Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) (20 page)

People quietly began to disperse. A gentle touch on my arm from Chloe. Comforting words from Aubrey and Ian. Amber's stricken expression.

Sand shifted under my feet, tilting my weight back and forth. I wanted to stand there until I squeezed every last detail out of the moment.

Time slowed.

"
Sondaleur
." Jeeves came beside me.

But war stopped for no one.

"Yes?"

Shafts of golden sunlight merrily skittered across the waves. Was she just underneath them? Had she already reached the bottom?

"I need you to pick-up the most recent Haverleau Government Registry. The Governor believes she left it in her office."

"Where do you need me to bring it?"

"To her living quarters." He paused. "I'd like to stay with her and ensure she gets her rest."

My throat tightened. "Of course."

I watched him join my grandmother.

Rhian's long black skirt and elegant blouse struck harsh, mournful lines against the easy, bright weather. She slowly made her way up the sandy slope, each step heavier than the last. Her posture remained impeccable with head held high and shoulders straight.

But there was no denying her frailty. In less than two years, she'd lost both daughters. Her health had taken a marked turn for the worse.

Julian approached, face uncharacteristically drawn. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry about your cousin."

"I didn't know her very well. But Marcella —" He faltered.

There was really nothing to say. If Marcella hadn't worked to change the Chevalier Charter, I wouldn't have trained with Julian. I wouldn't be an elite.

Another sharp spike of pain. "Where's Gabe?"

My uncle had torn apart the elemental wing in a tornado of grief, shattering chairs and smashing tables. When Daniel notified Rhian of Marcella's death, Tristan led a group of gardinels over to the hospital.

I don't know if he intended to restrain Gabe. Or give him a better punching bag to take his grief out on.

But by the time the selkies got there, he was gone. No one had seen him since.

Julian hesitated. "I don't know."

"Don't." I turned to him. "Not now."

"He's gone."

"Where?"

"Does it matter?"

"He's my uncle."

If there was someone who always got the information he wanted, it was Julian. He wouldn't have let the disappearance of his commanding officer go.

I swallowed hard. "Please."

He took a deep breath and stared down at the sand for a long moment.

"Last I heard, he was in Portland."

That was Gabe's hometown. Maybe he'd gone back to spend time with his human family.

A sliver of hope flickered, then faded with his next words.

"He seems to be on a mission to take out every Aquidae on the west coast."

The rage controlling my uncle was a bloodthirsty monster I knew well, one born from pain and fear. There were only two paths for him now.

He'd either find his way back or be killed.

Julian was right. Gabe was gone.

I'd prepared myself for the likelihood, the inevitability, of Marcella's passing. But the difference between the idea and the reality was equivalent to talking about being stabbed and experiencing it.

The heavy knot grew in my chest and I took a deep breath.

Get them back.

Her last words to me echoed in the air. Marcella wanted me to continue protecting Haverleau and its children.

The expression I'd practiced in New York settled into place. It was the face of the new Governor-elect.

"Are you taking over as Head Chevalier?" I said evenly.

"For the time being." Julian watched me for a moment. "I think we need better chevalier presence at the conference."

That got my attention. "In the Selkie Kingdom?"

We were entering the heart of shapeshifting warrior territory. Security wasn't necessarily an issue.

"I know you think the Prince and his men can do everything," he said stiffly. "But the traitor will likely be there."

"There are still more than enough gardinels to cover me."

He crossed his arms. "And what if it's someone within the gardinels?"

I frowned. "LeVeq, that's ridiculous —"

"Do you trust me?"

No hesitation. "Yes."

"Then convince your grandmother and your darling Selkie Prince to let me bring more men."

I was so tired. I didn't want to argue with him about this.

"Fine," I said abruptly. "I'll let you know how it goes."

Ignoring the slight disappointment in his eyes, I turned and headed back to the Governing House.

Arms wrapped tight around my stomach but it didn't ease the ache. Blooming tendrils in the Royal Garden reached, their fresh scent coiling around me, an insistent reminder of her.
 

Concentrate.

I stepped into the Governing House and blindly made my way to the second floor.

We were leaving for the Selkie Kingdom the following week. So many things needed to be accomplished between now and then.

Wood paneling, luxurious carpeting, and elegant furnishings added a touch of warmth to the cold authority emanating from the Governor's office.

Rhian's enormous mahogany desk held nothing but a neat pile of folders.

I made my way to the black leather sectional on the opposite end of the room. Rows of books filled the shelves beside the fireplace. What the hell was this Government Registry anyway?

I should've asked Jeeves for more details on what it looked like.

Fingers gripped the shelf.

I also should've spent more time with Marcella and Gabe when I had the chance. Maybe asked the recipe for her cookies. Watched how she nourished her garden so I could take care of it now.

Pressure in my chest expanded.

Faint click of the door followed by his voice. "What are you doing?"

"Jeeves said the Government Registry was here, but I don't see it."

I focused on the book spines. All the letters jumbled into nonsensical phrases.

A pause. "Why are you looking for it?"

"Rhian isn't feeling so hot and he wanted me to bring it over."

I kept my back to him, fingers running over the shelf over and over again.

"I'm sure it's not urgent. There's plenty of time to do that."

No, there wasn't. Jeeves' request felt so long ago.

But the clock told a different story. Only forty minutes since the end of the funeral.

Time was playing tricks again.

In one breath, it offered the means to accept the past, to let go of things that could no longer be changed; in the next, time erased memories and details I desperately wanted to hold on to.

I was already beginning to forget. The sound of my mother's voice. The way Ryder threw his head back and laughed.

Even Magic pointed out that my father was long gone, his presence evaporated from the pool of memories.

And soon, Marcella would fade as well.

"Kendra."

The minutes had run out for my mother and aunt. Rhian didn't have many left.

I had to keep going. One foot in front of the other. Moving, moving, because if I hesitated that knot inside would —

"Come here."

"I have to..." I stopped, my voice thick.

I had to be ready for what was to come.

The reassuring weight of his presence warmed my back.

"I know," he said softly.

A split second to wonder. And then I turned.

Two steps and I was in his arms, face buried against his chest.

The breath I didn't even know I was holding came out in a shudder.

Just like a night on a broken warehouse floor, his body shut out everything else.

There was only Tristan, warm lips pressed against my hair, hand resting so gently behind my neck.

Fingers dug into the solid strength of his back, seeking solace from a despair and fear I couldn't articulate aloud.

For Marcella and Gabe who lost everything just as it began. For a mother who silently sent her last child back to the ocean under a beautiful Valentine sky.

For an ondine who realized she would soon become the last Irisavie.

There was no sound.

Only a silence fluttering with our mingled breaths and the steady drumming of our hearts.

There were no tears.

Maybe that scared me most of all.

THE ENGINE'S METALLIC ROAR VIBRATED beneath us. Ian's fingers curled around his armrest, skin a few shades paler than usual.

"So you're not going to participate in the conference?" Chloe asked.

I shook my head. "Not in the day-to-day meetings. Rhian thought it'd be better if I stayed behind the scenes."

Translucent clouds dotted the sky's turquoise canvas just outside my window.

Our journey to the Selkie Kingdom was a complicated affair. Haverleau provided several private jets for the first leg of the trip to the north Alaskan town of Nome. After that, the stony selkies weren't eager to offer many details.

Tristan, Jeeves, Rhian, Catrin, and a few other Redavi had gone ahead on a different flight. Julian also traveled separately with a group of chevaliers. Other Redavi like Amber, Dylan, Council members and their families, arranged for their own transportation.

Our plane consisted of the elites, Aubrey, Chloe, Ian, as well as Ewan, Adrian, Garreth, and two other Royal Gardinels I didn't know well.

The Bessette sisters had also elected to come on our flight rather than go ahead with their mother. Renee drew in her sketch book. Helene's face remained obscured by her camera, which was now pointed out her window.

Across from me, Aubrey leaned back, thumb gently rubbing Ian's left hand.

"Smart. You're not Governor yet so you can get stuff done without dealing with everyone's bullshit."

"It also gives everyone from the other communities the chance to see you," Chloe added. "Get used to the idea."

I nodded. "If they call my succession into question, then I'll step in to defend myself. Otherwise, I'm playing it close to the chest."

Ian's brow furrowed. "Sounds like a gladiatorial ring."

"It is," Chloe said firmly. "You shouldn't underestimate the Redavi."

Rhian told me something similar. If I wanted to convince others of my right to lead, I had to prove worthy of their trust.

After publicly stating my objectives, I now had to make good on them. I may not be directly participating in the conference, but all eyes would be watching.

The Armicant and traitor were my two big priorities.

The mysterious weapons maker resided in the Selkie Kingdom and was responsible for the creation of every
kouperet
. We needed new weapons to incorporate into ondine training.

Since we were premiering the program at the conference, I hoped seeing its effectiveness would be enough to convince him to do so.

The others started chatting about their schedules and I headed down the aisle toward the elites. Helene's camera whipped my way.

I took the empty seat beside Alex. "Knock it off."

"This is important," she said. "I'm documenting the first Elemental Conference in twenty years."

Great. Now she was on a mission.

I angled my body so she only caught my back. "What's up?"

"We're guessing what the selkies are going to be like," Cam said.

"I'm telling you. Ninjas." Alex straightened his fingers and rotated his hands. "Here one minute. Gone the next."

"Very dramatic," I said wryly. "Maybe they'll be stoic and unreadable like those stone statues on Easter Island."

Ethan stretched out his long legs. "All I know is the ones assigned to Haverleau and other communities adapt to living among us. Seeing them in their own homeland is like getting the raw, uncut version."

Cam glanced at the gardinels playing a card game at the back of the plane. I'd tried to get in on it, but Ewan shut me out.

He dropped his voice. "I don't think they're very happy about us being there."

Blaise leaned forward. "Yeah, I overheard a few of them talking at the Training Center. It's not just the gardinel training. Prince Belicoux really pushed hard to bring the conference there. Seems like most of them aren't happy with elemental visitors."

Worry and anxiety twisted my stomach. My private conversation with Rhian last night outlined a clear strategy on how to handle Redavi ondines and demillirs.

But no one knew what to expect from the selkies and being thrust into an unknown situation with such little information left me uneasy.

The heightened tension in Haverleau strained all of us. And now we were entering the territory of powerful shape-shifters displeased with the intrusion on their privacy.

The King of said warrior race also hadn't liked me much the last time we met.

My stomach lurched again.

An hour later we landed and disembarked to freezing weather and steady wind.
 
Shivering at the drastic drop in temperature, we quickly transferred to four separate SUVs, and continued the next leg of the journey.

The drive took us away from the small coastal town and further inland. Road turned to gravel as we headed into remote land. Flat terrain gradually lifted to small hills and mountains, bare vegetation transforming to hardy rows of conifers.

Two hours later, we turned onto a narrow dirt road winding through a dense forest of tall white spruce that ended at a large lake.

The SUVs parked next to each other in a neat row. I joined the others, stretching out the kinks in my back. Icy air filled my lungs, but the cold felt good. Fresh and untainted.

A large cabin nestled neatly among the brush along the shore. A painted sign staked into the ground read "Fredriksen Flyers".

Two single-prop floatplanes rested on either side of a pier. Gentle sound of pontoons bumping against wooden posts blended with the rustle of branches and occasional sharp cry of a lonesome bird.

"Jesse," Ewan said warmly.

An older man strode toward us. White hair, cut close to his head, sharply contrasted with leathery skin weathered and tanned from countless hours in the sun.

Virtue quickly determined he was human. Two guys joined him, one a few years older than us with merry eyes and short black hair. The other, with longer hair and a stockier build, looked a year or two younger than us.