Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) (36 page)

"What's that?"

I gestured at a huge compound crossbow hanging upside down on the wall behind him. The main body frame looked like any traditional bow, but the arrows lined up beside it were at least four inches longer than normal.

"We use it on large predators like polar bears."

"I thought you guys did everything yourselves."

Whether in seal or human form, selkies possessed supernatural strength. If they wanted to hunt or fight a polar bear, they'd do it with their bare hands.

Excitement sparked in Adrian's eyes. Weaponry was apparently the key to getting him to talk.

"Weapons are not just useful for combat," he explained with enthusiasm. "They can also be a tool in developing physical skills. For example, we'll use a crossbow to evaluate the distance with which we can effectively take out a predator. It strengthens mental patience and improves eye-hand coordination."

"So gardinel training never really stops?"

Adrian gave a deep, slightly raspy chuckle. "Among our people, no."

He returned the cleaned
kouperets
and brought over another dozen. The jade stone of his
pedaillon
glinted, clear and calm, against his tanned skin.

"What happens when you're inducted into the gardinels?"

"The Armicant gives the stone it chose for you to carry your seal skin." He flipped his over to show the diamond on the back. "Then marks you with the elemental brand."

"Does it use that flame in its mouth?"

Surprised flickered through his eyes. "Well, yes. Its fire brands the
pedaillon,
searing Essence into our seal skin."

In seal form, the raised diamond ridge transformed the right foreflipper into a weapon as deadly and powerful as the
kouperet
.

"Does it hurt?"

"Yes and no. The magic transference is not only between you and the Armicant, but also between you and every gardinel that's come before."

I frowned. "Like a power transfer?"

He shook his head. "It's difficult to describe. The Armicant shows you what you need to see. In doing so, you are linked to the tradition of what it means to be gardinel and tied to the future of our people."

"Sort of like
kahliev
."

He smiled. "Exactly."

I still had no idea what he meant, but it would explain that trick the Armicant pulled in our first meeting.

Tristan said the spirit of
kahliev
transcended time and space.

I see the tiniest mouse skittering across an open field and the entirety of the horizon at the same time. The finest detail and the largest arc.

We worked in companionable silence and I understood the soothing pleasure Adrian found here.

Once we finished cleaning this batch of
kouperets
, I pulled out my dagger and performed the same process.

Adrian gestured to it. "Nice."

"Thanks."

"Can I take a look?"

I handed it over. With an easy flick of his wrist, he spun the handle several times in his palm. Arms moved in a blur, blade slashed air.

"Light and balanced, excellent for up-close strikes. You had it made?"

"My mom did. Got it as a gift on my thirteenth birthday."

His thumb rubbed the silver diamond engraved on the onyx handle before handing it back. "This is exactly like the one on the
kouperet
."

The diamond on the
kouperet's
ivory handle worked like the elemental brand on selkie
pedaillons
. It was the point through which the Armicant transferred Essence magic.

I'd noticed the similarity too. "I think my mom had the maker copy the basic design of my father's
kouperet
." I lightly pulsed Virtue and the blade lit up. "Essence doesn't exist within the blade itself. It comes from my Virtue."

"Like a conduit. It suits you."

Adrian's expression was relaxed, his eyes warm and friendly.

Time for the reason I was here.

"You were Miriam's gardinel."

His shoulders tensed. "I'm aware that my mistake cost the life of your friend and almost cost yours —"

"This isn't about that."

Tristan told me how hard he'd taken Miriam's betrayal. As her assigned gardinel, he felt responsible for not noticing the change sooner.

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. "This is important, Adrian. You know what I need to do. I'm hunting him and I can't do it if I don't have information."

His eyes were hollow. "What do you want to know?"

"What was your schedule like with Miriam? Did you notice anything out of the ordinary? Even something small would help."

His head dropped. The line of his profile reminded me of the night at Lyondale factory when we rescued the kidnapped victims.

Adrian standing in the woods, a look of profound relief on his face as he held a young female in his arms.

"One of the victims from the factory is your girlfriend."

Dating between selkies and humans wasn't forbidden but it rarely occurred. Because of the reclusive nature of their kingdom and their strong warrior culture, selkies tended to mate among their people.

A gardinel's life and duties made long-term relationships with humans difficult. Humans had a hard enough time believing in the existence of magic. Accepting a shapeshifting boyfriend wasn't so easy.

"Her name's Amy. I thought I wasn't going to see her again." He took a deep breath. "But you saved her."

"Miriam knew about you two?"

"She encouraged our relationship." A shadow rolled over his eyes. "I was crazy about Amy, but work didn't give me a lot of time off. So Miriam worked out a plan where I'd see Amy every time I brought her to Lyondale for cancer treatment."

The Shadow turned Miriam during one of her supposed treatments at the hospital. No wonder Adrian took what happened so hard.

He took a deep breath. "She asked me to drop her off at the main hospital entrance. I'd spend time with Amy and return to pick her up three hours later. I had no clue she wasn't undergoing treatment."

I filed that tidbit of information away. "Tristan knows about this?"

"Prince Belicoux understood what happened. He..." He hesitated and looked down at his large, selkie hands. "He understood why I made the mistake."

Because he loved her.

Tristan once said people did misguided things because they cared. Studying Adrian's bowed head reminded me of Gabe. My uncle completely threw aside his responsibilities as Head Chevalier to remain by Marcella's side.

"He's right," I said quietly. "It wasn't your fault. The Shadow would've gotten to Miriam one way or another. Even if you didn't —"

"But I did do it," Adrian said roughly. "It happened on my watch."

A distracted heart led to dangerous risks. The costs were always too high.

Was the time Adrian spent with his lover worth the deaths Miriam caused? Was his love for Amy worth the look in Chloe's eyes, in the eyes of the families of victims from the Governor's Ball massacre?

A loud clang signaled another arrival.

"This is like the Fort Knox of weapons," a familiar voice said.

Ewan walked in, followed by Ian and Aubrey.

Her emerald eyes widened with curiosity. Ian looked pale and slightly frightened. I couldn't blame him for feeling uncomfortable in a room full of killing tools, especially with the cool glances Ewan and Adrian slanted his way.

"Hey." I not-so-subtly moved to Ian's side and shot Ewan a pointed look. "What are you guys doing here?"

"I wanted to see what options I had for tricking out my arm." Aubrey picked up a lethal looking rapier.

Ian glanced at me. "You missed breakfast."

"Woke up late," I lied.

Aubrey frowned. "Alex said you were working out with Prince Belicoux."

Crap.

"Yeah, after I missed my alarm I just headed straight to the workout center."

Ewan gave me a funny look.

"Have you guys seen Chloe?" I asked hastily.

"Garreth and Michael are working with her and the others a little further south," Ewan answered. "I was about to visit."

I stood, wanting the attention off me. "Let's go."

Adrian had already started in on the merits of certain bows and arrows for Ian and Aubrey's benefit. Ewan briefly gave a longing glance at a gleaming katana, then walked out with me.

"Here." He handed me a folded paper. "Message came for you from Randolph over at the Justice Department."

I'd forgotten about the task I'd assigned him. "Did he say anything?"

"Something about you owing him a whole lot of eclairs because it was a pain in the ass to get it."

Figured. I glanced briefly at the paper before putting it away. Looked like Randolph got Gilroy to confess to a lot.

"Heard someone ate all the Rivière eclairs Prince Belicoux had sent up." Ewan scowled.

I shot him an innocent look. "Why are you telling me?"

"Because only you or Cam would inhale that many at once. You should've left some for others. Prince Belicoux is sending up more —"

"Oh, no." I crossed my arms. "I asked him for it, so those are for me."

"You know, sharing is supposed to be a good trait."

A noise came from the tree line up ahead.

I swore and yanked him behind a shrub. Dropping next to him, I peered through the foliage.

Renee, Amber, and Chloe walked beside each other, deep in conversation. Garreth and Michael accompanied them.

Helene bounced in front, almost tripping over her own feet. The silver of her camera flashed in her hands.

Lens focused on Garreth. He seemed to be grinding his teeth.

"Do selkies get headaches?"

"No."

Maybe Garreth had indigestion, not a migraine.

"You do realize you're the
sondaleur
." Ewan's voice rose with incredulity.

"Shhh!" I hushed him. "She'll hear you."

"You're afraid of a camera?"

"Helene is obsessed with shoving that thing in my face." I huffed. "I already have enough eyes on me, Ewan. Now please go over there and distract everyone while I grab ahold of Chloe."

"This is ridiculous." He tossed his hands up. "I'm a highly trained gardinel whose job is the protection of —"

"Two eclairs on the next shipment."

"Make it four and you have a deal."

Pure extortion. "Fine."

Ewan sauntered over and engaged Helene, Renee, and Amber into a conversation and delicately separated them from Chloe.

"Chlo," I whispered and stepped out.

She stopped, a wry expression crossing her face. "Seriously? She's got you hiding in bushes now?"

"Never underestimate the persistence of a thirteen-year-old with subscribers to satisfy. It's scary." I brushed off a stray leaf. "Is everything ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be." She hesitated. "Amber's a little distracted."

"Is she okay?"

A great deal was riding on tomorrow. If Amber couldn't pull through, we needed to know as soon as possible.

"She'll be fine for the presentation," Chloe reassured me. "But she and Dylan aren't going through with their arranged binding. They plan to tell their parents soon."

So that's why she was fighting with her Redavi friends. Speaking from my own run-in with Dylan's father, telling him about their plans wasn't going to be a pleasant experience.

"It's the right thing to do." We slowly walked back toward the armory. "They don't even like each other."

"Yeah, but going against friends and family puts a lot of stress on her." She gave me a sidelong look. "Not everyone can be as ballsy as you."

I snorted. "Have you seen the way she eyes out competition? Amber has more than enough guts to handle this."

Chloe smiled. "Renee is amazing, too. Her magic is so strong —" She caught my expression. "What?"

"If you experienced half of what I went through with her in New York, you wouldn't be saying that."

"She's a lot like you."

I stopped. "Take that back."

Chloe laughed. "Come on. She's a badass. Yeah, she's Kinetic so maybe she's a little flashier —"

"A little?"

"But she's also tough, smart, and stubborn. She adds a nice wow factor to the presentation."

"You guys are all going to do great." I didn't want tomorrow's event to turn into the Renee show. "Still can't tell me what you're planning?"

"No. The element of surprise is important," Chloe said firmly. "Otherwise it won't have the same impact."

She was right, of course. Tristan, Jeeves, and Rhian had all pretty much said the same thing.

As we made our way back toward the armory, I tried not to let anxiety take hold.

So many had worked to get us to this point. My mother, Marcella, Ryder, Rhian.

The image of Aubrey pecking away at her computer, frustration sharp on her face suddenly flashed before me.

Fear clenched my stomach. What if Chloe got hurt?

"Relax, Kendra." She nudged my arm. "Focus on what you need to do. Let us handle the other stuff."

I took a deep breath to ease the tension. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

Her eyes softened. "I will."

Ahead, steel flashed in the sunlight as the armory's door closed behind the rest of the group. Helene and her camera were going to put Adrian through hell.

"I got your dress by the way," Chloe said. "It arrived with the mail."

"What dress?"

She gave an exasperated sigh. "The one the Governor asked me to order for you because she knew you'd probably forget. It's for the party at the end of the week."

I groaned. The formal reception closing the conference was the one event my grandmother required I officially attend. I'd completely forgotten about it.

"Don't worry, the dress is beautiful." She faced me. "You'll like it."

"You know I hate those things."

Frowning, she crossed her arms and suddenly appeared taller. "Come on. This is part of your job and you have to learn to suck it up."

"Please tell me you're going, too."

Like Marcella, Chloe was a master at these events. Poised and genteel, she effortlessly navigated Redavi society with perfect etiquette and charm.

"It's only for people like you, Ms. Governor-elect." She smiled. "Besides, Blaise wants to have a party of our own on the coast that night."