She leans against him, sobbing into his chest. He pulls her to him, relishing the feel of her in his arms again. “You’re asking me to give you another chance when it should be the other way around,” she says. “This is so backward. You always do this. Put the blame on yourself.”

He strokes the length of her hair. “You didn’t kiss him though. He told me that you didn’t, that you pulled away.”

“Reed told you?”

“While we were at Kennedy’s.”

“And what else did Reed tell you?”

“He said that you chose me. You didn’t have to. Not after how I acted. I was ready to leave Neptune that night, Emma. Ready to take you away from a place that could make you happy. I was being selfish and jealous. You had a right to explore other options.”

“If you knew I told him that, then why did you ask me if you lost me?”

“I wanted to hear it from you. I needed to hear it from you. You could have changed your mind, you know.”

But then she pulls his mouth down to hers. Her lips are an unrelenting frenzy, as if she’s making up for lost time. Her body presses into his, as if she’s seeking to eliminate the space between them altogether. Suddenly, he’s lifting her in his arms, giving himself leverage to kiss her more deeply. She wraps her legs around his waist, holding herself in place so as not to break the kiss for a single moment.

He leans her against the closest tree, his hands frantic to touch every part of her. Just as he reaches for unexplored territory, Toraf clears his throat behind them. “Ahem,” he says for emphasis.

I’m going to kill him.

Galen pulls away immediately, but stands in front of Emma to allow her to gain some composure. She smooths down her sundress and runs quick fingers through her hair. She nods when she’s ready to face Toraf. Her mouth is swollen—and in danger of more kissing from him.

Galen looks away from her to his friend. “We’ve really got to work on your timing,” he says, nearly breathless. His pulse is thrumming at a faster pace than even he can swim.

“Hmm,” Toraf says. “From the looks of it, I was almost too late.”

Before Emma can say all the irate things on the tip of her tongue, Galen covers her mouth with his hand. “What do you want, Toraf?”

His friend folds his hands in front of him. It’s such a formal, controlled act.… Could Toraf be embarrassed? “It would seem that the two kings have concocted a plan,” Toraf says, clearing his throat again. “They need Emma to call Reder.”

Here we go.

45

“REDER, IT’S Emma.” The words feel tight in my mouth. For some reason, I feel I’ve betrayed Reder, but in reality, I’m doing exactly what we talked about. At least, I hope it will be.

“Emma, sweet Neptune, are you okay? Where are you? Are you with Tyrden? Frank, he’s—”

“Is Frank all right?”

There’s a slight pause on the other end. Reder’s voice changes from worry to suspicion, which hurts a little bit. Wait till he hears all that I have to say. “He’s in rough shape. Emma, what happened? Where is Tyrden? People are telling me that there was an accident at the stoplight in town. That—”

“We have Tyrden,” I say. “And it wasn’t an accident.” I sound sterner than I’d wanted, but the memory of Tyrden pointing his gun at me doesn’t exactly delight me.

Another pause. “We?”

“My family is here. All of them.”

“And … And you’ve taken Tyrden? Why?”

“We have Reed, too. And Kennedy.” Anxiety bubbles in my stomach like seltzer. Mom told me to stack up our advantages in the very beginning, but it doesn’t feel right. I don’t have to alarm Reder into being reasonable. He’s already as rational as they come. “I’ve told Grom and Grandfather about your wish for peace between the ocean dwellers and the land dwellers. They’ve agreed to meet with you.”

Reder sighs. “Unfortunately, I can’t trust your family anymore. They’ve already taken two of my people, including my own son. And look what they did to Frank. How do I know this isn’t a trap, Emma?” In a lower voice, he says, “How do you know this isn’t a trap?”

“How do I know? I don’t. But I trust my family. And I trust you. I think this is legit. And it was Tyrden who did that to Frank, not us.”

“What do you mean?”

And that’s when I explain to Reder that Tyrden is a power-hungry sociopath with a side of torture fetish dipped in crazy sauce. And that Kennedy is his twin brother from another mother and all that. It takes the mayor a while to process all that has happened right under his nose.

Finally, he says, “I’ve failed you, Emma. I’ve failed my people. My son. I should have been more alert to the danger. I should have known these things were going on.”

What am I supposed to say to that? Something generic and comforting, I decide. “Blaming yourself doesn’t change anything,” I tell him.

“And what will change anything? What are your family’s terms for returning my son?”

“I mean, we’re not holding him hostage or anything.”

The phone is snatched from my hand. “Reder? This is Nalia, Poseidon princess, daughter of King Antonis. We are holding your son hostage, until such time as you agree to meet with us in a public place. I think we can agree trust is not something either of us can afford right now. As for Kennedy, your cover has been blown. He has contacted outsiders that may be on their way to Neptune. That said, it’s in our best interest to help you clean this mess up. We’re having someone fly in from Florida to assist with this. We’re going to leave Kennedy at a picnic area outside of town, just inside the woods. You’ll need to secure him until our friend, Dr. Milligan, arrives.” She pauses. Apparently Reder would like to speak.