Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) (30 page)

"You mean something like a
kouperet
?"

I shook my head. "More like a super weapon that can take out all the gardinels at once."

Aub paused in her typing and looked at me. "No. Why?"

"Never mind." I felt a bit silly repeating Ray's story. "Just a stupid story someone was saying."

"It's not stupid," Helene pronounced. "I read about it."

Once again that blasted camera was on me, though I had to admit I'd almost forgotten she was there. "Where?"

"I'll tell you if you talk to me."

Good God. She'd graduated to bargaining.

"No."

Her finger pressed the zoom button.

"Tell me the first time you heard about the prophecy." Smoothly persuasive voice made her sound five years older.

"She laughed and said the likelihood of her being the
sondaleur
was equal to her becoming the president of the country." Aubrey raised her brow. "You saw how that turned out."

"Thanks," I told her.

"No problem." She waved a hand at the camera. "Come on. Your turn."

"But I wanted Kendra to tell me about it —"

"You didn't specify that in your wording," I said. "By using the term 'you', you could've been referring to me or Aubrey. Basic rules of negotiations. Be as specific as possible and know who you're dealing with so you don't get screwed. Now spill."

Helene reluctantly stopped recording and put the camera down. She gave the kind of dramatic sigh only a thirteen-year-old could muster.

"It was in that book I told you was missing from Peter's store. The Alder Branch."

Instincts tingled. New York again. "The one you pointed out in the photo?"

"
Lores of the Old World
."

Her eyes dropped, rewinding and watching footage she'd taken earlier. I wondered if she only looked someone in the eye through the camera lens.

"In the south of France, there's a legend about a boy from a family who made weapons," she explained. "He loved someone deeply but his heart was broken. In his grief, he crafted a beautiful spear bound with powerful magic. The spear, hardened by an angry and possessive love, became poisonous only to the object of his affection."

I vaguely recalled reading a story like that once. "Love turning to hate. Kind of like that myth about Medea and Jason."

Aubrey nodded. "A lot of mythology themes repeat across different cultures."

"Does the legend mention who broke the boy's heart?"

Helene shrugged. "Something about a creature that could travel both water and land."

Which fit the shapeshifting selkies to a tee.

A shiver raced down my spine. "What happened to the spear?"

"No one knows," Helene said. "The river running through the boy's village flooded and the entire place was destroyed. Most people believed it disappeared beneath the waters. Some people think it was smuggled out before the waters rose. But there's no proof it even exists."

Even if the legend were true, it didn't make sense.

Ray said gardinels would die. Not selkies. A subtle but big difference.

The tip of the bond
. Was it the spear?

No matter how much I wanted to dismiss his words, he'd said something I agreed with.

Aquidae were always watching.

"Helene, I need to speak to Aubrey alone. Stop filming."

"No."

Aubrey stared at her. "It takes me thirty seconds to hack into your video account. I have footage of you at age six kissing a poster of a boy band in your room. It'll take me one minute to upload it to all of your subscribers."

Helene was out of the library in ten seconds flat.

"Do you really have that footage?"

"No, but Renee does and she told me it's the best way to deal with her. What's bothering you?"

"The Shadow knows what we're doing." I paused, thinking carefully about the sequence of events. "Do you remember when we went to Club Axis last year?"

Aubrey leaned back in her chair. "You mean when Aquidae showed up?"

I nodded. "Weren't you the one who suggested going there?"

"Yeah. Now I feel guilty."

"Don't." There was no way she could've known. "Wasn't it a new club, though? How'd you find out about it?"

She closed her eyes, brows furrowed in concentration.

The club had only been open a few weeks but had quickly become Lyondale's hot new spot.

Her eyes snapped open. "I remember. It was on the 789 forum. I'd been chatting with a guy from Lyondale. He sent me info on it. Said he'd been there the previous week and that I should check it out."

Uneasiness settled in the pit of my stomach. "Do you know who he is?"

She focused on the screen and typed. "No. Actually, I haven't really been back to the forum. Let me bring up his profile."

Everything had changed at Axis.

Once Miriam Moreaux informed Aquidae of my arrival in Haverleau, they had to figure out a way to draw me out into the open.

Aquidae attacked Haverleau only after the attack at Club Axis failed.

"Kendra."

Aubrey's whisper pulled me out of my thoughts.

I leaned over her shoulder to look at the monitor. "What?"

It was your standard forum, catering to gamers and net savvy individuals talking about everything from website maintenance to online marketing.

She'd pulled up the profile of someone whose username was iSee789.

But that wasn't what had her arm trembling.

Her voice shook. "I'm positive it wasn't like that when we chatted."

Eyes gravitated toward the signature.

Hair on my arms stood up. Skin broke out in gooseflesh.

The words coldly reached through the screen, a dirty hand swiping across my face.

Looking for someone, sondaleur?

FIST SANK WITH A SATISFACTORY crunch.

Cam fell, but recovered fast. Swift back kick missed my throat by an inch.

Sloppy, but since we'd been at it for a while, I decided not to ride him about it.

Duck. Left hook, right.

Muscles stretched and body reveled in the movement. Sweat dripped, washing the Shadow's taint off my skin.

How long had he hunted me?

The forum signature was changed nine months ago. Right after Ryder's death.

Kick to my inner ankle knocked me off balance. Forearm locked around my neck and elbow dug into my back.

"Cheap shot."

I kicked back.

Missed my target by a few inches and hit his upper thigh.

Cam swore. "No. That was a cheap shot."

Virtue pulsed, aware of the selkies surrounding me and perfectly balanced with the needs of my body.

Fear also trickled, a secondary undercurrent joining my magic.

The Shadow had my mother killed, knowing I'd be brought to Haverleau.

Arm drove toward my stomach.

No time to dodge. I steeled my abs and took the hit.

Pain reverberated up my chest.

I've been watching you your entire life.

In preparation for my arrival, he'd turned Miriam. Health issues made her an easy target and her Cloaking magic, position on the Governing Council, and daughter my age were all powerful assets.

Leg snapped out and I spun behind him. Forearm locked around his throat.

Cam reached back and grabbed my shirt.

With a grunt, he bent and yanked me over him.

I landed hard on my back and rolled to the right.

That first Aquidae attack in Lyondale had been planned. By carefully planting information about Club Axis, the Shadow pulled us out of Haverleau and into the open.

Cam shifted, awkward balance leaving right leg vulnerable.

Foot hooked around his knee and tugged.

He dropped.

I sat on his lower back and gripped the back of his neck.

"Give up, Martin."

"Next time we do this, I want to bet on a box of Rivière's eclairs," he growled. "Better motivation."

Wouldn't matter. Unless he fixed his stance and got lighter on his heel, he'd still lose.

"Fine."

Breathing hard, I let go and walked over to the wooden bench along the wall.

The agitation driving me earlier had somewhat eased, but it still pulsed under my skin.

Trust no one.

My mother's words suddenly echoed and despite the sweat, I shivered. Had she known how much the Shadow would manipulate events in my life?

I leaned against the wall and exhaled.

The workout center in the southeast wing had been specially setup for elites and visiting chevaliers. Familiar blue mats covered the floors and several punching bags hung in a neat row. A rack of weapons lined the far wall. Treadmills and weight sets equipped a connecting room.

"Can't believe they set this up for us."

The equipment was almost as good as Haverleau's state-of-the-art Training Center.

"Yeah. Kind of weird, though," Cam sat next to me and wiped the sweat from his brow. "They go out of their way to accommodate our needs. Almost like they want to show how much we're not like them."

I hadn't thought of it that way. "Is that why the others aren't here?"

"Alex went with Blaise and Ethan to the woods. They wanted to workout outside like the selkies."

I caught the slight tone of resentment. "You didn't want to go with them?"

"If the selkies aren't interested in sharing their kingdom with us, I'm not going to beg." He changed the subject. "Blaise is putting together a party tonight. He found a perfect place further up the coast. Alex convinced someone working in the kitchen to get us booze."

"Can't."

I had a meeting with Rhian and Jeeves about the investigation and a debriefing on what happened with the Armicant. I suspected it wouldn't end too early.

Cam raised his brow. "Everyone's coming. Aub, Ian. Even Chloe got some time off from Norman."

I studied him. "You and Chlo look like you're friendly again."

"We're talking."

"Are you guys —"

"Drop it, Irisavie." The corner of his lip lifted.

"Come on. Give me something."

"As soon as you tell me what's going on between you and Julian."

I was about to explain how that was completely different when a rough voice interrupted.

"Do you like the facility I had installed for demillirs?"

Cam quickly stood. "Your Majesty."

"And for ondines. Excuse me," Ancelin smiled at me, all teeth, "for one ondine."

Dax stood beside his father, discomfort tightening his eyes. I actually felt a little sorry for him.

I took my time standing. "You arranged for this room?"

"Tristan insisted you'd be fine with our gardinel training resources, but I knew it wouldn't work." Ancelin studied the room with critical eyes. "It's a bit simplistic for my taste. Our people prefer the outdoors."

"I doubt anyone would call what an elite does simplistic."

Ancelin slowly turned to face me. "Dax. Do you think elites could participate and graduate from our gardinel program?"

He took a few moments to answer. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because they don't have our physical abilities."

You had to love the stink of genetic superiority.

"Oh, I don't know about that." I squeezed my towel and imagined it was Ancelin's neck. "Brains can go a long way toward outsmarting brawn."

Dax scowled. Did he think I'd forgotten about our little race?

Ancelin made a dismissive gesture. "If you were serious about training, you wouldn't cover up your inability to balance on the Áimoni beams by lying about someone targeting you."

Dax stiffened and Cam froze.

Wow. He couldn't possibly be that deluded.

"Your Majesty, I didn't fall. The beam dropped when I was on it. Clearly, I was targeted —"

"An unfortunate accident, then."

"The line was cut!"

"Do you really believe I would allow something like that in my kingdom?"

"If you think I'm lying about this, then yes."

Dax paled. Good. Let's see what his old man was made of.

"So the Governor-elect doesn't approve of how I run my kingdom." Ancelin's expression grew stonier. "What did I say before this conference started, Dax?"

He swallowed. "That it was a bad idea because Redavi would start telling us how to do things."

Anger smoldered. The King was pushing all my buttons.

War, prophecy, inheritance. The Shadow's silent manipulation. All of it surged up, locking me in like bars on a cage.

I wasn't letting this overbearing ass push me around.

I kept my voice reasonable. "Why would we tell you what to do?"

He shrugged. "Because you want our land for yourselves. Our people have been around for much longer than ondines and demillirs. Our kingdom holds great wealth and knowledge."

"You certainly have a beautiful palace." I paused. "And you've acquired many beautiful things. But modesty seems to be in short supply. You might consider acquiring some, Your Majesty."

"You don't want to play this game with me, little girl."

Little girl?

"I just want to make sure I understand." I stepped closer. "You don't think I'm the
sondaleur
. You don't think I should be Governor, you doubt my honesty, and you think I'm here because I want to take your kingdom's riches away."

He raised his brow but offered no comment.

"There is an easy way to settle this, Your Majesty." I gestured toward the mat. "You can see for yourself whether or not I'm qualified."

He stared at me then threw his head back in laughter.

I gritted my teeth. "Is there a problem?"

He moved on to the mat, still chuckling under his breath.

"Why not?" He beckoned to me. "I haven't sparred in a while and I could use some fun."

Cam's face turned chalk white. "Kendra, I really don't think this is —"

"Fine."

I bared my teeth and walked out to face him.

Dax's eyes flickered between Ancelin and me. "Father, maybe —"

"I'll be careful," he said condescendingly.

"And I'll try not to hurt you, Your Majesty."

Ancelin's smile disappeared.

Cam made a strangled sound and Dax backed away.

He had at least ten inches in height and ninety pounds of muscle on me. But his time on the throne probably meant he was rusty.