was beyond her.
But she had to pass out to shift.
The film descended to suffocate her.
She gasped and jerked back. “I think it would really help if… Gailen, where’s your Sea Opal?”
He frowned and then nuzzled her. “I gave it to you.”
“I put it in my pocket on the boat and woke up naked underwater.”
“I removed your coverings to expose your gills.” He compressed his lips with chagrin. “I am sorry, Starr. I feared you would die and did not think about anything else.”
It hurt.
She felt angry and disappointed.
The stone had been so beautiful. A little piece of him, and she’d lost it without any chance of getting it back, just cast it into the deep. If she’d known what little time she’d get to enjoy it, she would have treasured it more. Guarded it more preciously.
But they’d been so focused on her allergies that they’d lost the Sea Opal. It had simply slipped away in the panic.
What was Starr losing right now? What other precious things were slipping away without her even realizing it?
She pulled back and pressed his broad palm to her chest. “We have unfinished work here.”
He winced and repositioned her grasp.
Another bruise. Another injury.
He traded hands and linked their fingers, his thumb jutting away. “Then we will complete it. And when you are ready, we will descend together.”
She would overcome this. She would conquer the shield and claim her power. Then she would channel her powers and protect him.
They walked up the ramp to the main level.
Isag stood at ease near the door. In the strange not-darkness of her mer-enhanced night vision, the oval walls were shadowed, with light gleaming from the regularly spaced emergency posts. The former oil rig was well lit for twenty-four-seven operations, including the docks.
The modified pontoon plane bobbed against the dock.
“When did the pontoon plane come back?” she asked Isag.
“Not long ago,” he vibrated. “Before full night.”
And it was full night now, assuming that meant it had arrived before dark. A company executive must have come.
“That’s funny,” she said.
Gailen turned. “What is?”
She told him about Ryerson being arrested and charged. Even though the pontoon plane was used to fly high-level management, Ryerson couldn’t be here. They had him on home arrest, and if he tried to leave, he’d go straight back to jail.
“Human justice.” Gailen flexed his fingers. “I hope it is swift and decisive.”
She did too.
Starr got out her cell phone and scanned for the stingray while Isag brought Gailen a pair of shorts, and then Gailen released him. He, like Xemil, had gone a couple of days without food or rest watching over her, and she hadn’t noticed because she’d been inside her isolation bubble.
“That means you’ve gone without food or rest too,” she said.
“It is different underwater. My body as a mer is not subject to the same rhythms.” He flashed her a smile.
Gailen’s confidence was so encouraging.
And addictive.
Walking around the interior of the pyramid trying to trace the signal on her scanning app was exactly what she needed. The normalcy put her back onto an even emotional plane.
Her phone led her around the cafeteria counter and into the clean, tidy, dark kitchen. There was an emergency button striped with yellow and blue on the outer wall between the cafeteria and the food-prep area. Gailen opened cabinets and peered at the bulk boxes of ingredients.
“Careful,” Starr said. “I know it’s only been used a few times in practice for the grand opening, but we could still disturb an allergen.”
He closed the cabinet carefully.
Her phone led her beneath the counter wall. It looked solid but thin, and she poked the flat wood framed by decorative moldings.
The wood panel moved.
Gailen knelt, pushed until a corner popped out, and then wedged in his fingers. “This is when I regret losing my dagger to the All-Council. Ah, there it comes.”
The thin panel popped out. Styrofoam packing peanuts cascaded around her booted feet. She jumped back.
Ha-ha, what a joke. Packing peanuts? That almost felt like a message.
He looked up at her. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She waved the white dust away from her face. “It’s just Styrofoam.”
“No.” He held up a small brown lump. “Peanuts are mixed in.”
She dropped her phone as she stumbled back, raced around the counter, and jogged halfway across the cafeteria, gulping for air like a fish out of water. Her lips tingled.
The film came down.
Her panicked heartbeat slowed, and her breathing evened out.
No reaction?
Huh. She must not have gotten a whiff…
No. She could still smell the cloying mess of stale