Whirl (Ondine Quartet Book 1) (12 page)

"Kendra." I turned on the charm.

Jake turned out to be a normal human guy,
just like the ones I used to have fun with in San Aurelio. He and
his friends were all first year students at the university. I
flirted outrageously with him, determined to push all the
frustration out of my head just for tonight. I missed my daily
night time prowls, where I had completely control and freedom to do
what I wanted.

The vodka tonics I downed numbed my
anxieties, and Jake's admiring eyes and warm laughs made me feel
fuzzy and good.

I leaned against his shoulder with my eyes
closed. The music pulsed inside me and my brain swirled with heat.
Jake softly stroked my arm and whispered in my ear, "Wanna
dance?"

"Hmmm?" I glanced up at him.

"I'd like to see that body of yours in
action." His eyes ran suggestively over me and I felt a responsive
shiver.

"Sounds like fun."

Aubrey and Matt had their arms locked around
each other and were already involved in some hot tongue action.
Chloe and Jason were whispering to each other, their lips inches
apart.

I held Jake's hand and led him out to the
dance floor. He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me close,
his hands resting on the small of my back. I lifted my arms,
loosely entwining them around his neck. My head fell back, hair
brushing against his hands with each sway.

The throbbing music wrapped around me. My
body and hips began moving on their own and I pressed myself
against his body.

His hands gently traced small circles on my
back. He looked at me like he was mesmerized.

"You're amazing," he breathed.

The heat in his eyes was turning me on and
his body rubbed against me in a way that excited me.

I reveled in the sensations, feeling free for
the first time in days. Nothing existed but the pulse of the music
and my body's instinctual movements to it.

Jake kissed me enthusiastically. It was kind
of sloppy and a little too wet for my taste, but still.

I'd been in desperate need of physical
release since I came to Haverleau and the dancing and kissing was
the most enjoyable activity I'd had since I arrived.

Breaking off the kiss, I kept my arms around
his neck and turned so that my back was against his chest. Closing
my eyes, I undulated against him, the music spurring me on.

Jake moved my hair to the side and his mouth
brushed against my neck.

"Nice tattoo," he whispered.

I'd almost forgotten what it was like for
someone to simply notice my tattoo without adding any meaning to
it. I released a small portion of my Virtue's mental filters and
reached inside Jake.

A mixture of admiration, desire, and
eagerness for me as well as a small degree of smugness. Out of
everyone in Axis, he'd been the one to get me for the night and he
was pleased with himself.

Satisfied, I let myself go, sinking into his
admiration, into the hazy feel-good state where everything was
forgotten.

The edges of my Virtue suddenly twitched and
I felt a solid presence against it. Someone was watching me. I
opened my eyes and scanned the club, searching for the source of
the feeling.

There. Across the dance floor. Tristan.

The flickering strobe lights alternated to
both illuminate his gorgeous face and cast it in shadows. His
expression was unreadable, but I could make out the dangerous,
barely controlled glint in his eyes.

Motionless, he stood there staring at me.

Great. My selkie jailer, here to take me back
to my prison.

Pressing harder against Jake, I tilted my
head so that my hair spilled forward and continued dancing. My eyes
never left Tristan's and his never left mine.

A part of me knew I shouldn't be challenging
him like this, but the recklessness I'd felt all night consumed me.
I wasn't sure whether I was trying to prove something to him or to
myself.

He continued to watch me with that intense
stillness and after a few moments I sighed and let go of Jake. He
protested, but I murmured something about seeing someone I knew. I
was going to have to face Tristan at some point, and it was
probably better sooner rather than later.

Tossing my hair back, I sauntered towards
him, suddenly conscious of the curves on my body and the sway of my
hips.

Tristan's entire body was crouched in
tension. Even from a distance, I sensed that extraordinary warrior
energy coiled inside of him, waiting to explode. His dark eyes were
brooding and stony.

But something else flared there, too.
Something I'd never seen before.

Just like the night at the Governing House, I
wondered what he saw when he looked at me. But my thoughts turned
in a very different direction this time. Did he see what Jake and
the other guys here at the club tonight saw? Did he think I was
attractive? Did he want to touch me, kiss me?

Suddenly I noticed that Tristan, standing
there with all that intense energy, was actually turning me on more
than Jake's rubbing and kissing action. A hot flush spread over
me…

Holy shit! What was wrong with me?

Embarrassed, I stopped. Whatever I thought I
saw earlier had winked out and Tristan's eyes were now filled with
anger and something else. Disappointment? Disapproval? His mouth
hardened and I almost flinched at the fierceness carved into his
face. He took a few steps, closing the distance between us.

"What do you think you're doing?"

I realized that Tristan's badass side I'd
admired so much when fighting against Aquidae was not quite so
pleasant when it was directed at me.

"Having fun. Why? Do you want to join me?" I
tilted my head back. I was still a bit embarrassed, so I thought
I'd try blowing my way through his anger with attitude.

"Do you have any idea how stupid your
behavior is?"

"So I broke a few Lumiére rules. It's not
that big a deal."

"It is a big deal! You're the
sondaleur
and you're behaving like a child!"

"Please. Enough with that already." Anger
swiftly rose up and I welcomed it. It made me forget about my
strange reaction earlier.

Besides, I was sick and tired of people
defining me by that word. And I really didn't like being called a
child.

"How did you know I was here, anyway? Do you
have spies following me or something?"

"We found you in Lyondale the same way any
Aquidae would. By following your magical energy." He shook his head
and took a step closer. His chest almost, but not quite, pressed up
to me. "Did you really think you could leave campus and we wouldn't
know about it? You're mocking everyone's efforts to help you!"

"Oh, so
that's
what this is about. You
saved me from Aquidae, made some promise to my mother and
grandmother, and suddenly your macho male pride thinks everything I
do is your responsibility." My voice turned taunting. "Sorry,
gardinel. All of you may try to force me to be the kind of ondine
you want. But in my personal life, I'm free to choose what I want
to do."

"Stop calling me gardinel."

"Stop calling me
sondaleur
, Your
Highness."

He shot me an exasperated look.

"This has nothing to do with me or my
responsibilities. It has to do with yours. Do you have any idea how
much danger you're in out here like this? How much danger you've
put your friends in?"

I hadn't thought of that. If Aquidae had
found us tonight, did I really think I could protect the three of
us? Not likely, considering how I fared against them in San
Aurelio. I would've given it everything I had, but it wouldn't have
been enough.

I'd forgotten that once I turned seventeen, I
became a walking target. My magical energy glowed around me like
some bizarre beacon and according to the Aquidae who tried to
kidnap me, it was brighter than most ondines.

My thoughts turned to Aubrey and Chloe and I
faltered. Not only because Tristan was right about endangering
them, but because I suddenly felt…ashamed. It was one thing to be
reckless with my own safety, but to gamble with theirs was wrong.
They had no idea what Aquidae were capable of. But I did.

Tristan's words made me feel small and
stupid, and I didn't like seeing the disappointment on his face.
Something deflated inside me. The full effects of the alcohol I'd
consumed and the weight of the risk I'd taken tonight gushed over
my body in a dizzying wave.

"It's easy for you. You're a prince and Chief
Gardinel. You know what to do. You deal with that kind of stuff all
the time." I blinked, trying to ignore the broken feeling inside
me. "But I'm not like you. I can't always do what's right or
what…what everyone expects from me. I want to live my life the way
I want to."

Tristan's eyes softened slightly, though his
voice didn't. "Nothing is ever easy, Kendra. But you have to
understand the elemental world is not like the human world. At
seventeen, you've come of age and have become openly vulnerable to
the Aquidae. You could be having fun and doing all these things,"
he gestured to the club around him, "if you were human. But you're
not."

He dipped his head and looked into my eyes
with total seriousness. "I know it's difficult, but you are the
sondaleur
. Whether or not you believe it, you need to start
accepting it. You need to accept your role in our world. Water
elementals have been waiting for you for years. We need you."

I glanced away, feeling strangely emotional
at the sincerity of his gaze. God, what was wrong with me tonight?
I must be drunker than I thought.

"Is everything okay?"

Jake's voice came over my shoulder and I
groaned inwardly. I'd completely forgotten about him. Tristan
tensed, his face hardening.

Turning around hastily, I flashed Jake a
winning smile. "Everything's fine. I'm really sorry, but
something's come up. My friends and I have to go."

Jake glanced at Tristan and shrank back a
bit. I couldn't blame him. Tristan was very intimidating when he
was in his ripped, pissed-off gardinel mode.

"Is…is this guy bothering you?"

I had to give him credit for trying. Tristan
shifted behind me slightly, and Jake hesitated.

"No, no. He's someone I know. There's
something the girls and I need to do tonight, that's all." I
lightly trailed my finger up his forearm. I had to get rid of him
fast and without bloodshed. Because any blood spilled would
definitely be his, not Tristan's. "I had a great time tonight,
Jake. Thanks."

He glowed, pleased at my praise, though he
still shot Tristan an uncertain look. But he thankfully seemed to
accept that he was on the losing end tonight. As soon as he walked
off, I gave a loud sigh and turned back to Tristan.

"You know, you didn't have to be such a
hard-ass selkie in front of him. I could've handled it." I sniffed,
crossing my arms in front of me.

His lips twitched like he was about to smile.
With visible effort, he pushed it back and became Prince Tough Love
again.

"Let me grab Aubrey and Chloe and we can
go."

He shook his head. "No. They'll get them. You
stay with me."

That was when I saw three other men standing
a few feet behind Tristan, practically hidden in the shadows of the
club. The
pedaillons
around their necks gleamed softly in
the club's strobe lights.

So much for my ninja detection skills. I
hadn't even noticed them. From their smirking faces, though, I
suspected their selkie eyes and ears had taken in everything.

Damn it. My night was just getting better and
better.

NINE

I felt a small amount of
satisfaction when Tristan's selkies brought Chloe and Aubrey over.
The girls hadn't made it easy. Chloe argued furiously with a
gardinel, her eyes flashing with irritation. Indignant, Aubrey
crossed her arms and glared at the gardinel next to her. He
pretended not to notice. I bit my lip to hide a smile.

We navigated through the crowded club floor
to the side exit. Bastien caught my eye from the bar and raised an
eyebrow in amusement. I grimaced. The selkies had hovered and
rounded us up like a bunch of misbehaving little kids. It was
humiliating and depressing.

I had to admit, though, that I felt safer
with Tristan beside us. His body was poised for action, and I knew
he was always alert and ready for any threat. Was he right? Was
there a part of me that refused to let go of the human world?

The exit led to a dark alley behind the club.
I hadn't realized how much the packed, dancing bodies had raised
the temperature inside. As soon as I stepped out, the night air
cooled and refreshed my sweaty skin. The door swung shut, cutting
off most of the sound.

Tristan began issuing orders. "Ewan, take
Aubrey back in her car. Make sure she returns to her room." He
emphasized the last part. The gardinel standing next to Aubrey
nodded, his amber eyes dancing with mild amusement. Aubrey muttered
something about unfairness under her breath.

"Garreth, take Chloe back in the SUV. I'll
take the
sondaleur
in my car. Adrian, stay back and make
sure no one is following."

Glancing around the narrow alley, I had the
strangest feeling of
déjà vu
. Weird, since it was my first
time in Lyondale. We stood next to a smelly green dumpster, and the
club's music vibrated through the iron door behind us.

My instincts flared. I carefully extended my
magic to our surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary. All I
sensed were several small groups of intoxicated humans walking
along the street in front of the club.

But I couldn't get rid of the feeling that
something was wrong.

Suddenly, there were empty pockets among the
buzz of emotions. It was as though some humans just dropped out.
There was an absence, a space of no senses.