Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) (52 page)

Feet bare, I scrambled up the gravel bed, ignoring the pain slicing against my skin.

A group of familiar figures approached from the opposite end of the shore. They noticed me a second after I spotted them.

We met at the base of the slope leading up to the palace. The faint sounds of music and laughter from the ball increased my nausea.

Cam reached me first. "What is it?"

"Aquidae." Breath came in rough gasps. "They're here."

Blaise frowned. "That's impossible."

The one thing I'd learned in this war was to never underestimate the Shadow

Unlikely, yes. Impossible, never.

I pushed my way past them to head for the palace.

Cam grabbed my arm. "Wait."

"We have to let them know!"

"He's right. You can't go running in there like this," Chloe said firmly. "You're going to start a panic."

"I don't understand," Aubrey said. "Did they break the wards?"

I took a deep breath and tried to think it through.

"No. Something like that would've sent off a magical reverberation strong enough for the selkies to feel."

"Are you sure they're here?" Ian asked.

Aubrey, Ian, and Chloe were so pale, they seemed luminous in the night.

I swallowed. "Sian's dead."

Had she been trying to escape? Her torso was positioned as if she was coming out of the water, not going into it.

She'd planned a night swim to escape the ball.

"They're coming from the water."

Sian must've seen them and tried to warn us, but they'd caught up to her.

Ice slithered through my veins. I couldn't remember the last time an attack was carried out that way.

Aub's eyes widened to green pools of fear. "That would fit. The wards don't extend into the water."

Powerful Cloaking magic created wards by combining the life force and binding between a Warden Pair couple. The ground absorbed the magic to create the invisible protective boundaries.

But the Palace relied on the sheer ruggedness of its terrain. The ward on the western boundary extended over the waters like a dome, but ended when it hit the surface of the water.

The Aquidae had used it to their advantage.

"Incoming," Ethan muttered.

A figure raced from the north, approaching us at full speed.

Four elites tensed, bodies poised for enemy engagement.

"Wait!" My arm shot out.

Magic pulsed and a white shimmer gleamed over the running figure.

Cam stared. "Holy shit."

Julian was out of breath, eyes laser focused. "They're coming —"

"I know. From the water. They're already here."

He didn't stop running.

Elites dashed next to him as he sprinted up toward the palace entrance. Chloe, Aub, and Ian jumped into a cart and drove alongside us.

"We have to organize a defense." Julian's face hardened in concentration. "They won't move until they're in formation. This is a concentrated, focused attack. All at once."

"How many?"

"Hundreds."

That wasn't the only problem. If hundreds of Aquidae attacked, we had three hundred and ten delegates, leaders from ondine communities all over the world, assembled in one place.

Evacuation wasn't an option. We had two ten-seat floatplanes and two pilots. We had to find some way to safely protect the delegates here.

Tristan stepped out of the entrance just as we neared the top. His stance was rigid, expression grim.
Kouperet
blazed by his side.

How did he know...

"The wind stopped," he said.

Julian rushed past him into the palace to organize his men. I stopped, hands on my hips while I tried to catch my breath. The other elites stayed with me.

I had to get the hard stuff out first. "Sian's gone."

His eyes tightened, pain and a horrible regret washing over his beautiful face. I wished I could take that pain and bear it for him.

I touched his arm. "I'm sorry, Tristan."

He exhaled. Merciless focus replaced the pain. "How many?"

"Hundreds." I took a deep breath. "They're coming in from the water and using nix blood. Julian expects them to strike at once."

Normally, the selkies' first priority would be to protect the Redavis. But this was their homeland, their turf, and they had the right to defend it.

As our strongest fighters, they should be the primary defense.

"Your people?"

He shook his head. "Selkie families know this terrain and have been taught evasive and escape maneuvers since birth. My people will fend for themselves."

The problem was the crowd of ondines and demillirs dancing in the inner courtyard.

"We'll figure out what to do with the delegates," I said. "Then I'll find the traitor. He's running this attack."

He nodded, expression fierce. "Adrian and his crew will bring additional weapons from the armory. We'll contain the delegates within the courtyard until we can move them. First wave of gardinels will go into the water to protect dessondines and cut off entry. Second wave will maintain an outer perimeter. I'll take up the interior ring within the palace."

"The Armicant —"

"My men and I will personally guard it."

When Ewan delivered the diamond necklace to my room, he informed me the Armicant rested in the Grand Hall leading to the second floor's west terrace.

I'd been right. The Armicant was sick but a vet who understood the workings of an immortal mutt beast was hard to come by.

The vulnerability of the weapons maker made it a priority and the best gardinels should stay near it.

It also meant Tristan and I would be separated.

Worry flickered through his eyes. "Kendra."

"I'll stay with her."

Julian emerged from the shadows. Their eyes briefly met, an unspoken understanding passing between them.

Tristan nodded. "Yes."

Julian joined the others in the entrance hall seating area.

We stared at each other.

Dark eyes slowly traced my face as if memorizing it. I tried to freeze this moment, remember every detail of the moonlight painting his cheekbones and the
pedaillon
glinting against his skin.

Warm fingers curled around mine. "Be careful."

"You, too."

The Warrior Prince slid on to his face just as the
sondaleur
did on mine.

Time to do our jobs.

I walked to the others filled with burning focus.

"We need to find a way to protect the delegates," I announced. "Any ideas?"

Ian's brow furrowed. "A place of high security large enough for everyone."

"Something Aquidae can't get past," Chloe added.

I mentally went through the map of the kingdom.

The armory was built like a bunker, but there was no way it could house three hundred delegates. It'd also be nearly impossible to get everyone there safely.

The Kingdom had a deliberately exposed design. While it was excellent for spotting enemy approach, it presented a particular problem.

There was no place to hide.

Everything was open and ready for battle. Where could we hide three hundred Redavi elementals whose only experience of fighting was with financial advisors over their investment portfolios?

Aubrey shut her eyes, brows furrowed.

"Treasury," she said softly.

"What?"

Her eyes snapped open. "The vault where the kingdom stores all its art, gold, and valuables."

What Ancelin had been so worried about elementals touching.

"We just read about this yesterday." Her eyes glittered. She was rapidly working out a solution. "The treasury only has two entrances. One here and the other end somewhere south of the kingdom. Even if you don't use the connecting tunnel to evacuate, the vault itself should be large enough to hold everyone."

Sounded good. "Where is it?"

"Underwater," Ian said wearily.

"You mean we need to swim —"

"Fifty feet underwater," he clarified. "The treasury is located beneath the ocean floor. First you'd have to get everybody down there. Then you'd need the key and eight selkies to open the door. It's protected by a complex magic spell that keeps anything with dark blood out."

How could we get hundreds of Redavi to a cavern built specifically for supernatural selkies? Imagining Marquis Genevieve wading out into the ocean was painfully ludicrous.

An idea slowly formed. Risky and depended upon factors out of my control.

But maybe we could pull it off.

Julian shot me an appraising look. "What's the plan, sweet iris?"

This time, it was better if he didn't know specifics. "Can you gather your men and a few gardinels to provide support for the evacuation?"

"Where?"

"The treasury entrance is located along the smaller promontory south of the palace," Aubrey told us.

"We need to keep that area clear."

Julian nodded. "Done."

"What do we do?" Cam asked.

All turned to me with serious faces and focused eyes.

Fear raked icy claws down my back. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to put all of them on a plane and take them back to the Academy.

We could spar at the Training Center, hang out at Rivière, break curfew and piss-off Headmaster Pelletier, and collectively moan at the poison they served us in the cafeteria.

But whether I wanted it or not, that time had passed. I was Governor-elect and these were my people.

My colleagues, my friends.

It was time to fight together.

I turned to Julian. We needed to work with the Head Chevalier.

Hesitation briefly crossed his face. But he nodded.

"When Adrian and his crew bring additional weapons from the armory, grab
kouperets
and help chevaliers evacuate the delegates," I said briskly. "Chlo, select the weapons you need and join Adrian so he can place you where he needs you."

I took a deep breath. "Aub, Ian. We need to find the traitor. He's leading this attack. Comb over everything we have on the murders again. There's something we're not seeing and I need you to find it. Everyone got it?"

Eight heads nodded. Fear and determination flickered over their faces. Julian led the elites to the other chevaliers. Chloe, Aubrey, and Ian left for the south wing.

I forced myself to release my clenching chest and ran toward the Royal Hall.

Time to gather up a stubborn father, an icy grandmother, an ex-bad boy, and an ondine determined to make my life miserable.

I almost preferred facing a horde of Aquidae.

***

Silence filled the small changing room just off the inner courtyard. Rows of lockers lined two walls and the tiny window overlooking the shore was locked as tight as the door.

The attack had started. No sound or visible sign reached us.

But I felt it.

A great swell of unnatural energy swept through the kingdom. Air cringed at the incoming aberration.

Ancelin felt it, too. His expression harshened and tension rolled through his body.

Marquisa LeVeq's face was white as snow. Her hand trembled uncontrollably.

I focused on the King. "We need your key."

Steely dark eyes bored into mine. "No."

The last remnants of patience vanished.

"No one's interested in taking this remote place for themselves. No one wants to steal any of your riches because everyone here is already rich. If they're not, they're actually out there fighting." I pointed at the window. "Get over yourself and do your job!"

His jaw tightened. "Don't come in here and tell me —"

"For crying out loud, Ancelin," Rhian snapped. "Are you willing to let a massacre take place on selkie soil because your pride refuses to open a door?"

I couldn't have said it better myself.

He stared stonily at her. Hazel eyes sparking with ice and fire met his levelly. I had the impression they could stand there outstaring each other forever.

Finally, with an ambiguous grunt that admitted nothing, Ancelin removed a heavy ring from his finger and gave it to Jeeves. Without another word, he walked out.

He redefined the meaning of the word stubborn.

"I need to know the location before I can teleport," Rhian said. "I'll go first, along with the other teleports here, Marquisas Chen, Velasquez, and Anthony. We can then bring in delegates one at a time."

But it would be slow-going and draining. I took in Rhian's thin body, aging by the day, and knew she couldn't teleport many individuals.

The bulk of the plan relied on Marquisa LeVeq.

Familiar blue eyes stared at us as if we'd lost our minds.

"Governor." Her voice shook. "This is insane. We should stay here within the walls of the palace. The gardinels and chevaliers will protect —"

I marched to the window and threw it open. Battle's roar echoed, the clash of violence and death sharply dissonant against the sonorous cadences of the ball's delicate music.

Patrice shrank from the noise.

"Hundreds of Aquidae are now killing dessondines and coming at the palace in a coordinated attack," I said with glacial calm. "There are not enough gardinels and chevalier to hold them off and keep the delegates safe. We need to bring you out of the battlefield."

Her eyes widened with shock and fear. Mouth tightened in denial.

I froze, Kendra.

Marquisa Leveq was stuck, clinging to a past that no longer worked. Even now, she chose to freeze and remain still rather than move and fight back.

Her inability to accept the truth was about to cause massive bloodshed. She had to snap out of it.

"Patrice, think!" Rhian said, voice sharp.

"Marquisa," I said loudly. "Do you understand? Staying put will get you killed!"

Jeeves stepped up to her. "Patrice."

His soft voice made her react in a way Rhian and my admonishments could not.

She blinked. Something that almost looked like pain flickered over her face. "You cannot ask me to."

"I will."

Jeeves pulled up his sleeve exposing the chevalier mark on his inner arm. The black outline of a
kouperet
had slightly faded, but could still be seen against pale skin long hidden under suit jackets.