Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) (44 page)

I considered sharing what happened after they left but quickly abandoned the idea. It was better if they remembered Renee as she was.

"I'm glad I was there, too," I said instead.

"Kendra."

 
Yahaira exited the library, eyes widening with pleasure. She noticed Catrin and her face sombered.

"Marquisa Bessette," she said softly. "I was sorry to hear about Renee."

Catrin gave a stiff nod. Her steely expression reminded me of Rhian. "It was her choice."

A shadow flickered over Yahaira's eyes. "I know."

Empath lightly brushed inside the older selkie. Wariness and distrust.

"I was on my way to the scheduled debate," she continued. "Are you heading that way?"

"I'll join you."
 

They hurried toward the Royal Hall, Catrin's body fragile as the sunlight draping over garden fronds.

With everyone at the conference, the suite of rooms reserved for Rhian and her staff near the west courtyard were empty.

As planned, Jeeves had left his office open. Last night, I'd gone over everything with him and Rhian.

No one had answers on where to proceed from here. They were caught up in the political firestorm and doing their best to keep the heat off me for a little longer.

I started the computer and made a video call.

She answered on the fourth ring.

A deeply wrinkled nose took up half the screen. "My dear, you look tired."

"Move back. You're giving me a headache."

Cackling, Nexa pulled away from the screen and lit a cigarette. Messy cottage exploded around her in a debris of snack bags and empty scotch bottles.

Oh, God. Was she using the keyboard as an ashtray?

She blew out a ring of smoke. "Do tell."

I took a deep breath then quickly explained recent events, including Jourdain's temper tantrum last night.

Nexa showed no reaction, her eyes focused on the scotch in front of her.

I finished.

She exhaled, smoke curling gently into the air.

"Did you know about the demillirs? Why Jourdain needed them?"

No answer.

I struggled to find my last threads of patience. I had to dig pretty deep.

"Even before my mother's prophecy, did you know the
sondaleur
would be an Irisavie?"
 

"Have you spoken to the Armicant?"

Nexa's jumps in logic would test a monk. "Yes. It roared at me, breathed fire, and ran away."

"You need to speak to it again."

I had no desire to ever see that hulking, stubborn monster again. But we needed better weapons.

"I will," I said through my teeth. "Back to the
sondaleur
. Knowing she would be an Irisavie."

She took a long drag. "We didn't know. We suspected."

A fine line. "The Shadow seemed to know, too."

It was possible he'd discovered who I was after my birth. But the way he spoke to me in the Lyondale basement made it sound as though he'd waited for me.

That he'd always known the
sondaleur
would be an Irisavie.

"That's something I cannot explain." She stubbed her cigarette out. "The possibility was discussed only among those connected to the family."

Frustration coursed through me. So how was the Shadow getting his information? How had he known so many things about me?

I rubbed my face. "We're at a dead end. I've been going over this again and again and I can't find my way in —"

"That's incorrect."

Nexa opened a box of saltines and munched on a cracker.

"Care to elaborate?"

She swallowed. "Jourdain has shown you what lies behind the illusion."

The reason for the war.

For the first time, we knew what drove the Shadow.

The more obsessed Jourdain grew over a human male, the more obsessed the Shadow grew with her and those she chose over him.

He'd been humiliated, left powerless by her rejection.

I'm the only one that can both give and take away your pain.

"He wants revenge," I murmured. "He wants Jourdain and elementals to suffer as much as he has. Regain who he is by crushing everyone else."

Nexa chewed and swallowed. "A desire for control and power, an inflated ego concealing low self-esteem. Fury stemming from humiliation."

I frowned. "Also sounds like the traitor we're searching for."

Control, manipulation, narcissism, lack of empathy, and infinite patience born from all-consuming rage.

Maybe the Shadow didn't turn him because they were spurred on by the same motives.

Icy anxiety dripped down my spine.

"Yes. Perhaps this elemental is more dangerous than we initially thought," she said, absent-minded. "Have you found the Aquidae outside the kingdom?"

I shook my head. "Julian's searching for them now."

"I believe that should be taken care of first."

The look on her face heightened the fear running through me all day.

Something bad was coming. She felt it, too.

"You'll have the chance to do that tonight," a smooth voice said.

Jeeves entered, his eyes the exact same shade as the ones peering at me through the screen.

Relief flowed. "Julian returned?"

He stopped beside me but didn't acknowledge his grandmother. "He's located the nest and estimates close to two hundred Aquidae along the northeast border."

I shivered. Hell of a lot of demons.

"Prince Belicoux wants to execute the counter-attack tonight."

"And are you part of that plan, Augustin?" Nexa suddenly asked.

Jeeves tensed. "It will only be the
sondaleur
and gardinels."

"If you hadn't run, you could've been a more active participant in the fight."

His expression turned icy. "I do not want to discuss this again with you."

Nexa took a long gulp and slammed the glass down harder than usual.

"Very well."

I caught the shift in her expression before she abruptly clicked off.

For a moment, Nexa looked sad.
 

I stared at the black screen. "She wanted you to remain a chevalier?"

"Yes." Jeeves placed a sheaf of papers on the desk and gave a deep exhale. "Among other things."

I swiveled around to look at him. "Like what?"

He settled on the edge of the desk. "She didn't approve of what happened between me and my son's mother."

Ah. "Not a fan of Marquisa LeVeq?"

"It was more about the relationship than Patrice."

I knew how strained Julian's relationship with his mother was. Understanding the dynamic between his parents might help me understand him better.

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

"I believed she loved me."

"And she didn't?"

"She might have, in her own way. But whatever she felt wasn't strong enough to overcome the expectations of her family. I was naive. Overly idealistic."

I didn't understand what the reservations could've been. "But you're Redavi, too."

"What Patrice saw was a demillir with a Virtue and a Redavi who willingly became a chevalier."

So Jeeves had been a bad boy. And the straight-laced Patrice had fun with him, never intending it to be more than that.

"Don't tell me the Chief Counsel was a romantic."

The corners of his eyes crinkled. "A terrible one. Even as the date of her arranged binding approached, I still believed she'd leave Rupert for me."

"It didn't happen."

"No." He paused then turned his attention back to the papers. "She went through with the binding and I left the chevaliers."

He thought she didn't choose him because of his job choice. "It wasn't because of that."

"Maybe not. But at the time it seemed the best thing to do."

Jeeves ran a hand through his hair. In that moment, his expression was startlingly similar to Julian.

"Your grandmother was already Governor. Rhian welcomed me into political life and gave me a quiet place to work while I nursed my broken heart. I trained under Vittorio, her Chief Counsel at the time and when he retired I took over the position."

Nexa had disagreed and I couldn't blame her.

During the attack on the Fredriksen's Flyers office, Jeeves displayed a fighting style that made it clear whom Julian had gotten his talents from.

He was a brilliant political strategist in the Governing House and a superb covert operative.

Nexa probably wished he'd openly stand beside his son rather than remain in the shadows of others.

"There are many ways to fight,
sondaleur
." He paused. "At one time, I thought being chevalier was the best way to do it."

But after what happened, he wanted to go into politics. Because the best way to fight Marquisa LeVeq was though her own weapons.

I wondered how long that kind of pain drove him.

"Hard way to live a life."

He shrugged. "I've made mistakes. Many of them. But Julian gave me a new way to move forward. My son was a gift."

I remembered the sometimes forlorn look Julian had when he thought no one was looking. The trace of sadness that never quite left him.

"I think he needs to hear that more often," I said.

"He believes he's in love with you."

I met his gaze levelly. "I've always been honest with him, Jeeves."

"I know. Unlike Patrice, you have the courage to tell him the truth. You're perhaps the first real friend he's ever had and for that, I thank you."

The sincerity in his voice sent an unexpected lump in my throat.

"I don't think I'm very good at it."

"He's not ready yet to accept the power of what you offer." Jeeves paused. "Right now, my son only sees the difference between what he feels and what he receives from you. Give him time."

I hoped that would be enough.

"Did Nexa help you in any way?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah."

It wasn't elementals' magic that got to the Shadow; it was our humanity.

The Shadow tortured us by manipulating our emotional bonds, mocking what he considered a fundamental weakness. He used human inventions, like technology and the Internet, against us as a taunting display of his superiority and a repeated reminder of Jourdain's poor choice all those years ago.

But none of that explained how he'd known I was the
sondaleur
.

"Jeeves, who was Chief Counsel before you?"

"Vittorio Prideaux."

I vaguely remembered Daniel also mentioning him.

"Can you get ahold of him? I'd like to ask a few questions about my mother."

Vittorio had been with my grandmother during the time of my mother's stay at Lyondale Hospital. He might have information that could help track the Shadow.

He nodded. "I'll put a word in to my contacts. Vittorio retired a few years after you went Rogue and moved to Italy to be near his daughter. I'll see if I can track him down."

I stood. "Tonight's strike will help us find something else."

"Prince Belicoux said something similar. He's also been working overtime, but hasn't noticed anything unusual among the delegates thus far."

Irritation stirred. If Tristan was also actively involved, why didn't he say anything to me?
 

Jeeves signed a document. "After all this time, he's finally close."

"Close to what?"

"To solving what happened to Eric."

"We got the Lieutenant in New York. He was the one who turned Eric."

Tristan had gotten his justice. He'd even said so.

Jeeves' brow furrowed. "Eric wasn't randomly turned. He was in New York on assignment and someone tipped off the Aquidae cell. Prince Belicoux confronted the demon who turned his brother, but he's never found the person who gave up Eric's classified information."

Cold realization washed over me as the Lieutenant's words echoed.

You may either have me and all the information you seek. Or you may have the sondaleur back alive.

Tristan had been looking for the traitor, too.

The only difference between our investigations was how long we'd spent on it.

I'd searched for the past month.

He'd been searching for seventeen years.

I KNOCKED ON THE EBONY door.

No response.

During the conference lunch break, I overheard a few ondines swooning over Tristan and bemoaning his absence for the afternoon panels.

If there was any chance to talk to him alone, it was now.

I slipped inside his office and closed the door.

Stillness greeted me and I decided to wait until he returned.

Why hadn't he told me his suspicions about the traitor's connection with Eric? Was that why he'd been acting strangely since New York?

I'd thought his nightmare ended with the Lieutenant. But as long as this elemental eluded us, it would continue.

The large double-doors to his bedroom whispered.

I settled on the sofa in his office and avoided looking at it.

The closed doors continued to taunt me, a strange reminder of everything I couldn't have in my life.

Stop it. It's none of your business.

Curiosity burned and I gritted my teeth.

Five minutes later, I stood in front of it.
 

A tentative knock. "Tristan?"

No answer.

The knob turned and the door silently swung open.

Well, if it wasn't locked, then a quick peek couldn't hurt.

Ignoring the slight twinge of my conscience, I entered.

An enormous bed dominated the room, its linens and bedding a luxurious dark blue like the ocean's depths. Dark furniture elegantly complemented the pale ivory wall and polished floor.

The same tall window as his office faced the coast. Storm clouds muddled the sky, rain relentlessly pelting the ocean and rugged land.

Speakers were inconspicuously mounted on ceiling corners and a sleek audio system fit in one corner. Floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with old LPs, compact discs, a laptop and hard drive took up an entire wall.

Fingers lightly ran over the rich mahogany. The air smelled like him, clean and crisp.

But there was an emptiness to the space as if not many people spent time here.