Chapter 90 His World
1742words
The pantry door squeaked open, and Adriane stepped out, a smile immediately forming on her lips when she spotted me.
"Carly, you finally decided to come in," she beamed. "Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee?" Adriane paused, peering thoughtfully back into the pantry. "There are sodas, and I think there is still lemonade too. Wait, let me check." She hurried toward the fridge and cracked it open, sticking her head inside.
I glanced at Kayn with a curious look, which he sheepishly shrugged off.
"Uhm, I'm okay, but thank you," I faltered.
Adriane stepped back from the fridge. "Are you sure? We have cocoa?"
I shook my head, smiling. "Really, I'm okay. But thank you."
"You are staying, right?" she asked. "Kayn said you're having dinner over here?"
Before I could open my mouth and answer her, she rattled on. "I'm making my special spaghetti bologna."
"The best in the world," Kayn nudged my arm with his elbow. "Trust me."
I wasn't so sure I could trust him, but I knew Adriane was a fantastic cook. "Sounds great," I offered her a smile. "Thank you for letting me come over."
"I'm always happy to have you here, Carly." Adriane swooped toward me and pulled me into a hug. I stiffened from the unexpected contact, easing up a little as she spoke again. "You know you're always welcome here, all right?"
"Thanks?" I had no idea how to respond to her over friendliness. I peered at Kayn again, curious what this was about.
"Anytime." Adriane released me, breathing out a happy sigh. "The food is almost ready. Kayn, why don't you show her around a bit while we wait? I'm sure she doesn't want to sit in a stuffy kitchen."
"It really isn't—" I started.
"Actually, there's something I want to show you." He took hold of my hand again, and the gesture didn't go unnoticed by Adriane. A delighted smile crept on her lips, and the suspicion I felt grew even more.
"You know what, I think the food might be a bit longer than I thought," she added. "Take your time. I'll call you when the food is ready."
"Looks like my mom likes you. A lot," Kayn joshed when Adriane turned her back on us, stirring the sauce on the stove.
I huffed, urging him out of the kitchen so I could interrogate him. However, my plan fell short when I almost walked into Ember as I rounded into the hallway.
"Hi," the word stupidly slipped from my mouth. I regretted it immediately, knowing how badly I'd hurt her.
"What is she doing here?" Ember ignored me, her eyes burning into her brother.
"She's hanging out with me," Kayn supplied. "What does it look like?"
"No, I'm not. I'm here because the AOUB took over my place because of Kayn." I scowled at him, before facing Ember.
"Really?" Ember's eyes narrowed to our clasped hands, which I forgot about already. I tried to tear my hand from his, but the stubborn oaf he was, refused to let me go.
I cursed him under my breath.
"That's not very ladylike, Carly," he mused.
"Shut up. You're just making it worse," I bit out.
"Is that what you believe, Carly?" Ember's lips turned down. "Or what you want me to believe?"
"I—"
"Yeah, whatever," Ember chided. "The fact that Kayn is all over you tells me you're in way over your head. That, and you're both incredibly stupid."
Before I could sputter up another protest, Ember stalked past us into the kitchen.
I wanted to go after her, but Kayn tugged me back, shaking his head. "She needs more time."
My shoulders drop. "I hate this."
"I know you do," he sighed. "Come on, let's go."
The bedroom we entered was large, but its only furniture consisted of a narrow bed and a side table. It was tidy enough to show the owner cared about its space but just messy enough to confirm creativity was important too. It would have been plain, but color burst from the breathtaking paintings lined against the walls, and a few more stacked in a corner next to the built-in closet.
The room smelled like...well, Kayn. "Your room?" I eyed him suspiciously as he released my hand and walked over to the bedside table, withdrawing something from it.
"It's not much," he shrugged, but I could tell there's a desire for approval there. It lasted for a moment, before he masked it with a, "What? Scared to be alone in my room with me?"
"No," I sputtered a laugh. Regardless of my response, I still inched closer to the door. "The paintings, did you do those?"
He nodded. "Just a small hobby."
"Small?" I snorted. "You can make a fortune out of these. They're gorgeous." Despite my reluctance to be in here, a painting in the far corner drew my attention. I crossed the room toward it. "Oh. Wow."
It was a painting of a girl that had a startling resemblance to Ember. You could tell with the intricate details and perfect lines that this must have taken months to create. "You sure this is a painting and not a photo?" I teased.
"Did I just get a compliment from you?" His brows quirked. "Are you feeling okay?"
I snorted. "No, seriously, Kayn. These are amazing. I had no idea the jackass could paint."
"Ha, thanks," he huffed, adding in a more serious tone, "That's Aria."
Sadness slipped through, taking over inside my chest. I immediately knew it was Kayn's emotions, but it lasted for a few seconds, disappearing.
I straightened. "She's beautiful."
"Yeah, she was." He held out a stack of photos to me. "You should probably see this. I nicked this from that woman, Janice's bag, earlier."
"How?" I took it from him. "You were with me the whole time?"
"Except when I went to the bathroom," he grinned. "Used the opportunity to see what those people had of my kind."
"Yeah?" I paged through the photos. "And you just assumed she wouldn't notice?"
"I'm pretty sure she's got backups somewhere anyway. And there's so many people, there's no way for her to blame it on anyone in particular."
"True, I guess—" I gasped when I came across a clear picture of none other than, "Aria?"
"Yes. My sister," he said. "I'm trying to figure out how that woman has a picture of my sister."
"Does your family know?" I glanced at him.
"No, I'm not telling them until I know for sure." He heaved out a shaky sigh. "The thing is, Carly, I don't think they can handle another dose of pain."
I tried to think of how Janice got her claws on a picture of Kayn's dead sister. "Kayn, if she has this, she must be on to your family and your secret."
"Clearly." He flipped down onto his bed. "That's why I need your help."
"Me?"
"Yes. If your mom gets that position, and I will make sure she does, I'll need you to help me get as much info on them as possible."
"I don't know if that's going to work. What if she doesn't get the job?" I asked.
Kayn grinned, but it was forced. "You underestimate my power. You'll see, she'll get it."
"Do I even want to know?"
"No, probably not." His aquamarine eyes settled on me, a plea in them. If he kept looking at me like that, I might be stupid enough to hug him.
My shoulders sagged, and I sighed. "I'll see what I can do."
I remained still for a moment, staring at me like there was something else he wanted to say, other than, "Thank you. I appreciate it."
I inclined my head, turning my attention back to the pictures. There was plenty of evidence of merfolk's existence in these. Way more than what Mom had found, and that's saying a lot.
Mom had pictures of actual, freaking mermaids.
This Janice woman? She had pictures of merfolk babies. Even, "What the actual—" I spat out a few, selected cuss words. "Kayn, how are you this calm?"
I tossed the stack of photos onto his bed and scattered across his ocean blue bedding. "Why did you show those to me? I didn't want to see that!"
His eyes widened as he leapt up, covering my mouth with his hand. "Shh, they're not supposed to know."
I smacked him back. "No, but was that necessary? Dissected bodies?"
"Yes, it was," he deadpanned. "You need to know what we are up against. And what your mom is stepping into."
"You said not five seconds ago that's what you wanted,"I flung my hands up. "There's no way in hell I'm letting my mom work for those horrible people."
Kayn's face softened. "You care a lot about the merfolk if that bothers you that much."
"Obviously. It's inhumane," I snapped. "Kayn, this is too much. You're way in over yourself if you think working through my mom is a good idea. These are clearly bad people."
I flinched when my eyes caught another one of those photos. One where a mermaid was lying on a metal table, her stomach cut open and notes lying beside her head.
There were metal chains wrapped around her arms and tail to hold her down, confirming that she'd been alive when they put her there. I rubbed my face, turning away. "This is way too much."
"Do you understand now why I tried so hard to get you away from here?" He spoke softly behind me. I could feel his breath on my cheek, so he must have moved closer.
"Kayn, you told me how dangerous it was. Yes. But you never told me about people like this." I flung around to meet his eyes, his face inches from mine.
My heart climbed into my throat. "You still had me come over here while those people are here. If they're on to you, they'll be on to me."
"They already are," he breathed. He lifted a hand, holding a single photo. It was a picture of me when I was around five years old.
