Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) (45 page)

A sound came from the office.

Shit. Getting caught in his bedroom topped my list of embarrassing situations.

"You are being foolish, Ancelin."

Suppressing a groan at my grandmother's icy voice, I slipped behind the door and pressed up against the wall.

"And you need to stop teleporting us all over the place," Ancelin muttered. "You're not a teenager any more. You need to stop taking all these risks."

"Eleri always said your head was as hard as that granite
pedallion
hanging around your neck."

"You constantly involved her in your games and now you're doing the same thing with my son."

An exasperated sniff. "Tristan is right. We must implement the foundation for our future now if we wish to be prepared. Elementals need security, something to believe in. They are fractured —"

"Which is why we shouldn't do anything to incite their fear," he growled, his accent becoming more pronounced. "What were you thinking with that ondine display? Now is not the time for the kind of change you and my son have been pushing."

"The
sondaleur's
arrival means it can no longer be put off." Rhian's voice was steel. "She has already changed everything."

"And yet, she didn't participate in the presentation."

"Stop the act, Ancelin." My grandmother's voice was frosty enough to freeze hell. "I know you experienced her abilities first hand."

A long pause followed by Ancelin's chuckle. "Daniel."

"He has a talent for listening to patient conversations," Rhian answered smoothly. "I'm sure my granddaughter adequately proved herself?"

A grunt of acknowledgment.

Well, thank you, Your Majesty.

"You coddle my son, Rhian. Keeping him at Haverleau when he should be here among his people."

"It was his choice to stay at Haverleau, his determination to find a way forward for his people once the war ends."

A long pause.

"You know his reasons for being there are more than that."

A sigh."Yes."

My pulse picked up and I strained to hear.

"It doesn't bother you?" he asked, incredulous.

"I've never interfered with my daughters' choices. I will not interfere with my granddaughter's now."

The tinkle of ice as he poured a drink. "I don't know what Tristan is thinking."

"He has far more awareness than any of us."

"Then he should know how dangerous this is. He risks the very future he wishes to protect."

"Aren't we all guilty of that in some way or another?" Rhian said wearily.

Silence.

When Ancelin spoke, it was with quiet determination.

"I once did you a favor."

"Yes." Rhian sounded surprised. "Many years ago."

"I ask one of you now. Send Tristan back."

Hands clenched. I shut my eyes.

"Tell him whatever you need to. He'll listen to you. But he needs to be here among his people learning how to become a leader —"

"He is no longer a boy! You can't order him around and expect him to blindly do it. He's his own person, the Warrior Prince, an exemplary leader Eleri was so proud of."
 

Glass hit the table hard. "She isn't here! There is only me —"
 

"And you still have two remarkable sons in front of you. Sons you have chosen to be blind to." Rhian's voice hardened. "Eric is long gone, Ancelin."

The muffled sound of footsteps crossing the room.

"I've known you for years," he spoke quietly. "Which is why I will forgive you that comment."

"And I will forgive you for forgetting I understand the loss. Unlike you, I have lost all my children."

A pause.

"You're right." It sounded like he meant it. "I apologize."

A long moment of silence.

"Let Tristan finish this conference the way he envisioned it," Rhian finally said. "Listen to what he has to say."

A deep exhale. "I will collect upon my favor soon," he said, resigned.

"I know."

Two pairs of footsteps exited the office.

I leaned against the wall and tried to breathe past the aching pressure in my chest.

Tristan couldn't stay at Haverleau forever. When he became King, he'd inevitably return home.

The logical part of my brain had always known that. I just didn't expect the subject to come up so soon.

A thin trickle of sunlight broke through the overcast sky and slanted into the room.

Frowning, I approached the side of his bed. A barely visible vertical groove cut into the wall.

I touched the surface to the left of it and a panel slid open revealing a spiral staircase.

Ian told me the palace was built so every selkie could easily access the ocean. Sometimes, the solution was a terrace doubling as a platform for leaping and shifting into the waters.

Other times, it was a hidden escape route like this.

Spending more time with him wasn't the smartest thing to do. Hiding in his bedroom was bad enough. Going down there when he clearly sought private refuge was pushing it.

He's never found the person who gave up Eric's classified information.

No, I had to talk to him. We'd work together to find the person who'd taken so much from elementals.

From him.

Before I could change my mind, I hurried down the gloomy staircase, the ocean's smell strengthening as I neared the bottom.

Stairs abruptly ended at the sea. Water lapped against the last step and the rhythmic pattering of the rain echoed.

I was on the northern side of the palace. Ahead, a small ledge of black rocks protruded from the cliff face and extended further north, ending at a crevice cut into the wall.

I balanced along the stone shelf and stepped through the dark rectangular entrance into a cave. It wasn't marked on the maps we'd received.

Light and rain trickled through fissures in the ceiling. Water flooded the floor, leaving a narrow strip of rocky shore circling it.

The path ended at a pile of smooth, ebony rocks sloping into the water. A large crevice in the wall kept neatly folded clothes dry.

He was in seal form.

The vast cavern extended past the stones but the only way to continue was through the water.

Hand touched the surface and Virtue gently reached out.

The sea snapped, pushing back on my magic. Guess Jourdain hadn't gotten over her temper tantrum.

I pulled off my shoes and waded in for a few feet. At least the water was warm.

I took a deep breath and dove. My head surfaced further inside the cave. I swam a few feet further, then stood.

Water came up to my chest and I pushed forward until heat grazed my legs.

A pale flicker of light blazed underwater and Tristan emerged.

He stood and pushed silky mahogany locks off his face. Water came up to his waist and magic's glow slowly faded around him. Combined with the spill of faint sunlight across his golden skin, he looked like a luminous god rising from the ocean.

I made a concerted effort not to stare at his chest.

"What are you doing here?" he asked flatly.

"Looking for you."

His eyes swept over me. "You're soaked."

"Water's not cold."

I crossed my arms, suddenly feeling awkward. The sea swirled, the sharp staccato of raindrops hitting its surface reverberated around us.

Shapeshifting magic had completely dissipated and beads of water now clung to his body.

I forced my mind to remember why I was here.

"You haven't been telling me things. I want to know what's going on."

He turned his back to me and moved toward the entrance.

I followed. "Were you preparing something for tonight?"

No answer.

I tried again. "Were you out for a swim? What were you doing?"

"You should rest up for the strike," he said.

That was it.

I wished I could be mature and adult and professional.

But I couldn't.

I'd had enough.

"If you have something to say to me, say it." Anger reared up. "Damn it, talk to me!"

He whipped around, body pressing me against the cool stone wall.

His face remained icy calm, but arms trembled by his side.

"For almost a year, you've deflected, ignored, or walked away from me every time I wanted to discuss something that cut too close. You shut me out whenever you wanted to avoid something. And now you want to talk?"

"That's different!" I said hotly even though I knew it wasn't. "You're obviously pissed off at me and I deserve to know why."

He leaned in. "Why didn't you tell me my father was the one who put you in the infirmary?"

A certain elite's inability to look me in the eye now made sense.

Oh, Cam. You idiot.

"Your father is a warrior. He wanted to see if I was one, too," I said evasively. "It was his way of testing me."

"That's ridiculous!"

I shook my head. "I'm the
sondaleur
and the future Governor. He needed to see what I would do. It's the language he knows."

He ran a hand through his hair, frustration sharp on his face. "So what did it accomplish?"

"He knows I won't back down and I'm willing to take the hit." I shrugged. "It'll make things easier."

Ancelin now knew where I stood with regards to his son, the elites, ondines, and anyone else he wanted to pick on. If he wanted to bully them, he'd have to go through me.

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't tell me."

I straightened. "You and I both have a lot of shit on our plates right now —"

His mask cracked. "He knocked you out!"

"I can handle your father!"

"Someone in my kingdom tried to hurt you. A traitor is killing ondines and obsessed with you. Political instability means you're walking around with a target on your back. Then I find out, from a third party no less, that my own father injured you. Do you know how hard it's been to not go after him?"

I tilted my chin and tried to adopt that royal dignity he was so good at.

"Which is why I didn't tell you."

It didn't work.

"You kept it to yourself even though it concerned my family?" he said, incredulous. "My father?"

I clenched my hands. "I was trying to protect you!"

He stared.

"I didn't want you to deal with his crap right now."

"You don't trust me," he said.

"This has nothing to do with —"

"You trust me to fight alongside you," he continued. "You trust me to stand beside you in meetings and Council sessions. But you don't trust me enough to tell me when something's bothering you."

That wasn't it at all.

I didn't trust myself. I didn't trust what would happen if I let myself go with him.

Fear clenched ahold of my insides and it brought along its best friend. Anger.

"And what about you?" The words contained for so long tumbled out. "Why didn't you tell me the Manhattan Lieutenant turned your brother? Or about Sian? Or that you think the traitor was responsible for what happened to Eric?"

If he was surprised at that last question, he didn't show it.

"I told you about the Lieutenant after the strike because I didn't want you to worry during the mission." His eyes blazed. "What happened between Sian and I took place so long ago it'd be the equivalent of expecting you to tell me something that happened ten years ago. You asked and I told you everything. And I didn't tell you about the traitor because I didn't want you to feel additional pressure in finding him."

I crossed my arms. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Yes, once we got closer to catching him. If you want to know something, ask and I'll tell you. But the problem is you don't ask. You don't want to know."

Hurt rolled around and everything started coming out. "Oh, really? Then tell me why you left for six months."

"Because my kingdom needed me."

My laugh was harsh. "Couldn't bother to call?"

"You needed time alone," he pointed out. "You needed to recover, focus on entering the elites, and assimilate to your new life in Haverleau. Calling you would've been a distraction you couldn't afford."

"Everything to make me a better soldier right?" The words tasted bitter. "The ultimate weapon."

He took a step closer, voice harsh with barely leashed emotion. "Quit using the war as an excuse. When you left for New York, you didn't bother to say good-bye or call, either."

I opened my mouth and he cut me off. "But you didn't have to. Because we don't have that kind of relationship."

The words cut. Anger and pain smashed into me.

"You know what? You're right," I snapped. "Let's just stay out of each other's business from now on."

"No."

"No?" I really needed to hit something. "You've been shutting me out since New York. You want distance, fine. Then you don't get to order me around, Your Highness —"

"You make me afraid."

I froze.

The walls fell and I saw it shining through the mental and emotional armor he'd locked into place.

Fear.

Muscles flexed in his jaw. "The Lieutenant could've snapped your neck."

Realization dawned. He'd seen me trapped in the grip of the monster who'd turned his brother. It must've been like reliving a nightmare.

"I've never known the kind of fear I felt in that moment." His voice was low and rough. "And I dealt with it the only way I know how."

He'd shut down, immersed himself in work.

"I..." He hesitated. "I thought if you came here you'd be safer."

But the threats had followed me to the kingdom. He'd repeatedly attempted to assign me more security and I'd kept refusing.

The Warrior Prince couldn't protect me and it bothered him.

All he feels toward you is obligation and duty.

I stiffened."I'm more than capable of defending myself."

His expression darkened. "I have to watch you head into danger again."

"I do the same for you."

"I worry you'll do something rash to protect others."
 

"You'd do the same."

"I'm terrified of losing you just when I've found you."

The words scared me so I deliberately misunderstood.