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‘You could all use showers,’ Ophelia concedes.
I guess after three days at sea, rationing our fresh water, the twenty of us don’t smell so great.
Ophelia makes a clicking sound at the side of her mouth, like she’s encouraging a horse. Two mechanical dragonflies buzz into the room and hover at her shoulders.
‘The drones will show your crew the facilities,’ she says.‘They’ll also keep any naughty children from straying into restricted areas and getting themselves killed.’
‘I’ll get the espresso and biscotti.’ Luca’s smile turns fragile, as if he suspects it might break under the weight of our story. ‘I have a feeling we might need a pre-dinner pick-me-up.’
Itnever gets easier, talking about what happened to Harding-Pencroft.
When I explain how my brother died, I feel like I’m collecting ashes from his funeral pyre, clawing through the hot cinders of his life with my bare hands.
Gem and Nelinha sit on either side of me. Ester, still quietly sniffling, sits on Nelinha’s right. I don’t know if Ester is crying because of Dr Hewett’s condition, or the loss of the school, or the scary new place and new people she is having to deal with. All are solid reasons.
As usual, the other two prefects should be in on this conversation, but they seem content to let Ester and Nelinha be their stand-ins. Franklin remains in the sickbay, tending to Dr Hewett. Tia Romero, bless her, is playing aunt to everybody. She’s herding the rest of the crew around, making sure they don’t get zapped by lasers or mechanical dragonflies as they settle into the base.
When I’m done with my story, Luca and Ophelia give each other a long look. They don’t seem surprised by anything I’ve told them. Their expressions convey grim vindication, as if they’ve been fearing this news for years.
Ophelia adjusts her steel-rimmed glasses. She sets her elbows on the table and laces her fingers, letting her bangles cascade down her forearms. ‘Ana, I’m so sorry. You deserved better from us.’
Her tone surprises me almost as much as her apology. She sounds angry and bitter, which makes me realize how much of those emotions I’ve been holding inside for the past three days. I swallow back the taste of bile. I guess it’s a welcome change from debilitating sorrow.
‘WhatdidI deserve?’ I ask. ‘Maybe the truth?’
Luca frowns into his cup of espresso. ‘Certo. La veritá. Ma non è così semplice, cara mia.’
‘Why not?’ I demand. ‘It seems pretty simple to me. Why did Dev have to keep silent about what he knew? Why did Ester have to live with her secrets?’
Ester blushes.
I realize maybe I should not have put her on the spot like that, which makes me scowl even harder at Ophelia. ‘And donottell me the school was trying to protect me.’
Ophelia shakes her head. ‘No, Ana. The school was trying to protect itself.’
‘And you went along with it.’
Gem clears his throat, a subtle warning that my tone is getting aggressive. I’m not sure why I’m so angry at Luca and Ophelia. I barely know them. They’ve been kind to us so far, aside from the threats of annihilation.
With a sigh, Luca dips a biscotto in his espresso. ‘Ana, when your parents died … Ophelia and I were here with them. We were part of their team.’
I look down at my own coffee and cookie. I want to smash the biscotto into a million pieces, but I’m pretty sure Jupiter baked it from scratch and I don’t want to offend the orangutan.
‘What happened?’ I manage to ask.
Luca’s jaw muscles ripple under his dark skin. ‘The truth? We are still not sure. We should have been more careful. You understand, after four generations of Dakkars searching, your father finally found this place. Your mother and he were determined to move forward.’
‘You mean to explore the wreck of the sub,’ I say.
Luca hesitates long enough for the coffee to soak halfway up his biscotto. ‘We tried to urge caution. Ophelia did, mostly … But this was like telling someone who had just found the Holy Grail not to drink from it. Your parents were sure they could handle the dive. And after … after the accident …’
Luca lowers his head.
Nelinha understands before I do. ‘You blame yourselves,’ she says. ‘You were friends.’
Ophelia puts her hand on her husband’s shoulder. ‘The four of us graduated together from Harding-Pencroft.’ She turns to me. ‘When Tarun and Sita died, some of the faculty at HP wanted to bring you and your brother here immediately … for safekeeping. Theodosius Hewett was one of those.’
‘We did not agree,’ Luca says. ‘We thought it was too dangerous. It isstilltoo dangerous. We wished you both to have more training, more years of life on the mainland before you had to face the legacy of Nemo. We didn’t think Land Institute would ever risk such a brazen attack and put you and Dev at risk. You were simply too important. But now that your brother …’ Luca’s voice cracks. ‘It seems we were wrong. I am so sorry.’
