Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) (23 page)

The gentle scent of orange blossoms drifted around the selkie female. Long, dark chocolate hair twisted up neatly behind her head. Tall and long-limbed, she gazed at me with bright sable eyes brimming with intellect and humor.

She had a presence about her, a confidence as if she could walk into any room without blinking an eye.

Empath found nothing alarming. Just simple amusement and curiosity.

I smiled. "Anything would've been an improvement over that."

"I know. I told Tristan the decorator for the reception lacked sense, but his mind was on other things and well..."
 
She shrugged. "At least he managed to move it outside. Sian Ardaineu."

She extended an elegant hand and I shook it. "Kendra Irisavie."

Recognition flashed through her eyes. "An honor."

Curious, I studied her features. Was she related to the Belicouxs? She didn't address Tristan by his royal title and spoke like she knew him well.

"How —"

"Are you already making fun of me?" a low voice teased.

He'd shed his usual professional attire for worn jeans and a casual long-sleeved shirt that clung to his chest and shoulders. Silky hair flowed easily around his face, dark eyes warm and liquid.

My heart squeezed. I suddenly pictured him running over these cliffs as a child, head thrown back in laughter.

Tristan looked at home.

"Of course," Sian said cheerfully. "I told you from the beginning that peach would look awful."

"It was either going with peach or arguing with Lisenda, which would mean countless hours of listening to her remind me of our families' friendship." He shrugged. "I chose the easy way out."

She grinned. "Coward."

"I prefer to think of myself as efficient."

A strange weight dropped in the pit of my stomach at their easy familiarity.

They had history together.

"Besides, I did originally suggest dark blue."

Sian made an exasperated sound. "Even if she used your favorite color it still would've been a disaster. Lisenda doesn't know the first thing about handling this kind of event."

I didn't know that was his favorite color.

"Is that why you convinced her to tie large red bows around the trees?"

She nodded. "It adds ambience."

"Didn't you say that the time you got caught redecorating the east wing with Quincy?"

"Maybe." She narrowed her eyes. "But weren't you the one who thought the door would look better in orange?"

He laughed. It was such a beautiful laugh, colored with memory and nostalgia.

"Kendra can settle this." Tristan smiled at me. "Do you think the reception would've worked indoors if we used dark blue instead of peach?"

He was comfortable with her in a way he never was with me. The blinding energy usually wound so tight was loose and relaxed.

No blank wall separated them. She was allowed to be close to him.

I forced my mouth to lift. "No."

Sian looked up at him, her smile pure and open, eyes bright with laughter. "See?"

Pain twisted deep, triggering anger.

Not at him, but at myself.

Seeing him in casual clothing had suddenly turned me into a swoony girl.

That wasn't what I came here for and that wasn't what I was about.

And with that, I decided I'd had just about enough Belicoux men for one night.
 

"I need to take care of a few things, Your Highness." I stepped back, my voice polite. "Nice to meet you, Sian."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Same here."

Dark eyes studied me. "I'll see you later."

A group of delegates cut between us. I turned awkwardly and hurried toward the palace interior.

Obviously Tristan couldn't have been alone his entire life and I wasn't a hypocrite who'd stew over something like that.

But I felt like I'd been sucker punched.

Coming to his homeland seemed like a harmless way of being closer to him. It allowed me to quietly hold a part of him, even if I couldn't hold the rest.

But that also meant seeing everyone included in his history. It meant accepting that others would always have more of him than I ever could.

No.

I hadn't been ready to look into the sable eyes of his past quite yet.

***

Searching for Aubrey, Ian, and Chloe in a palace without a map was just asking for disaster. Within a few minutes I was lost in a maze of corridors that all looked the same.

The architecture consisted of large square grids. Each wing surrounded square courtyards that functioned like cloisters. Rows of large arches open to the sky and sea broke the shape's monotony. An unusual combination of human art and lethal weaponry graced the walls and the sharp scent of ocean lingered in every hallway.

The cliff provided natural boundaries that made the palace a fortress. Terraces and open archways brought the outside in and eliminated the ability for a threat to hide.

Given the selkies' super senses, an intruder would either be heard, smelled, or seen far before he neared the interior.

Voices approached from the other end of the hall.

"Many people remain unconvinced," an unfamiliar female voice said.

"I still cannot accept her as Governor-elect." That voice I did recognize. Marquisa LeVeq sounded as haughty and irritable as always. "She's absolutely dreadful."

Of all the people I didn't want to run into. Cursing under my breath, I attempted the door nearest me.

Locked.

The one across from it didn't budge. The one besides it was also locked.

Come on.

The fourth door finally gave. I slipped into a darkness tasting of wood and leather just as two pairs of legs rounded the corner.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned to the room.

The palace library.

Velvet brocade curtains were tied back, revealing tall windows overlooking the sea. Pale moonlight drifted through, illuminating richly paneled walls and bookshelves stretching up to the ceiling.

Four laptops, two portable hard drives, and a pile of books were scattered across a large table.

Maybe Aubrey and Ian already left for the night.

"Come to find me?"

Julian sat in a leather chair beside a window. Shadows darkened his face and a book lay open on his lap.

His question stayed light, but the air felt strained.

It was the first time we were alone since New York.

"I needed a moment."

I examined a weapon displayed between two shelves. Shaped like a short scythe, the silver blade glinted in the moonlight.

Only in the Selkie Kingdom could you find a weapon used for beheading casually hanging in the library.

"A moment away from everyone out there." Julian moved behind me. "I'm not surprised, given how poorly these selkies seem to put together a reception. It's even worse than Haverleau. Why would you want to be a part of that?"

Rejection colored the question. Slowly, I turned to face him.

He stood a few feet away, familiar dark blue eyes glowing in the dark.

"You and I don't belong in that world."

Something inside shifted at his simple statement. From the beginning, part of our strange connection had stemmed from the camaraderie of being outsiders.

Two Redavi throwing aside social status to become chevaliers. Two elementals whose magic made them an oddity.

But there were also important ways in which we differed. That was what separated us now.

I studied him. "You always pick on the selkies."

He placed his book on a table. "Do you ever wonder why they bother to help us?"

"Because they're the best at taking out Aquidae."

"We have demillirs and chevaliers." His face darkened. "Mortals who live on land and are capable of protecting ondines. Why do they have to be a part of this?"

"Because their magic and strength exceeds anything a demillir can do. They can fight on land and in water, protect both ondines and dessondines."

"But dessondines and selkies no longer have any real relevance to us. Why are they even on the Council?" He gestured at the library. "The selkies have their own kingdom, their own issues."

"So you just want to get rid of them?"

He shrugged. "Ondines and demillirs can assimilate among humans. We don't need to keep hiding. We can all live where we want without these communities. I just don't understand why we have to stay tied to magical creatures who have their own archaic ways of doing things. We're not the same as them."

"Yeah, but without them our defense and offense in this war would be cut in half. We'd be completely vulnerable underwater."

"And once the war is over?"

That opened a whole host of issues I wasn't willing to talk about yet.

"But it's not. And if we want it over, I need to know we're still working together." I gave him a pointed look. "None of this I versus we bullshit, LeVeq."

"All business, huh?"

I didn't miss the note of resentment.

I leaned against the shelf. "You need to meet me halfway."

"Hard to meet halfway when you're locked up." He opened his arms. "Everyone here is breathing their own pain, trapped by a society that no longer works."

"So work with me. Help me end this war and you can serve on the Council and change —"
 

He laughed. "Darling, that takes way too much effort."

I didn't find it funny. "I can't..." I stopped. "I won't walk away, Julian."

He took a few steps forward and sighed. His breath brushed against my hair.

"And that's why I can't walk away either, sweet iris."

A fragile understanding extended between us and I felt less alone.

He took a deep breath and his voice turned brisk. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"What, the party?"

"Well that peach taffetta highly made me doubt selkie vision," he said dryly. "But, no. I'm talking about the conference, the atmosphere. Something doesn't feel right."

"I know." Julian and I instinctually reacted in similar ways and he'd tapped right into something I'd felt.

"I'm asking some of my men to take precautions but I don't think it's enough." His expression was uncharacteristically serious. "I don't feel very good sitting here behind the wards. I'd like to go out and do some checking."

Relief flooded me at the familiar tone. I'd missed talking to him more than I wanted to admit.

"You're right."

"I'm sorry." He leaned in. "What was that?"

"You're right, LeVeq," I said through my teeth.

"People always talk about being the bigger person, but I never get tired of hearing that."

"Funny." I settled into a chair near the table. "I found an iris in my room. The selkie who cleaned it a few hours prior to our arrival swore it hadn't been there."

His expression turned speculative. "Maybe we can narrow it down. The flower must've been placed by someone who arrived before you."

Frustrated, I shook my head. "We were the last to arrive. All the guests, including chevaliers and gardinels, got here first."

And that didn't include the selkies who lived here. The incident had only widened the pool of suspects.

A selkie traitor was now a possibility I couldn't ignore.

"This iris." Julian sat beside me. "Is it a warning?"

Will the sondaleur give up the life of one to save all? Or will she give up everything she's spent her life working toward to save someone she cares about?

Uneasiness stirred and I focused on keeping my voice steady. "No. I think it's more of a taunt."

Tristan had increased protection on every single person in my life. I had to trust I'd find the traitor first.

Julian watched me for a moment, but didn't say anything.

The door opened. Cam, Ian, and Alex walked in, looking as surprised to see us as we were to see them.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"Ian wanted to come down and work," Alex said. "We were bored, cooped up in our rooms."

Cam raised his brow, eyes flickering between Julian and me. "We interrupting something?"

"No," I said. At the same time, Julian said, "Yes."

I scowled. Julian winked. Cam's expression grew more suspicious.

Ian leaned against a bookcase. "I thought you were working the reception tonight."

"Yeah, I just..." I shook my head, too tired to explain. "It sucked."

Understanding flickered across his face. "Sorry," he said softly.

Alex studied the books lining one wall. "Heard there was another iris."

Damn it. "How'd you hear that?"

He shrugged. "I told you, Irisavie. It's all about the connections."

Cam sprawled on the sofa, arms crossed behind his head. "You think the traitor's here? At the conference?"

"Looks like it."

"We were just discussing what to do about that," Julian said easily.

Cam and Alex immediately jumped in with ideas, most of which were completely unfeasible.

I ran over the timeline again. Irises first began appearing in New York.

The last operation at the DuBois Building had been a total failure.

But it wasn't just what happened with the Lieutenant. I couldn't help feeling we were missing something important.

"What is it?" Ian asked.

I shook my head. "Thinking about New York."

Cam looked confused. "I thought you guys didn't get anything."

"Nothing but the knowledge that Aquidae can stake themselves," Julian told him.

"That really weirds me out," Alex murmured.

"Maybe it's what we didn't get that's important." I turned to them. "What about that delivery package? We didn't find it at the building."

Julian laughed. "Anybody could've taken that. Hell, it could've been one of the hundreds of random crimes taking place in that city every day."

"Everything about that delivery was legit," Ian added. "Aubrey and I double-checked and it was a normal shipment."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know."

Julian shook his head. "The whole thing was a dupe. That auction was a trap set for us."

He was probably right. Which once again left us with nothing.

"There's someone near here," Ian suddenly said. "A nix who might have info on Aquidae movement."