Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) (35 page)

“Ty,
how can you ever say that you’re weak?  No one else would have had the strength
to go in there and renounce Parald like that.  No one, but you.”

Her
mouth curved.  “I was inspired.”  Ty slipped her arm thorough his.  “The last
words of
Ismena
are, ‘know yourself and be happy.”

“Really?” 
That was… amazing.

“Yes. 
When you said that to me, I knew what I had to do.”  Ty stood on tiptoe to kiss
the side of his jaw.  “I just absolutely knew.”

It is a citizen of both elements-- air and water.

F. H. Laing- ‘A Reassuring Thought…’

Ty
came back to the present with a gasp.

She
was on the kitchen floor with Gion’s arms around her.  The digital clock on the
microwave told her that no time had passed since the beginning of their
experience.  Just like in a genuine memory-sharing, it had all happened
instantly.

Ty
smiled.

Her
residual panic faded and excitement filled her.  What she and Gion just saw was
extraordinary. 
Everything
about their connection was a little bizarre,
but this proved that what they had was really special.

Freya’s
double-Match theory
had
to be right.

Only
Matches had memory sharings.

And
that mental trip into the past
had
to have been some kind of memory
sharing.  Scientifically, there was just nothing else that it could be.  That
meant that Gion didn’t have another Match.  He wouldn’t leave her.  He really
was hers.

All
Ty had to do was kill Parald and she could have Gion.  She’d only have one
Match.  Her
real
Match: Gion.  Just like things were supposed to be.

Ty
gave an excited “squee” and kissed him full on the lips.  “Did you see that? 
You did, right?  You were really there with me?”

“Yes.” 
Gion didn’t look thrilled.  He seemed baffled.  “You’re the genius, here.  What
the hell was that?”

Ty
bounced to her feet.  “Well, I think it’ll take more research to be sure, but
I’m very hopeful that it’s good news.”

“More
with the research.  Great.”

“Ty?” 
Nia came wandering in.  Red eyebrows climbed as she took in Gion’s position on
the floor.  “Right.”  She shook her head and looked over at her cousin.  “So,
someone’s here to see Gion.”

“I’m
not eager to visit with Job.”  Gion muttered, standing up.  He still looked
immaculate.  “It’ll be a complete waste of time.  I can already give a Ghost of
Christmas Future summary of the conversation yet to come.  ‘If Gion doesn’t
change his ways, I predict a sad and…’”

“It’s
not Job, wiseass.”  Nia headed over to the stove to check on the spaghetti. 
“It’s some Air Phases, actually.  Come to visit you.”

“What?” 
Gion scowled.  “Damn it, I told Tharsis not to let anyone in here until I
checked their names.  Are Water Phases genetically incapable of understanding
security?”

“Well,
if we’re too slow for you, you could always move out.”  Nia poured the pasta
through the strainer in the sink and endeavored to look innocent.  “I wouldn’t
mind.”

“Nia.” 
Ty frowned at her cousin.  “What are you doing?”

“Helping
with dinner.”  She transferred the spaghetti in to a bowl and handed it to Ty. 
“I’ll get the sauce and then we can eat.”

Gion
went sweeping out of the kitchen like a storm cloud.

“I
asked you to be nice to him.”  Ty hissed.

“I
am
being nice.  This is me being nice to the vampire who’s bewitched my
little cousin.  Note how I haven’t sent him over the waterfall in a barrel.”

“He’s
not a vampire.  He’s my…”  Ty stopped, not wanting to share Freya’s theory of
the double-Match just yet.  It was like a birthday candle wish.  If she said
the words out loud, it might not come true.

“He’s
your what?”  Nia pressed.

Ty
bit her lower lip.  “I love him.”  She whispered and then dashed out of the
room before her cousin started lecturing.

Nia
could be overprotective.  Ty was used to that and she even appreciated it.  Nia
had always doted on her.  Ty was the baby of the family, born a hundred and
fifty-eight years after the twins.  All her life, Nia and Thar looked out for
Ty and spoiled her.  They loved Ty and, occasionally, they thought that gave
them the right to rule her life.  She accepted that.

But,
Ty still wasn’t giving Gion up.

She
hurried towards the dining room just in time to hear Gion’s voice snap out like
whip.

“No. 
You
aren’t
welcomed here.  Get out. 
Now
.”

It
wasn’t so much the words as it was the deadly serious quality of his tone that
had Ty breaking into a run.  Gion was about to kill their houseguests.  That
would not be a great way to endear him to her family.

“Gion!” 
She went skidding into the room.  “Don’t…”  She stopped abruptly, spotting the
target of his wrath.  “Isaacs.”

Parald’s
new number one Phase stood in her dining room between Cross and Brokk,
sunglasses over his eyes and a scowl on his face.

“How
could you let Isaacs come within three kingdoms of Ty?”  Gion demanded, glaring
over at Tharsis.  “Do you have a brain injury?”

“I
didn’t invite him.”  Tharsis held up his palms “not my fault” style.  “Amarna
brought him.”

“Isaacs
isn’t going to hurt her.”  Amarna volunteered.  “He needs Ty’s help.”

Ty’s
mind went blank for a beat.  “Alright.”  If he was planning to kidnap her,
Isaacs probably would have had a better plan that just… showing up, so Ty was
at a loss on how to act.  Good breeding had her falling back on politeness. 
“Um.  I’m glad to see that you’re okay after the Agora fight, Isaacs.  I tried
to check on you, but…”

“I’m
not okay!”  Isaacs roared.  He ripped the sunglasses off of his face and
pointed at his eyes.  “I can’t fucking
see
, Ty.  I can’t see, and it’s
your fault, and I want amnesty.”

Ty
sucked in a breath as she took in the milky blue sheen to gaze.  “You’re
blind?!  Oh my God, Isaacs.  I’m so sorry.  Have you seen Freya?”  She
instantly winced over that phrasing.  “I mean, have you
gone
to…”

Gion
cut her off.  “I don’t care if his eyes were eaten by wolves.  Isaacs isn’t
moving in, Ty.  That’s the end of the discussion.”  He glared over at Amarna. 
“And what the hell are
you
doing here?”

“She
brought Isaacs, of course.”  Ignoring Gion’s bad mood, Ty moved closer to
Isaacs and pulled out a chair for him.  The man had kidnapped her once, but she
couldn’t just let him suffer.  “Here, Isaacs.  Have a seat.  What can I do?”

“He
blackmailed me into letting him tag along.”  Amarna reported dismissively.  She
kept her attention on Gion.  “I really came to see you.”

“What
kind of food do you have?”  Isaacs sat down and put his hands on the tabletop
as if testing the solidity of the wood.  “I like steak.”

“Seriously,
we’re not really gonna feed this asshole, right?”  Cross looked over at
Tharsis.  “He’s a bad guy.  Do we all
remember
that?”

Brokk
nodded.  “I remember that.”

Gion
frowned at Amarna.  “We have nothing to discuss.  And Isaacs,” he pointed a
finger at him, “you’re leaving.  You’re not eating here.  You’re not living
here.  I’ll get you a German Sheppard to lead you around, if you’re that hard
up.”

“I’m
allergic to dogs.”  Tharsis protested.

“Elementals
don’t have allergies.”  Brokk spun the chair around so he straddled the back. 
“And I like dogs.”

“Isaacs
has been injured.  You’re all being unreasonable.”  Ty put some spaghetti on
Isaacs’ plate.  “Here’s some pasta, Isaacs.  Hang on, we have tomato sauce,
too.  And don’t worry.  I’ll call a doctor for you.”

“Pasta?” 
Isaacs’ face creased in distaste.  “You don’t have steak?”

“No.” 
Nia came in, slapping the tureen of spaghetti sauce onto the table.  She shot
Amarna an aggravated look.  “You were supposed to come here alone.”

“I
know.  I apologize.  I knew Gion could handle him, so I wasn’t worried.”  She
moved closer to Gion, the intensity of her eyes belying her subdued exterior. 
“And we
do
have something to discuss. 
Parald
.  Now’s the time to
defeat him.”

“I
know you’re in command of the rebels, Marna, but that has nothing to do with
me.”  Gion assured her.  “I’ve left the Air Kingdom.”

“But,
you have to come back.  We need your help.  I know that you’re better than the
rest of Parald’s men.”

“Hey!” 
Isaacs protested.

“Gion
is
better than other men.”  Ty was pleased that Amarna noticed that.  “He’s
a hero.”

Isaacs
scoffed.

So
did Gion.

“Gion
saved me during the Fall.”  Amarna nodded at Ty.  “He was loyal to my uncle,
even though Seneca was too stupid to notice.  The Air Kingdom can’t afford to
lose him.”

“Well,
you can’t have him back.”  Ty flashed Gion a worried look.  “Do you want to go
back to the Air Kingdom?”

“Hell
no.”

“I’m
just going eat.”  Cross sat down and started piling spaghetti onto his plate. 
“I should make the Black Hole taste all this first, just to be safe, but I’m
hungry and this is gonna take a while.  I can tell.”

“Stop
calling Gion that.”  Ty chided.

Amarna
ignored them.  “Saxon is strong, but he’s not as strong as you.”  She met
Gion’s gaze.  “You’ve left the Air House and now Isaacs is incapacitated, as
well.  Parald is vulnerable.  Now’s the time to strike.”

“I’ll
be
fine
.  I just need some time to heal without Parald trying to kill
me.”  Isaacs grabbed the fork out of Ty’s hand and struggled to get the pasta
to twirl around the tines.

He
didn’t look fine.

He
was trying to brazen it out, but it he was having trouble finding the food on
his plate.  Ty watched him worriedly.  They needed to call Freya.  “Isaacs.” 
She lowered her voice.  “You have to go to a doctor.  Come with me and…”

“After
dinner.”  His damaged eyes shifted in Gion’s direction and Ty realized that
Isaacs didn’t want to show any weakness in front of his former general.  For
all his snarky-ness, Isaacs wanted Gion’s respect.

Ty
relented with a concerned sigh.  She subtly shifted the position of the plate,
so his fork found the pasta.

“Thank
you.”  The words were almost inaudible.

“Parald’s
weak.”  Amarna pressed, not giving up on her “steal Gion from Ty” plan. 
“Nearly, all of his top soldiers are gone.  He’s never
been
so weak,
Gion.  This is our chance to free our people from his oppression.”

Gion
shook his head.  “Very stirring, but I’m not leaving the Water House and I’m
not killing Parald.  You’re wasting your time.”

Cross
rolled his eyes.  “
Why
aren’t we killing him?”

“Because
Gion isn’t a soldier, anymore.”  Ty beamed proudly.  “He’s a musician.”

Nia
and Tharsis exchanged a look.

“Oh,
perfect.  Well, I’m not joining his fabulous boy-band.”  Isaacs made a face. 
“I’d rather take my chances in the Air House kitchens.”  He chewed morosely on
his spaghetti.  “Jesus, who made this crap?”

“You’ll
have plenty of time to enjoy the wonders of the Air House,” Gion snapped, “because,
you’re
not
staying here.”

Isaacs’
jaw tightened.

“No,
seriously, why hasn’t Gion killed Parald?”  Nia asked.  “I don’t care if he’s
got a secret identity as Beethoven, I
know
that Gion’s not a pacifist.”

“Gion’s
afraid that Parald might drag Ty down with him.”  Tharsis arched a brow. 
“They’re a Match.  Their energies are connected.  And she’s very young.”

Ty
blinked.  That was… crazy.  Her energy had never connected with anyone but
Gion.  What she felt with Parald had been
wrong
.  If he died, the
biggest risk to her would be a hangover after the not-so-mournful funeral
celebration she planned to throw.

No
one else seemed to believe that.

Cross
leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling.  “Shit.”  He sighed.

“I
hadn’t thought of that.”  Nia looked over at Gion in amazement.  “You’re
right.”

Gion
inclined his head.

“Parald
is dangerous to
everyone,
as long as he’s alive,” Amarna insisted, “especially
to Ty.  Gion, you’re an
Air Phase
.  You need to come back to the Air
Kingdom and help us stop him.”

“I
don’t give a damn about the Air Kingdom.  I won’t let anybody harm Parald, if
there’s even a chance that it might endanger Ty.”

“Gion
is a
Water
Phase, now.”  Ty corrected firmly.  “Anyway, no one has to
worry about Parald’s death killing me.”  The very idea was ludicrous.  Sweet,
but ludicrous.  “I don’t feel a connection to Parald.  Not at all.”

“You
have to.”  Brokk began dumping pasta onto his own plate.  The man ate more food
than any Phase Ty had ever seen.  “You’re a Match.”

“Well,
there’s been a glitch then, because I’ve never felt anything but wrongness
around him.”  Ty turned to Gion.  “This is why you haven’t killed Parald? 
Because, you were worried about me?”