feet just a little bit.
There’s a lot to see. In this section of what I’d call a mall, there are kiosks down the center. Tridents, scarves, and a stall that it takes me a second to realize sells sex toys. There’s a large group of men looking at different vibrators. None of them even look over at me, and it makes me smile. Then there are so many women’s clothing shops, one after another. But when I get to a furniture store with a giant red sofa in the window, I stop.
“Blair, we need to get going,” Nico growls.
“I know, but what is that? And how would you even get it into an apartment?”
Eros looks away and then back at me. “It’s a pod couch. For large pods. Ten or so, I would think.” He tilts his head as if he’s counting.
Sterling clears his throat. “No, seven would barely fit on it.”
“You would know better than me,” Holter says.
“Humph, we go.” Sterling steps behind me, corralling me without touching me like my old cattle dog.
“No, I’m curious. How does it get from here to, like, your apartment?”
“At night, there are largeromadasthat roam the city. But most of these collapse onto themselves, or come apart, and the merchant assembles them for you,” Sterling explains.
I’ve got my head cocked almost flat. I’m not sure why, but I’m just trying to figure out the how and the why a circle would work better than a rectangle for more people. Annabelle’s pod room has a square bed. A really large square bed. One that I do my absolute best to not think about. This circle is at least twice the size of hers. And it’s got armrests. I just... I cock my head the opposite way. There’s loops on the side. Metal loops. Right.
