“How old were you?” I asked, my heart twisting.
“Seventeen,” they replied.
“To have completed the education to be a lawyer?” I asked, awestruck. They weren’t just smart, they were a godsdamn prodigy.
Ursuline shrugged as they zipped down streets that were fast becoming familiar. “Like I said, I had a knack for it. I finished formalized education after I moved to the surface.”
A realization struck me. “Wait, so you haven’t seen your family since then?”
Ursuline’s lips flattened. “No. But I get letters from my family.”
“Were you close?” I asked, my heart twisting. With the amount they’d given up for their family, I imagined they had to be.
“Very.” They let out a slight breath. “But I’m made to endure. My younger siblings needed protection. Our parents suffered a lot with health complications from spending a lifetime in the mines. Injuries, gill issues are common.”
“Jason never talked much about below either,” I said. The brief bits he had were always filled with a grief that made me wonder.
“It’s not a gentle place,” Ursuline said. “I miss my family fiercely, but New Atlantis? No, I’m glad to be away from there.”
“What standing does Frederick have down there?” I asked, almost afraid to know. I was shocked how little we were educated about a place that wasn’t all that far away from us, even if the average human couldn’t exist down in New Atlantis.
“Oh, he controls the whole thing,” Ursuline said. “There’s an appointed mayor, but she has little power. Frederick pulls all the strings.”
My chest sank. Not only was I marrying into a terrible family, but they were one who’d caused suffering for so many. My own was complicit in their share of horrors, but they didn’t have thesame level of power and control as the Triton family to inflict so much harm.
I needed to get out.
“Does your contract have an end date?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.
“The exchange is my servitude up here for my family’s safety down below. My parents and siblings were given positions outside of the mines, my siblings protected. If I step away, all of that is forfeit.”
Fuck. That was terrible. I couldn’t imagine what it was like carrying the weight they did. And yet, they still held such compassion, such kindness. No wonder they were remote, why they kept their feelings close to the cuff. Why they loathed the Triton family.
Did Arielle know about the underhanded things her father did? The idea she could be aware and overlook them slithered under my skin. It shaded her ignorance with complicity.
“Are you sure there isn’t some escape clause in the contract?” I asked. Even if it meant they got to leave and I didn’t, I wanted them to be free. More than anything, Ursuline deserved to live their own life.
Ursuline shook their head. “I’ve been studying ever since I came up here to find one. Frederick’s other lawyers are competent, and he only hires the best of the best for a reason.”
“So what you’re saying is, once I’m handed the prenup…”
“Your window of escape will be gone,” they said.
Fear chilled my bones.
They swallowed hard. “I won’t let that happen, Elrich.”
My heart hurt. They protected everyone but themself. And I wanted to save them too. To take the edge off their suffering with my whole soul. They seemed so resigned sometimes. As if they’d just accepted this was their lot in life, as if they had no hope for a future of their own, and I burned to show them differently.
They drove up the winding drive to the Triton Manor, which loomed ahead of us, the windows glowing. Yet I wasn’t ready for our time together to end.
“Did you want—” I started and then hesitated.
“What do you want, sunshine?” The tenderness in their question gave me the push to continue.
“Did you want to go for a swim?” I asked, longing pumping through my veins.
“And that’s all you want?” they teased, the underlying heat in their voice incinerating me.
