Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) (3 page)

"I had it under control — "

The door opened.

Julian strolled in with his usual cool expression, though his eyes still appeared tired. Guess he'd managed to extricate himself from Leila's octopus arms.

Oriel followed with an air of steadfastness that reminded me of her father, Dr. Daniel Clavet. Shades of him also reflected in the petite nose and inquisitive glint in her eyes.

Projectors like Julian used magic to cover up Aquidae bodies and worked with an intricate network of humans and elementals to ensure society remained unaware of our war.

Oriel and her father were part of that system and their continued participation remained unusual simply because this wasn't their fight. As humans, they had no stake in the matter.

Renee smiled at her best friend. "Everything okay?"

Oriel nodded. "I need to take care of paperwork back at the station, but yeah. They bought it." She paused. "At least there's no human family to notify."

Her concern was markedly different from the San Aurelio cop who informed me of my mother's death almost two years ago.

Remembering his eyes, deadened after years of a job dealing with the unimaginable, still turned my skin cold.

"Had to get creative with the broken pipe, though." Amusement flickered over Oriel's face. "Was that really necessary?"

I coughed. Exactly.

"I have my methods," Renee answered loftily. "And I spoke with Amir, my friend over at the supply store on Fifty-Ninth. He remembers someone purchasing the paint on Edmundo's sleeve a few weeks ago."

"Think he can get us something concrete?" Julian asked.
 

A trace of frustration laced his tone. He wasn't happy with our progress. Either this Lieutenant was the slickest Aquidae we'd come across or we were terrible investigators.

I preferred to believe the former.

Renee nodded. "He's double-checking sales records. Hopefully, he'll come up with a name and address. What about that shipment Edmundo mentioned?"

Julian shrugged. "Could be anything."

Without any context, he could've been talking about something as innocuous as office supplies. It wasn't strong enough to follow up on.

The others continued discussing tonight's events while I brainstormed what to do next.

My job, as
sondaleur
and soon-to-be Governor, was to end this war. That couldn't happen unless we found the Shadow. The elusive Aquidae leader controlled the war from the dark, hidden so deep among his own creations very few knew of his existence.

But cutting off the head of the monster meant locating his mortal form.

According to what we gathered during our first week here, the leader of Manhattan's Aquidae worked with the big boss. If we got to him, we could obtain vital information on the identity and whereabouts of the Shadow.

Unfortunately, tracking the Lieutenant was turning out to be a monumental task.

"Thinking about your lesson with mom tomorrow?" Renee studied the pyramid I'd absentmindedly doodled on a notepad.

I shook my head. "Aquidae."

The demons' power structure placed the Shadow at the top with widening hierarchical levels of Aquidae beneath him.

"Huh." She walked with Oriel toward the door. "Looked like the Governorship."

I stared at the drawing. She was right.

The Governing Council existed to address the needs of the different elemental races, but central power resided with the Governor.

Just like the Shadow and Lieutenants in each city.

Every ondine community throughout the world maintained its own local governance. But they remained under the control of Haverleau and the capital's laws and decrees applied to all.

Just like Aquidae cells that functioned independently but remained under the Shadow's central power.

Elementals were as different from demons as night and day, but the structural similarities sent a momentary shiver down my spine.

The door shut behind Renee and Oriel and a sudden emptiness swallowed the brownstone.

Julian pulled out his cell and headed for his room. "I need to check in with my father."

His arm lightly brushed mine. Heat flashed through his eyes before he concealed it.

Discomfort settled in my chest and for the tenth time this week, I wondered if his bruised, exhausted expression was related to something other than magic.

I'd been as clear as possible with Julian, but unresolved issues continued to hang between us.

Out of habit, I headed for the bay window and settled on the seat until adrenaline wore off.

Dark edges of night pressed inward, the clouds promising a dreary rain. City lights pushed back, dauntless and steady, and maintained its unrelenting glow over the skyline's jagged edges.

Not a single star was visible.

My phone rang. "It's three in the morning."

"It's only midnight here," Aubrey said. "Don't be such a wimp. Aren't you in the city that never sleeps?"

"As if you could keep up with half my exploits."

She scoffed. I could picture her tossing her head back, red hair gleaming under the light.

"And you're not giving enough juicy details. Think of your online followers."

I laughed. "You're the one sharing Julian's pick-up lines!"

"They're funny. He's like a freaking artist."

"So how's everything?"

"Good." The strength of her voice reassured me. "Fitting is tomorrow. Been studying up on what to expect."

Aubrey and her boyfriend, Ian, helped shut down an Aquidae trafficking ring in Lyondale last month. During the mission, an explosion caused a severe injury that cost her right forearm.

She was receiving the best prosthesis on the market, a bionic device whose complex features gave her extended mobility and enhanced strength.

But it didn't ease the worry.

A muffled voice sounded in the back. "Here. Ian wants to brag about his skills on our latest project."

A faint shuffle and Ian's voice came on. "She's just pissed because I got through initial security protocols two seconds faster than her."

I wasn't sure if their relationship could withstand the strain of Aubrey's injury and Ian's grief and guilt.

Relief trickled through me at their banter. Things sounded good.

"I'd still place my bet on Aub."

"Traitor. When did she take my place in your heart?"

"Since she changed my grade for History on the school server. Is she really doing okay?"

"Yeah." His voice softened. "As well as you'd expect."

Anxiety twisted. "Are you sure? Because if —"

"Stop worrying, Kendra," he said firmly. "Everyone here is fine. Chloe's turning out to be some kind of Rambo expert at shooting, Alex got a set of new sweatshirts you can probably see from there, and Cam's improving something called a front twisty kick so he can knock you down when you return."

"You mean a front twist kick." A reluctant smile spread. "And you?"

"I have an exalted position with your friends because you give me the scoop before everyone else. So tell me what's going on."

I filled him in on tonight's main highlights. No one knew about Julian's Virtue, so I was careful with how much detail I gave.

"And how are things going with the First Lieutenant?"

"Fine. I'm still pissed he brought Miss Showoff into this —"
 

"No. I mean, how's it going?"

I stiffened at the insinuation. "You know it's not like that."

"Just wanted to see if anything had changed." He paused. "Prince Belicoux has been coming to the Justice Department a lot."

Don't read too much into it.

"Probably keeping up-to-date on what's happening through Jeeves. It's kind of his job."

"I guess." He didn't sound very convinced. "You know he's not Jason, right?"

The sudden mention of that name from my awful track record threatened to bring back long suppressed memories.

"Of course not," I said lightly. "Why would you say that?"

He remained quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his voice contained an edge I rarely heard.

"If I could go back in time, there are a few things I would've liked to tell your mother."

The image of Ian, who didn't possess a confrontational bone in his entire body, standing before cold, hard Naida Irisavie almost made me laugh out loud.

"She would've kicked your ass and no one would ever have found your body."

"I know." He sighed. "But it would've made me feel better."

We spent a few more minutes chatting before hanging up. Instead of lightening my mood, the call left me empty.

I scrolled through my phone's contacts and my finger hovered over his name.

Wanting to hear his voice made me feel alone in a way I hadn't experienced for a while.

The thought snapped me back to reality.

I'd come to New York in preparation for becoming the Irisavie heir. The period of silly schoolgirl dreams was long gone.
 

It was time to grow up and accept what could and could not change.

I put away the phone.

Empath trembled, sensing shifting clouds just outside the city's glowing borders.

When I finally fell asleep to the steady patter of sleet and the mournful cadences of Bach, the images slid into me, emerging from my mind's deepest cavern and entwining with the muted darkness of night.

***

The maze twisted and curved, each corridor folding in on itself like an intricate geometric construct.

I walked forward simply because there was no going back.

When the threshold finally appeared, I knew this was what I'd searched for.

A familiar silhouette stood, body framed by white threads of magic.

Recognition brought tears. After all this time, I knew him.

"Don't cry," he said softly. "Don't cry."

Pale hand reached, strong fingers twining with mine.

Vivid images flowed so fast I couldn't grab ahold of them. They slipped through my grasp, leaving nothing behind but faint sensory flashes.

The scent of woodsy aftershave. The ocean's roar blended with laughter. A fleeting touch of secure warmth.

"I miss you," I whispered over and over, afraid I'd never have the chance to tell him again.

From one breath to the next, he disappeared, leaving me alone in the dark.

Frantic, I ran toward a door. I needed to find him again.

When I opened it, another one appeared before me.

I ran through another, another, a never-ending succession of closed doors.

Sweat dripped over skin and wild desperation thundered through veins.

An ornate gateway suddenly arose in the darkness, glittering crimson like blood burning in violent fire.

I stepped through and fell.

***

The icy wind of a New York January sliced against my skin. Watery sunlight trickled through the grey sky, casting a milky veil over the West Side.

I'd awakened this morning with the lingering sense of a dream, as if something had faintly touched my mind during the night.

But nothing else.

No impression of danger, no sense of foreboding.

I took a deep breath and felt a mild sense of relief. With the mess over the Shadow investigation and our failed attempts to locate the Lieutenant, the last thing I needed was a dream heralding the arrival of a future threat.

The twenty-eight story building rose near the Seventy-Ninth Street boat basin, tucked slightly off the northwest corner of Riverside Drive. Rivelleu, the community of Manhattan, was housed in a classic, pre-war structure that effortlessly blended in with the area.

Completely protected by Cloaking and wards, the building appeared to accommodate a private corporation. When humans walked past it, they felt no desire to linger or explore.

Like the elemental wing at Lyondale Hospital, Rivelleu simply hid in plain sight.

I nodded at the tall, well-built man standing at the entrance. Dressed warmly in a sweater and wool coat, he looked like any other city doorman.

No one would suspect he was a highly trained shapeshifting gardinel. Only the gleaming silver
pedaillon
around his neck gave it away.

"Hey, Brynn." I paused. "You hear the one about the selkie, siren, mermaid, and nix who head into the bar?"

He gave a solemn nod. "Bartender takes one look at them and says, 'Is this a joke?'."

Not even the faintest twitch of a smile. It was like trying to crack a stone statue.

I shook my head and headed for the elevator. "Someday I'll find one you haven't heard of."

"
Sondaleur
."

He still faced the street, his expressionless profile stark against the grey sky.

"Fujio is upstairs."

Huh. Rivelieu's top chevalier wasn't exactly on my list of favorite people.

I stepped into the elevator. "Thanks."

The car rose to the penthouse apartment. Doors slid open with a soft chime and I stepped out onto a private corridor. Wood panels and deep carpeting created a hushed atmosphere.

"Kendra?" A husky female voice came from the entrance to the right. "We're back here."

I made my way down a long hallway to the spacious salon. Morning light filtered through the large windows lining two walls, bathing the entire apartment in a soft glow.

Marquisa Catrin Bessette, head ondine of Rivelleu and Renee's mother, sat on an elegant beige couch. A leggy confidence defined her, the result of years performing on Broadway. Combined with a sultry voice and the kind of bold beauty that deepened with age, Catrin possessed a charisma that made people stop in their tracks.

As one of my grandmother's closest friends, she'd also been my tutor for the past month.

Urian Karinser, Rivelleu's head gardinel, sat on her left, stoic and silent. With a shaved head and linebacker chest and arms, he seemed more like a club bouncer than a selkie.

On Catrin's right, Chevalier Fujio Viel looked as unhappy to see me as I was to see him.

Like my Uncle Gabe, Fujio was a human who became demillir when he mated with an ondine. His marital arts background carried him to the top of Rivelleu's chevaliers.