“He would’ve figured it out sooner rather than later,” Ursuline reaffirmed, their voice like granite. When I’d first met them, I’d believed they were just aloof, a professional. But the more I got to understand them, the more I noticed the subtleties to their body language, their movements, the more I realized they loathed the Triton family. Why they stayed employed with them was a mystery to me, but I’d just cracked the surface of this place.
The Tritons being a monster family made far more sense. How they’d amassed their orichalcum fortune when no humans had a reliable source, why oceanic motifs were everywhere throughout the house. The place also had an inordinate amount of bathrooms with tubs, which had seemed a bit of an extravagance.
Now I understood it was a way to connect to the water if they couldn’t dive into the bay.
“Can I go swimming with you sometime?” I asked Arielle, even though I’d been tempted to ask the cecaelia right beside me. Still, Arielle was my fiancée, and I should at least be making an attempt.
Arielle shrugged. “Whenever. I usually need to take a dive a few times a week, though the urges don’t hit me like they do the rest of the family.”
“This one blends with the landwalkers better than the rest of the family,” Frederick said, pride emanating in his tone. “Your marriage will be ushering in a new era for the Triton family.”
I sat close enough to Ursuline to feel them tense beside me. Questions bubbled up at once, ones I swallowed down. They wouldn’t answer anything in our current company.
“When is the engagement party going to be?” Arielle asked, resting a hand on her father’s shoulder. He glanced up at her,affection gleaming in his eyes. My heart squeezed tight with envy. I’d always wanted parents who’d look at me like that, not with the disappointment I’d received at every turn. “I’ll have to commission a new dress for the affair.”
“In a week,” Frederick said, switching his gaze to me. “I’d warn you on expectations, but you’ve grown up in this society.”
I bobbed my head. “Yes, sir.”
“The invitations have already been sent,” he continued. “Your parents will be there, as well as many of your family friends.”
The pronouncement made my gut twist. I should be excited about seeing my family again, yet the thought filled me with dread. Just another opportunity to let Angus and Mina down.
“I don’t suppose you’ll be matchmaking for Olivia anytime soon,” Arielle said, swaying back and forth where she stood. “She’s pouting that I’m the youngest and getting married first.”
“She’ll marry a good merman,” Frederick said. “There are a few potential suitors from prominent New Atlantis families.”
“Does the chef have dinner ready yet?” Arielle said, switching topics at lightning speed. “I’m starving.”
“I’ll go check,” Frederick said, rising and giving her an affectionate peck on the head. “Elrich, you’ll join us.”
Question wasn’t in his tone, which meant I was in for the first family dinner since the one that had landed me in this house in the first place. I didn’t feel comfortable, but surprisingly, I wasn’t as on edge as I was when dining with the Durands.
“See you up there,” Arielle called, not waiting for me as she swept off. Frederick strode out after her, already making the turn in the direction of the staff kitchen.
Ursuline sat beside me, and neither of us moved away. Truthfully, I didn’t want to.
“Thank you,” I said. “For fighting for me.”
“You got dragged into this as a pawn,” they said, their tone simmering. “It’s the least I could do.”
“I still made the choice,” I said.
A low growl emerged from them. “Some choice. You marry her or they disappear your friend?”
My chest squeezed tight. I wasn’t used to someone caring like that. Jason had for years, in his own way, but the flash of protectiveness from Ursuline, seeing them stand up for me… I couldn’t stop the flutter inside me, the way I yearned to lean closer again, to feel their touch. I’d never experienced electricity like that before—not with flings, not with the transitory partners I’d had.
“If you want to swim…” Ursuline started, then stopped.
I clutched the edge of the seat, waiting for them to continue. Arielle’s response had been a blow off—I was aware—and I wanted to dive out there again. But after getting swept away in that storm, nerves held me back.
“I usually dive in the bay at midnight,” Ursuline said, their voice cool, unassuming, even though they proposed the very thing I’d hoped for. “I’ll be there tonight.”
The invitation rang clear between us.
“I’ll be there,” I said, my voice soft, as if the offer would be retracted at any moment. As if they were a hermit crab needing to be coaxed out of their shell.
“You’d better be getting to dinner,” Ursuline said, rising from their seat. Their tentacles shifted around them, moving with a mesmerizing fluidity. And tonight, I’d get to see how they coasted through the water. My heart sped. “Frederick doesn’t take kindly to lateness.”
