“On the outer rim, right before the drop-off. I thought it was strange that it wasn’t being guarded. That seems like something that would need to be locked up tight with security all around.”
Again, Oleen looked confused. “We didn’t have guards there for one very good reason. We haven’t stored anything in that cave for ages.”
Kai stared at his sister, processing her words, trying to make sure he’d heard her correctly. “Nothing?”
She shook her head back and forth slowly.
“Nothing at all?”
“Not a single thing.”
For several long minutes, Kai tried to make sense of what Oleen was telling him. Could Poseidon and Uma have gotten it wrong? Not likely. Had they been trying to manipulate him? Most likely. For what purpose?
“Alright, Oleen. I need you to be completely honest with me. Do you think they lied to me?”
Her mouth worked and she raised her hands in a shrug. “I can’t say. I would like to think they’d had the best intentions in mind, and I can’t imagine why they would lie.”
Kai had a slight idea. He wouldn’t put it past Uma to try to find some way to keep Kai here. After all, she’d tried to force him to become the king of Hanupali and marry a princess from another kingdom. He’d barely been in the underwater city for a day before she’d already pushed her agenda. Could she have roped Poseidon into her mission to keep him under the water?
“I don’t quite know what to think about it, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t quite give them a heads up that I know the warehouse was a fake.”
“I am so good at pretending. I’ve been doing it for years. What will you do now, though?”
What would he do? Would he go to Atlantis as planned? Would he wait until the time was right and confront Uma andPoseidon? In the end, he knew they wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. But they clearly had an agenda, and he wanted answers.
“For now, I’m going to say goodbye to you and Hanupali City.”
“But I don’t want you to leave. And won’t Hollyn come back here?”
“Oh, I’ll be back, but I need some information first. There’s only one way I can get that. I have to go to Atlantis with Poseidon.”
“What do you hope to learn there?”
Kai pulled his sister into a hug and held her tightly in his arms before pulling back. “The limits of what I can do. I need to be ready to fight with Hollyn. I need to face who I am so that I can be who I need to become.”
She squeezed his hands. “Then, go, but you are always welcome here, and I expect you to come back. You’re the only brother I’ve got, and I don’t want to lose my first, true ally.”
“Deal. I love that I have a sister, but especially one I click with as well as I do with you. I’ll return, and I’ll always have your back.”
“You really are the big brother I always wanted.”
“And you’re a better sister than I deserve.”
With one last hug, Kai turned to leave. He needed answers about what was going on, and the only way he could do that was to play along for now. For now.
5
“Who’s your daddy?”
Hollyn stared, confused, at Yumia’s question. Surely, she knew who Hollyn’s father was. Why would she ask?
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Well, when you can answer that question to my satisfaction, you’ll be ready.”
This did nothing to clear up Hollyn’s confusion. As a matter of fact, it made her question the decision to come here in the first place. Yumia and Hollyn were in a small, round chamber with an open circle in the middle and multiple, bubbling flasks on countertops against every wall except for where the door stood. They’d left Thian in an antechamber that seemed to serve as Yumia’s living room. This place looked more like a science lab, complete with strange, puppet-like characters moving from station to station. Hollyn half-expected to hear a “mee-mee-mee-mee” at any moment.
But Yumia pulled her focus back to her as she said, “Let’s begin. Hold out your hands.”
