Breaker (Ondine Quartet Book 4) (17 page)

A heavy silence fell at those words. I didn’t need my Virtue to feel the sharp edge of their fear.
 

Patrice shook her head. “I’m sure the Council will come up with a better plan that doesn’t involve our current Governor running headlong into battle.”

“I’m sure they will,” I said dismissively. “Until then, I will proceed as I see fit. We can discuss this further when the Council convenes next week.”

The Marquisas left in a cloud of haughty arrogance and righteous outrage.
 

I leaned back and closed my eyes. At least the bluff worked. I had another week to come up with our next course of action.

Where was the Shadow? Where did he take Oliver Moreaux? Where were the Aquidae attacking next?

Find me, Kendra.

There were only questions with no answers.
 

A knock came at the door.

“Come in.”

Ian poked his head in. “Is the coast clear?”

“Yeah.” I waved him in. “The devil and her minions are gone.”

“I could hear them from down the hall.” He settled on the edge of the desk. “Hard to believe Patrice is Julian’s mom. She’s so cold.”

“The only thing they have in common is blood. What’s up?”

“Aub and I were checking out the Academy library and I came across this.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a DVD case featuring a generously endowed blonde and a menacing looking butcher knife.

I groaned. “Didn’t we decide never to do this again?”

Four years ago, I met Ian in Florida after my school’s social king and queen screwed me over, one literally the other figuratively.

Sometimes, we broke into the school AV room at night and watched the worst movies we could find.

We took turns selecting the film. The only rule was we had to sit through it, no matter how awful it was. It eventually turned into a competition: pick a movie bad enough to make the other give up.

“I’m determined to win at least once.”

“Hey, I let you win.” I paused. “Sometimes.”

He shook his head. “Cheater.”

“Fine. If it’s that important to you, we’ll do another movie night soon.”

The guys had installed that ridiculous television in the guest cottage so I might as well get some use out of it.

“You think Cam or Alex would also be interested in watching?”

Ian’s voice was a little too casual.

“Maybe.” I studied him. “Why?”

“They’re your friends and Cam and Chloe are….well, you know.” A flush crept up his neck. “Thought I should get to know them better. For Aub.”

And for himself.
 

Although we spent most of our time together, Cam and Alex hadn’t really warmed up to Ian.
 

For Alex, the problem was time. He spent most of his days in the Training Center with Blaise and Ethan, and now he was busy balancing chevalier duties with his final year at the Academy. Getting to know Ian better wasn’t exactly at the top of his priority list.

Cam also had the same challenge, but his personality also contributed to the distance. He didn’t open up to strangers very easily. It’d taken a while before he trusted me.

“They’ll come around,” I said quietly.

“Sure.” His smile was forced. “Have you figured out what you’re doing next?”

I rubbed my face and sighed.

“I take that as a no?”

“Take that as a hell no.”
 

He didn’t look surprised. “Aub and I have been working on weaponry. She’ll probably have something to show you in a few days.”

At least we had that going for us.

“And I’ve been in the library, trying to find something that might point us toward how to end the Shadow. Nothing yet.”

“Keep looking.”

“I will.” He hesitated. “I also may have a plan.”

I clutched to his admission the way a drowning man clung to a life raft. “Tell me.”

“I spoke to Gilroy.”
 

“Why?”

That conniving nix was locked up in a cell because he’d double-crossed us and sold information about Marcella and her students to Aquidae. Ian and Holden’s group had provided crucial information that helped us take down the trafficking group.

“When Aub and I started working on weapons design, I remembered the ceremonial blade you found at the Lyondale factory.”

It was what Aquidae used to turn people into demons. “The Armicant made it. Said the Shadow had corrupted the magic.”

“And it made more than one, right?”

I nodded.

“What if we located the others?”

A sliver of hope gleamed. “We could take away the Shadow’s ability to make more Aquidae.”

That would be a huge break for our side of the war.
 

Ian nodded. “Gilroy has been working with Aquidae for a long time. Figured it couldn’t hurt to feel him out, see if he knew anything about those blades. Turns out he did.”

“How did you get him to talk?”

“There are other ways of persuading someone besides daggers and threats, you know.”

I raised my brow.

He shifted. “I played him for it. Chess.”

Huh.

“If he beat me, I was supposed to bring him hair gel.” Ian shrugged. “I won. Queen sacrifice checkmate.”

“Risky.”

“You know me. I live on the edge.” He waggled his brow. “Gilroy told me a nix controls the blades. He’s known as the Aquidae weapons holder and goes by the name of Scabbard.”

“A nix? Not an Aquidae?”

Ian nodded. “Apparently, these blades are so powerful they act almost like an intoxicating stimulant for Aquidae. They can’t touch them for too long. Since turnings are carefully monitored and regulated through trafficking rings, the blades are entrusted to Scabbard between auctions.”

“Does Gilroy know where to find him?”

“He’s supposedly in New York. The guy is like a ghost. No images, photos, or evidence that he even exists.”

“I thought only the Shadow was like that.”

“You ever tried finding Ray when he doesn’t want to be found?” Ian asked dryly. “How do you think Holden and the others evaded notice for so long? If a nix wants to disappear, he’ll disappear.”

The brief glimmer of hope faded.
 

“I found him, though,” he added casually.

Of course he did. Ian was the best.

“I friended him on a forum he frequents online. He doesn’t know who I am yet, but it won’t be too hard to set up a meeting.”

“All right. Let’s put a plan to go in together. I’ll talk to —“

“I go alone.”

I looked at him. “What?”

“I meet the Scabbard alone.”

“No.” I sank a lot of weight into that word.

“Listen to me.” He leaned forward. “You’re the Governor now.”

“So?”

“So you need to stay here. You can’t afford to lose any more political capital. It’s my time to go, Kendra. We can do a quiet, covert op without the Council’s interference.”

He had a point. Still.

I shook my head. “Not good enough. Aquidae know who you are. They know you’re my friend. How do you expect to walk into a room with a known Aquidae sympathizer and get the information you want?”

“Because I’m a nix and I’m going to cut a deal,” he said calmly. “Just like I did with Gilroy. Nixes may play both sides in the war, but we do maintain a certain code among ourselves.”

“Too risky.”

“Okay, then how about this? You’re my friend.”

“Something I’m seriously reconsidering right now.”

“Holden came to Haverleau because I told him he could trust you. You’re the first Governor who came into power with nixes present.” His expression softened slightly. “You know this can change things for us. Please let me do this.”

“Why does it have to be you?”
 

“Holden and the others are not used to this kind of mission. I, on the other hand, already have experience. One of the perks of being friends with the
sondaleur
.”

When I punched Cindy Pasterno four years ago, the entire school thought I was insane and I’d convinced myself that was the way I liked it.

Ian had settled across from me in the cafeteria and talked. I could still remember his crooked smile, how his hair kept getting into his eyes, and the way his diamond earring cheerfully winked at me.

I studied his glowing face across the imposing expanse of the Governor’s desk.

Back then, he’d sat with me when no one else would. In four years, that still hadn’t changed.

“Friendship, Kendra.” Warmth leaked into his dark eyes. “It means having a bit of faith.”

I’d once stood on the other side of this desk, asking Rhian to trust us to lead the rescue mission into the Lyondale factory.
 

Had she felt this same mix of belief and doubt, the same pride and fear now warring for dominance inside me?

We’d lost so much already. Maybe having nothing left to lose made us more reckless, desperate.
 

Trust them.

Or maybe the time had simply come for him to stand on his own.

“All right. But when you get back, I get first dibs on movie choice.” I tapped my chin. “There’s a romantic comedy so bad, Cam will be choking on his own vomit within the first two minutes of sappy dialogue.”

He grinned. “Deal.”

NINE

Cool concrete and steel enfolded me in the familiar scents of sweat, blade oil, and metal.

Get up, Kendra. Again. Move.

Naida Irisavie’s orders had chased me through countless gyms and tournaments against a stream of forgettable opponents.

She’d never walked these halls with me, but her voice, threaded through years of memories, echoed even here.

Unlike the marble halls of the Governing House or the social jungle of the Academy’s cafeteria, the Training Center had never required canny navigation.

It was what I already knew.

“Governor.”

Recruits and chevaliers stepped aside, straightening to attention as I made my way down the hall.

Each formal address set my teeth on edge.

Despite everything I’d done to prove myself and the solidarity I’d forged within these training rooms, inheritance wasn’t so easy to leave behind.
 

A familiar figure stepped out of the locker rooms.

“Hey.”

Michael stiffened. “Governor.”

As one of the training program’s top instructors, the stone-faced chevalier also helped manage the ondine training program.

He’d kicked my ass in class on numerous occasions, busted our beach party, and sent me to Pelletier for detention. At the induction ceremony in the Selkie Kingdom, he’d proudly witnessed the tattooing of the chevalier mark on my inner forearm.

And now he looked at me as if I were an alien.

“Et tu, Michael?”

“Excuse me?”

“Never mind. Have you seen Head Chevalier LeVeq?”

He shook his head, the corners of his eyes tightening a fraction. “Augustin was also looking for him in his office earlier.”

“Is there a problem?”

A pause. “Chevalier LeVeq hasn’t been around here much.”

Michael’s mention of Julian’s leadership problems held very different implications than Cam’s complaints. It transformed the issue from idle gossip to a genuine complication.

Questions about Julian’s abilities inevitably meant questions would also be raised about the person who’d put him there.

Me.

“Give him time.” It was all I could say for now.

Michael dug his hands into his pockets, glanced down the hallway at the steady stream of recruits and chevaliers, then back at me.

“I can.”

The subtext was clear. Trust in Julian’s leadership was rapidly eroding and unless something changed soon, I’d have a real problem on my hands.

“Will you also be stopping by ondine training?” His expression smoothed back to distant professionalism. “We’ve been making progress.”

“Going there now. Oh, and Michael? Next time you call me Governor, I’m kicking your ass. Within these walls I expect to be addressed by the title I’ve earned.”

The tiniest hint of a smile cracked his expression. “It’s good to see you here again, Chevalier Irisavie.”
 

“Thanks.”

Feeling cheered up, I hurried down the corridor to the Head Chevalier’s office.

The door was slightly open. Jeeves lounged in a chair, rifling through a file folder.

I opened the door wider. “Been waiting long?”

“A few minutes.” He glanced up. “If you’re looking for my son, I’m afraid I don’t know when he’ll return. Christophe said he hasn’t seen him all day.”

The sparse office remained unchanged since my last visit. A photo of my uncle and aunt adorned the desk and framed certificates hung on the walls.
 

None of Julian’s personality could be found in the clean, organized space. It was as if Gabe had never left.

“You wanted to go over tomorrow’s security?”

Jeeves nodded. “Everything is ready, but I’d like to clarify final details with Julian and Garreth.”

After what happened in Merbais and Fontesceau, the thought of holding a posh Redavi party while evacuees who’d lost everything huddled in strangers’ homes turned my stomach.

As soon as we’d returned to Haverleau, I’d moved to cancel the Governor’s Ball.

But Jeeves had convinced me of its necessity and although every part of me resisted the idea, I knew he was right.

The Council was convening soon. Keeping the members marginally satisfied would help garner future support.

“I just visited Brigette,” he said softly. “She feels terrible about what happened with Oliver.”

The last Clairvoyant was staying with her sister in the northeast section of Haverleau. Her Virtue hadn’t so much as twinged since her arrival and after my mistake in Fontesceau, I was beginning to doubt the importance of her magic.

“How’s the family reunion going?”

Weariness settled across his face. “Different circumstances would’ve been preferable.”

Relations between Jeeves and Nexa were already strained. With Julian’s current problems and the fuss over Brigette’s arrival, the Genevieves had enough drama to last several lifetimes.

“Is Catrin updated with everything?”

He nodded. “She’s already left for New York to handle arrangements with Fujio and Urian. She sends her apologies for not attending the ball.”