Page 26 of Tempted By the Forbidden Mate

I chew and take another sandwich, cramming it right in after the first one because the less I can talk, the less I’ll get into trouble.

Holter eats a little while Nico does more pacing.

Castor appears with a small jug in his hand. “Oyster milk okay?”

My eyes widen.

Holter snatches the jug from his hand. “No, oyster milk is not okay.” The container sloshes as Holter slams it to the table.

Castor’s smile widens. “I’m joking. I know human food. It’s almond milk.”

“Thanks.” I pour a little in my coffee, cursing that I was trained to be polite. But I grew up on a dairy farm. Almond milk is the devil’s substitute. And this coffee is a curse on the world.

Nico’s scowling. “I wish I had more time to make this easy.” Nico paces but then sits in the chair across from me. “My trial will be soon. Tomorrow or the next day. And we have to find you another prospect.”

I nod. I’m not excited about it. Because with another male in the mix, who knows how the dynamics will change? I flip through the males I met on the ship, from Kappler whose lab I found interesting to Broderick the first officer, even Bass who taught me everything on the sub. Well, things that Nico didn’t. Maybe I could control them. But I don’t have the slightest interest in them. If I can’t get out of here, I don’t want to be tethered to a beast. I won’t repeat my aunt’s lesson.

“My mother is sponsoring you,” says Castor, “which makes you Glyden. You’ll get to stay here. Or rather, not here, but in the Glyden Dome. Which will make it easier for Holter and I to look after you.”

I purse my lips. Look after me. “How poetic.”

“What he means is we’ll be able to protect you.” Holter glares at Castor.

That has me raising my eyebrows. Because the last person I want to end up with is someone like my uncle. “Protect me?”

Holter shakes his head. “There are those who don’t want anything to change, who want to keep our bloodlines pure. The rumbling has gone on for a long time. Now that you’re here? I can only imagine it will get louder.”

I nod.

“Then there is the matter of who attacked Alder.” Holter places his china tea cup on the table.

“Someone attacked who?” I ask.

“Our father,” Nico says, cocking his head toward me.

“What?” I grab Nico’s arm. “Is he okay?”

“We still don’t know if it’s a who or a what.” Castor crosses his ankle over his knee.

Holter lifts his chin at Nico. “It’s who. Alder’s too fast and smart to be attacked by an animal.”

“It’s happened before. The ocean where he works is a dangerous place.”

“So is the city,” Holter says.

I fill myself with sandwiches, keeping my opinion to myself. Not that I have enough information to form an opinion yet. I need to learn to defend myself. “I should learn how to use a trident.”

Three heads snap to me.

Only Nico’s amber eyes aren’t shocked. “Little Krill.” I try not to flinch. Him calling me that is different now, knowing that it’s an endearment and not an insult. Krill are the most valuable resource in the ocean. It’s sweet really. Which isn’t something that anyone would think of when they think of Nico. “I’m wholeheartedly for you learning how to defend yourself. But there’s still a lot you need to learn.”

“The optics of it will be off too. You’re the mate of the second most decorated military merman of Doria. If you’re seen learning how to fight, other merman might not see—”

“If they’re not man enough to see me as an equal, I don’t want them.” I glare right back at Castor. Screw his optics.

Castor laughs and shakes his head at my words. His glare is on Nico, though.

There’s a knock on the door.

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