Leo shrugged. “I wouldn’t need to use them to kill in order to be dangerous. If given the chance, I fear I would use them to force the leaders of the five kingdoms into a truce.”
“But—wouldn’t that be a good thing?”
“In an ideal world, yes. But we don’t live in an ideal world, and all the Predator has ever brought anyone is pain. If I used it, even only to threaten our world into peace, the five kingdoms would have no choice but to rise against me and start the worst war our world has seen in five hundred years. No single person should have that much power, no matter how good their intentions might be.”
“You don’t think I would try the same thing?” said Simon, though the thought had never crossed his mind.
“No,” said Leo. “I don’t think you would.”
Simon nodded, not sure what to say. There was an entire history between them that he hadn’t known existed up until a few days ago, and he didn’t know how to breach it. They were strangers who had too much in common to name, and Simon wanted to feel connected to him. He wanted to know his grandfather. But after all they’d both been through, he had no idea how to start. “I’m sorry,” he said at last. “About my dad, and about Darryl.”
“Don’t be,” said Leo. “Neither was your fault.”
“Darryl was,” said Simon despondently. “He was only on the roof because of me.”
“No.” Leo knelt in front of him, balancing himself on the shifting sand. “Orion killed Darryl, not you. You’re the one who’s stopping him from killing others. Do you understand?”
He didn’t, but he nodded anyway. Leo gave him another pained smile before handing him the package he’d brought with him. “Here. I thought you might want this.”
Simon unwrapped the brown paper slowly. Inside was the book Leo had showed him on the boat, and tucked between the pages was the picture of his father and Darryl, with Leo’s profile in view. Simon held it as tightly as he dared, afraid the breeze would carry it away. “I can’t take this. It’s yours.”
“It’s a memory for me,” said Leo. “For you, it’s a glimpse into a life you should have had. One my stupidity took from you.”
Simon started to protest, but Leo shook his head.
“I’ve been atoning for my mistakes for over a decade, and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life. There’s no use pretending otherwise. I owe you a debt I can never repay, and the least I can do is give you a piece of your story.”
Simon examined the picture in the moonlight, studying his father’s face. He was happier here than in the portrait Simon had seen hanging in the Alpha’s office back in the L.A.I.R. He could almost imagine who his father had really been, could almost hear his laugh and see him move. It wasn’t real, but it was more than he’d had before.
“Thank you,” he finally said. “And for what it’s worth, I don’t blame you.”
Leo smiled sadly. “Only because of loyalty I don’t deserve.” Standing, he patted Simon on the shoulder. “Now, go be braver than all of us. If there is ever anything you need, all you have to do is ask. Don’t you forget, Simon—you’re never alone.”
It was as much a warning as it was a promise, a fact that didn’t escape him. After a brief goodbye, his grandfather melted back into the tree line, and he joined Zia at the water with Felix tucked securely in his pocket. “Does Malcolm know who you are?” said Simon without preamble.
“He knows we share a brother,” said Zia, seemingly unfazed by his bluntness. “But we never really knew each other growing up. I was several years younger than him, plus Luke was in New York with the Alpha’s family, and I was in Stonehaven. I got to know Darryl through my father and your mother,” she added. “But by the time Luke died, Malcolm was only eighteen or so, and Darryl didn’t want him getting mixed up in this. We’ve been getting closer recently, though.”
There was a strange cheerfulness in her voice as she said it, and Simon eyed her. “What kind of getting closer?”
Grinning, she ruffled his hair and started back toward the bonfire. “The kind you don’t need to worry about. He’s a good guy, your uncle. He deserves a little happiness, too.”
“Yeah, but—what kind of happiness?”
One look at his expression, and she laughed so loudly it echoed across the dark water. Simon huffed.
“Think they’re going to date?” said Nolan later that night, once the celebrating had ended and they were back in their cozy nautical-themed guest room, curled up in their individual twin beds. Apparently Simon hadn’t been the only one to notice how Zia had spent the rest of the evening talking to Malcolm, who hadn’t seemed to mind at all.
“She lives in Colorado, remember?” said Simon with a yawn. Felix slept soundly on his pillow, and Nolan had taken their vague excuses as to why he’d suddenly reappeared in stride. “They can’t date when they’re so far apart.”
“You never know.” Nolan was quiet for a long moment. “I wonder what Mom’s doing right now.”
“Probably wishing she was here with us.” Now that Nolan knew she’d had a choice, Simon was all too aware of how a single wrong word could make his brother feel the resentment he’d been living with since their mother had willingly gone back to Orion in Arizona, and he never wanted Nolan to feel that way, too. He rolled over onto his side so he could see the outline of his brother in the dark. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what I was doing earlier.”
Nolan shrugged. “It’s okay. I get it, I think. You and Malcolm keep trying to protect me, but I can protect myself, you know.”
“I know.” Simon twisted the corner of the sheets. “I need your help. I can’t do this on my own anymore.”
“Good, because I was going to help whether you liked it or not. When do we start?”
Simon hesitated. “You have to promise me something.”
“What?” The wariness in Nolan’s tone made Simon even more nervous somehow, and he picked at a loose thread. He could still see the fear on Leo’s face as he’d backed away from the underwater kingdom’s piece of the Predator, could still hear his voice as he explained why he didn’t want it. And as much as Simon wanted to trust his brother, he knew without a doubt that Nolan thought he could use the Predator to make the world better, too.
“Let me handle the pieces,” said Simon. “It’s too dangerous for you to hold on to them. If Orion captures you, he would have both you and a piece, and that would make a bad thing even worse.”
For several seconds, Nolan didn’t say anything. Simon steeled himself against any protests his brother might have, but to his surprise, Nolan just shrugged again. “Makes sense.”
Simon exhaled. “Really?”
“Sure. Orion won’t hurt you—you’re a golden eagle, like he is. You’re practically the only Animalgam on the planet he wouldn’t use the Predator against. So I get it. I’m special, and sometimes that means I have to make sacrifices.”
He said it as if he were quoting someone else, and though Simon couldn’t be sure, he thought he heard shades of their mother in those words. “Yeah. You can do the cool stuff, so let me do the dirty work.”
“Only ’cause you asked so nicely.”
Simon smirked into his pillow, and the two of them fell silent again. Enough time passed that Simon thought Nolan had fallen asleep, until he heard his brother whisper, “What if we can’t do it? What if we lose her forever?”
It hurt to hear his boisterous, confident brother voice the very worries Simon had been grappling with since September, and his stomach ached with the fresh reminder of how bad things could get. Instead of admit it, however, he said, “I was worried about the same thing. But now that you know and we’re in this together, I’m not anymore.”
“Yeah?” said Nolan. Simon could practically hear him smile.
“Yeah. Now get some sleep. We’re not going to be able to stop Zia and Malcolm from dating if we’re too tired to think.”
Nolan made a rude sound, and Simon closed his eyes, letting himself relax. Things ha
dn’t gotten easier now that his twin knew—if anything, they’d only gotten more and more complicated. But the burden he’d been carrying by himself was lighter with Nolan helping him, and for now, that was all Simon could hope for.
20
FLOUNDERING
They returned to Atlantis one more time before their vacation ended, for what Malcolm would only describe as a meeting. He’d forced them to dress nicely, though, even buying Simon and Nolan ties to wear, which had both annoyed Simon and made him suspicious something else was going on.
It took every ounce of courage Simon had to head back down to the underwater city, and when they arrived, he nearly choked upon seeing Colonel Rhode greet them with an entire platoon of soldiers.
“It’s purely ceremonial,” said Rhode dryly. And instead of leading them to the compound, they marched toward the very center of the dome.
Simon had never been this deep inside the city before, and with every step they took, he grew more and more nervous. Had the General discovered Jam had slipped him his kingdom’s piece of the Predator? Had he reviewed the evidence and decided Simon deserved to be arrested after all? But if that were the case, then why would Simon have to wear a tie? He forced himself to relax. Everything would be fine. Malcolm would never let anything happen to him.
Unless this was a trap.
Rhode ushered them through a gate in a high stone wall, and holding his breath, Simon stepped inside. Instead of the angry army he’d half expected to face, he found himself inside the strangest park he’d ever seen. A glass path branching in several directions stretched out across acres of low water, and beneath their feet was a rainbow of colorful coral.
“These are the coral gardens,” said Rhode as they approached the center platform, where the General stood, leaning heavily on a cane. Jam and the rest of the Fluke family lingered around him, all dressed in full military uniform.
No, not all of them. Pearl stood off to the side in a simple blue dress, pale and withdrawn. Her gaze was fixed on the glass floor, and Simon had never felt sorrier for her.
“Alpha. Glad you could make it,” said the General. Though he seemed weak from his injures, his voice boomed as loudly as ever.
“We wouldn’t have missed it,” said Malcolm, and as Rhode rejoined her family, he gestured for them to step toward the edge of the platform.
“What’s going on?” said Simon, confused.
Malcolm shook his head. “Watch.”
The General limped to the center and pulled from his pocket a small box. “I asked you all here today because this is a moment that deserves to be recognized and remembered not only by my kingdom, but by the entire Animalgam world.” He studied the box for a moment, weighing it in his hand as if he didn’t know exactly what was inside. “My son, Benjamin, has always been the odd man out in our family. Not simply because he is my only son and the only one of my children to inherit my Animalgam form, but also because he always saw the world differently than we do. Where we see need for order, Benjamin sees beauty in chaos. Where we see black and white, Benjamin sees color. These are typically not celebrated traits in our kingdom, and I’m sorry to say he has endured a great deal of difficulty for openly displaying such gifts.”
Standing in the middle of his family, his mother on one side and Rhode on the other, Jam turned pink. Simon tried to catch his eye, but he stared resolutely at the General, his back straight and his shoulders square.
“Our kingdom is a great one, but we, like all others, have our limitations,” continued the General. “We believe in tradition and doing things the way they’ve always been done, and had we continued to uphold those beliefs during the battle for our city, we would have surely lost. Benjamin was the one who was not only able to see possibilities we were blind to, but also had the courage to speak up and help redirect our efforts, saving thousands of lives and the autonomy of our kingdom in the process.”
The General opened the box, revealing several pins shaped like sea stars. Jam’s eyes widened as his father limped toward him, and the General took a pin in his shaking hands. “It is my honor to award you, Benjamin Fluke, the rank of Major of the Underwater Armies. You have made me proud, son—prouder than I could say, and we all owe our lives to you. The kingdom is lucky to call you its next General, and I am lucky to call you my son.”
The General reached for Jam’s lapel, but before he could, Jam took a small step back. “Sir, if I may,” he said, his voice trembling nearly as much as his father’s hands. “I’m the one who’s honored to call you family, sir—all of you,” he added, looking around at his mother and sisters, too. “And I would be honored to lead our kingdom in the future. But I don’t deserve it.”
The General studied him. “Of course you deserve it, Major. You’re my son.”
“And Colonel Rhode is your daughter, sir. She was the one to keep the kingdom together. I could never match her discipline and dedication, and it shouldn’t matter that she’s a shark instead of a dolphin.” Jam’s gaze shifted toward Pearl, who was watching with almost desperate hope in her eyes. “That kind of discrimination only creates bitterness, and our people deserve better. They deserve her as their next General. Sir.”
A few of Jam’s sisters began to whisper, and the General frowned, clearly befuddled. Before anyone could say a word, however, Rhode stepped beside her father and gently took the pin from his shaking hands.
“Thank you for your kind words, Major,” she said, her fingers working at Jam’s lapel. “I have dedicated my life to serving our kingdom, and I will continue to do so. But I am proud to call you my brother, and when the day comes, I will be proud to call you my General. Our kingdom must move forward, and while I will always remain at your side, I have no doubt that you are the right person to guide us toward the changes that will help us reach our full potential—not only as soldiers, but as compassionate and diverse human beings, too.” She stepped back, and the stars were fixed to Jam’s uniform. “As our father so eloquently stated, you see in color, and we could all use a little more of that right now.”
She saluted him. Jam’s chin trembled, and to Simon’s surprise, he threw his arms around his sister. Rhode stiffened, but after a moment, she unwound ever so slightly and offered him a hug in return.
The General cleared his throat, and Jam straightened, his face red. “Sir, my apologies, sir. It won’t happen again, sir,” he said, his arms glued to his sides once more. The General smiled faintly.
“I should hope it happens often, Major.” And though he didn’t embrace Jam, he did pat him on the shoulder. It didn’t look like much, but judging by the way Jam was beaming, it was the happiest moment of his life.
“Come on,” said Winter once the ceremony was over, tugging on Simon’s arm. “Nixie said there’s going to be a party in the compound, and somehow she convinced her mother to serve cake that doesn’t taste like a sushi roll.”
“I bet it still looks like one,” said Simon, and he laughed at the face Winter made. No matter how many small steps forward the underwater kingdom was taking, he supposed some things—like their love of sushi—would always stay the same.
As they reached the end of vacation, Simon was sorry to leave Avalon behind. He didn’t have much of a tan thanks to Zia’s obsession with slathering them with sunscreen, but he did feel, at least for now, like the weight of the world wasn’t resting entirely on his shoulders.
They said their goodbyes to Zia at the Los Angeles airport. Simon’s goodbye was brief—a word and a wave from him, and a wink from Zia—but when Winter’s turn came, Zia knelt in front of her, and they spoke quietly for a full minute out of hearing range. Once Malcolm left to walk Zia to her gate, Winter disappeared into the bathroom for nearly fifteen minutes, and when she finally reemerged, her eyes were bloodshot. It hadn’t escaped Simon’s notice that Winter’s hair had been braided a different way every day they’d been on the island, but he didn’t dare say anything.
They landed in New York right as the sun was setting. With a
day to go before the other students returned to the L.A.I.R., the school was all but abandoned as they traipsed across the moat and into the five-sided underground building. The quiet was unnerving, and Simon was grateful to climb the winding staircase in the Alpha’s section and head to his bedroom. Before he could drag his suitcase inside, however, Nolan let out an angry shout from the room next to his.
Simon darted to his open door. “What’s—” He stopped. Nolan’s room was a mess. His sheets had been yanked off the mattress, which was ripped open. His drawers had been overturned, the contents spilled across the floor, and his books were strewn throughout the room, the pages and covers torn.
With dread looming over him, Simon sprinted back to his bedroom and threw open the door. His room had also been turned inside out, and he stared at the chaos, his heart pounding. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think—he automatically moved to the sock drawer that had been wrenched out of its slot. His hands moved over the smooth wood of the false bottom, and his fingernails caught the edge. Mouthing a slient, desperate plea, Simon pried it apart.
The reptiles’ piece of the Predator was still nestled in its corner, as safe and secure as it had been when Simon had left.
His shoulders slumped with relief, and his pulse was beginning to slow when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the wall above his desk. The edges of his vision faded, and his body went numb.
No. No.
“What’s going—?” Malcolm began, but the question died on his lips when he appeared in Simon’s doorway. “What the …”
“My room’s the same,” said Nolan, his expression dark. “They ripped my books.”
“I’ll get you new ones.” Malcolm must have seen the look on Simon’s face, because he stepped toward him like he would approach a wounded animal. “Simon? Is something missing?”
Simon stared at the blank wall, his head spinning. “My—my postcards. The ones my mom sent me—” His voice caught in his throat, and for a dangerous moment, he thought he might cry. “They’re gone.”