Whirl (Ondine Quartet Book 1) (14 page)

Tristan hesitated, then nodded.

"And now my uncle is Head Chevalier. It runs
in my blood."

"No. It runs in the demillirs that join your
family."

"Same thing," I scoffed. "It runs in the
Irisavie family. It shouldn't matter if I'm an ondine or demillir.
Those who want to fight should have the right to join the
chevaliers. They need the numbers, anyway."

That was true. The number of demillirs
entering the program was decreasing every year.

He stopped and faced me with a serious
expression. "Let's say that's true. It still doesn't take away the
fact that demillirs are born with natural physical abilities
ondines don't have."

"But we have magic."

I'd been mulling this over ever since
Broussard's class. I never told anyone how my mother fought the
Aquidae for years. But I needed to convince Tristan. Maybe telling
him would support my argument.

"My mother fought against Aquidae by using
her Virtue."

He looked startled. "Magic doesn't work on
Aquidae."

"She didn't use it on them. She used it on
herself, controlling it so that she saw a few moments ahead of her
own future. She foresaw every movement they planned to use against
her, before they did it. That's how she gained enough advantage to
fight them. I think ondine magic could counterbalance speed and
strength."

I wasn't quite sure on this last point, but
my instincts told me I was on the right track.

Tristan stared at me for several moments, his
brows furrowed. Finally, he shook his head.

"That law has been around for thousands of
years. There's never been an ondine in the chevaliers before, and I
doubt they'll let one in now."

"But —"

He lifted a hand to stop me. Conflicted
emotions crossed his face. "With you—" He shook his head. "You're
too important to the water elementals, to our future. The risk
would be too high."

My anger flared. Who was he to tell me what
risk I should or shouldn't take with my own life?

What happened tonight had only added to my
determination. Other people, like the gardinels, shouldn't have to
risk their lives for me. Tristan shouldn't have to leave his
friends and men behind to protect me.

"You think I can't do it. That I'm not good
enough," I said evenly.

"No, it's not that." Tristan's voice was a
bit softer. "Someday I think you'll be a very powerful ondine. But
right now there are things you're not ready for."

"How can you say that?" Anger and hurt pride
wrestled for dominance inside me. "I've already been attacked
twice. And yeah, you may have been there both times, but I don't
flinch. I fight back, and if I were trained properly I could be
better."

"It's not about physical abilities." His face
turned serious. "You're too emotional. It's actually the very thing
that makes your magical energy so pure and strong. But the
principals that apply to magic don't apply to a chevalier."

He looked away. "Fighting is more than what
they teach you in classes. When you're out in the field, you have
to be objective. You can't hesitate. You have to be in
control."

It sounded as if he was talking more about
himself than me.

"Is that what happened to you? Did you lose
control?"

He gave me a sharp glance as we approached
the clinic doors. "This is not about me. For now, you need to focus
on developing your magic."

So he thought I was a child who wasn't ready.
Well, I wasn't going to look idiotic and beg. If he wasn't going to
help me, I'd just have to find another way.

I shot him a haughty look and stormed into
the clinic. He had enough sense to not follow me in.

TEN

Dirt puffed in tiny clouds around my feet as I
walked along the narrow, winding road to Nexa's place. The mild
afternoon was bright and dry with just a few cloud wisps floating
like dainty cotton balls in the sky.

A headache hammered against my skull and my
wrist was still a little tender, even though the Healer had mended
the fractured bone.

Just remembering last night's fiasco was
enough to worsen my headache. My injuries had been a bit more
serious than my first visit to the clinic, and the Healing process
had hurt. A lot.

The Healing Virtue had the power to
manipulate the water in our bodies on the cellular level, allowing
the users to shift molecules around and rapidly repair any damage.
It's not the most pleasant thing in the world when your cells are
magically rearranging themselves back into place at an accelerated
rate.

I winced, recalling the burning itchiness
that had crawled under my skin when the Healer worked on my wrist
and forehead. It had felt like a flowing fiery river of razor-sharp
needles.

Making the discomfort even worse, Pelletier
and Rhian had stormed into the clinic and I'd had to sit through
two hours of their lectures on how irresponsible my behavior had
been. Although I'd managed to tune most of it out, it still stung.
Especially since it followed Tristan's admonishment at the club and
because I already felt guilty about putting the others in
danger.

As I neared the bluff, anticipation for my
lesson grew. If I understood all the possibilities of Empath, I
could find a way to use it to become an effective fighter.

And if I proved my command over magic, I
might be able to convince Tristan and Gabriel to help me change the
chevalier law.

I knocked, but no one answered. Hesitating, I
tried the door and it opened.

"Nexa?" I called out. "It's Kendra."

There was no response and I didn't smell the
tell-tale sign of cigarette smoke. The house appeared empty. In the
messy kitchenette, I found a note on the cluttered table, propped
against a small bowl of water.

Dear Kendra,

Sorry I'm unable to be there for our first
session. Some problems have cropped up that I need to deal with,
but I'm sure you'll be able to handle today's task on your own.

Lesson #1: Find yourself in the water.

I'll be in touch.

- N

Incredulous, I re-read the note several
times. She was standing me up on our first lesson!

And what the hell does, "Find yourself in the
water," mean?

I studied the bowl of water from all angles
and even dipped my finger in to taste it. Plain tap water.

Sighing, I rubbed my forehead and sat at the
table, trying to make sense of her words.

Nexa's instructions were so vague that I
couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do. Did she mean I had
to magically transfer myself into the bowl? That seemed like it
required the Teleportation Virtue. Maybe Empath magic used elements
of Teleportation.

Closing my eyes, I imagined standing inside
the bowl of water. I concentrated on forcing my brain to project me
there. Every cell in my body strained to make the image a
reality.

When I opened my eyes, I was still sitting in
my chair.

I repeated the process over and over, digging
deeper into my pool of Virtue magic.

Nothing happened. Not even a tingle.

When my head felt like it was about to split,
I stopped.

Maybe she meant the water and I are
supposed to become one, like some new-age Jedi thing
.

I focused on my breath, conscious of every
inhale and exhale.

I reached for my Virtue, hoping the magic
would react.

But there was no response. My Virtue was just
as clueless about what to do as I was.

I stubbornly continued meditating for another
hour. Other than making me so calm I almost fell asleep, I
accomplished nothing.

Frustrated and pissed, I glanced at the
clock. I'd been at it for three hours and was nowhere near
deciphering what I was supposed to do. My head pounded and I
decided to leave and think about it overnight.

I stretched my tight, cramping muscles and
walked back toward the Quad. As I neared the dormitory, a familiar,
haughty voice called out from behind me.

"Heard you made an ass out of yourself last
night."

Great. I turned around to see Amber Blanchard
grinning slyly at me. She was surrounded by her usual bunch of
followers. Standing there with their perfectly coiffed hair and
preppy clothes, they looked like a magazine ad for prissy
bitches.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"I want the Academy to consider the safety
and security of its students." Her words dripped with malice. "It's
not safe if unstable people are allowed to walk around campus. They
should do a background check on every student. Make sure their
family history doesn't include maniacal mothers."

I crossed my arms in front of me and moved
forward a few steps.

"If you've got something to say to me, say it
to my face. Or are you too scared?"

Now that pissed her off. No way could she let
me get away with that.

"You are a fraud," she hissed. "God knows
your crazy mother tattooed the mark onto you herself. She probably
inked those spots on your ankle, too. Just so both of you can carry
on this delusion that you're something special."

I clenched my hands and my eyes narrowed.
"Why, Amber. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were
jealous."

Her pale green eyes blazed. "Why would I be
jealous? You proved last night that you're not the
sondaleur
. You couldn't do anything when Aquidae came after
you and your loser friends. You're nothing but a psychopathic
slut."

That hurt.

I leaned forward and my posture turned
menacing. After the day I'd been having, all I really wanted to do
was wipe that smirk off her face.

Just as I was about to show her how
psychopathic I could be, Tristan silently emerged from the trees
behind her.

God, that gardinel stealth was
aggravating.

His eyes found me and he strode forward, no
doubt recognizing the expression on my face.

"Is everything all right?" he asked calmly,
standing between me and Amber.

"Of course, Prince Belicoux," Amber's
sugary-sweet voice answered. "Everything's fine. Thanks for
asking."

"Fine and dandy,
Your Highness
." I
gave a brittle smile. "Amber and I were discussing Aquidae battle
technique. I think she wanted to make some suggestions to you and
Head Chevalier Renard. Apparently, she's now an expert on fighting
them."

Amber paled and her eyes turned icy. "Let's
go," she said to her group.

She gave me a last sidelong glance before
walking away. She was becoming a major pain in the ass. And I knew
it was just going to get worse.

Next time, I'd make sure no one could
interrupt when I punched her.

"Nexa asked me to check up on you," Tristan
said dryly. "Just in case you were thinking of doing
something…impulsive."

"That's ridiculous." My eyes followed Amber's
back as she walked away. "I've been wanting to kick her ass for
awhile, so it wouldn't have been impulsive. More like
premeditated."

He sighed. "Kendra…"

I gave him a cool look, still smarting over
his words from last night.

"And I don't need anyone checking up on
me."

Tristan studied me for a moment.

"Come on. I want to show you something."

He walked back toward Nexa's place and I
reluctantly followed, concentrating to keep up with his longer
strides. To my surprise, he led me past the cottage, and headed for
the grassy bluff that overlooked the sea.

We walked quietly, the only sound coming from
the few birds that soared above us. The setting sun cast long
shadows off their bodies. The wind was stronger here, whipping my
hair around my face.

Tristan approached the edge of the bluff and
for a moment, I thought he was going to walk right over and plunge
into the ocean below. Instead, he suddenly began to descend.

When I got close, I saw a set of old, stone
steps carved into the side of the cliff. They were so well-hidden,
I would never have noticed they were there.

I followed him down and the whispering sounds
of the ocean grew deeper as we approached the sandy bottom.

We were in a beautiful small cove, almost
completely isolated from the rest of Haverleau. The stone steps
were the only way to access this place, unless you swam in from the
ocean. Considering the way the steps were hidden just underneath
the bluff, I highly doubted anyone knew about it.

It was astounding.

Tall, craggy cliffs framed the entire cove
like ancient impenetrable guardians, and the small shore of
pristine, golden sand contrasted dramatically with the dark, rocky
walls.

The craws of seabirds and the soft murmurs of
the glittering waves lapping against the sand filled the air. There
was a raw, unspoiled beauty and an evocative pull to the place that
was undeniable.

It felt familiar. As though this place had
always existed inside me, but I didn't know until I found it. Until
now.

My heart swelled and I took a deep, cleansing
breath. The air pushed its way through my lungs and into my body,
filling me with the essential, heady power of water.

I turned to Tristan, a lump in my throat. His
dark eyes watched me. A thousand messages passed between us in that
moment, and I knew he understood.

He smiled, really smiled. I was so used to
the polite, royal one that never really reached his eyes. Combined
with his stoic gardinel face, it was usually impossible to tell
what he was feeling.

But this was a real smile, something that
made his eyes light up and transformed his face into — well, into
something beyond gorgeous. It took my breath away.

More than a prince, more than a gardinel, he
was a selkie. And I was an ondine. Like all water elementals, the
ocean was where we belonged.