Whirl (Ondine Quartet Book 1) (6 page)

"Does that mean you're reading our emotions
now?" Cam shot me a suspicious look.

I raised my eyebrows and stared at him. His
expression became increasingly uncomfortable.

I waited a few more moments.

"Nah," I finally said, popping a piece of
orange in my mouth. "I can only use it on humans."

Profound relief registered on Cam's face a
second before he scowled. Alex choked on his laughter.

"Makes sense, though." Aubrey murmured. "I
wonder who's going to teach you."

"Do you have Virtues?"

Chloe shook her head. "We're not first-borns.
My mom had a daughter before me, but she died three days after she
was born. I'm technically the second child. Mom's a Cloaker,
though. She helped with the Mist around Haverleau." Her voice rang
with pride.

"And my older sister is a Healer up in
Merbais," Aubrey added. "It's the ondine community in Maine."

"Besides the magic stuff, I'd say you have
some decent fighting skills, too." Flirtatious interest sparkled in
Ryder's eyes.

I grinned. "Worried I'll kick your ass?"

Cam scoffed. "Please."

"I don't know, Cam." Ryder said seriously.
"You saw her skills on that video."

"What video?"

"The one on the Internet." He saw my puzzled
expression. "The one of you winning the national karate tournament.
Pretty fierce stuff."

Surprised, I remembered that tournament two
years ago. I'd won decisively in
kumite
, the free sparring
division against a six-five guy who was over twice my weight.
Receiving that trophy was one of the proudest moments of my
life.

My mother had greeted me with her usual
severity after the awards ceremony. "Better. But you've got to be
faster and stronger."

With that one comment, she'd walked away. No
hug, no congratulations, and certainly no praise.

I shook myself mentally and shoved down the
dark feelings spawned by the memory.

"What was it like being Rogue?" Chloe asked
with an envious tone. "You must have been able to do tons of
things."

"This place is so locked down with its rules
and laws." Irritation edged Aubrey's voice. "It's so stupid."

"Please tell me you get to go out and
do…stuff."

How was I going to survive the next year
here?

"During weekdays, we're allowed off-campus,
but we have to stay within Haverleau." Chloe picked at her barely
eaten lasagna. "It's so that we can visit our families. We still
need permission from Pelletier and our parents and we have to be
accompanied by either a school gardinel or a chevalier."

"On the weekends, we're allowed to go to
Lyondale during the day as long as we get advanced permission."
Aubrey wrinkled her nose in distaste. "And that is one-hundred
percent chaperoned by a group of gardinels or chevaliers who are
assigned to accompany you at all times. And of course, there's a
curfew." She spewed the last word out.

"But we tend to make our own fun around
here," Ryder's voice turned conspiratorial.

"Besides, rules are made to be broken,
right?" I definitely approved of the glint in Aubrey's eyes.

"Heads up," muttered Alex.

Miss Blondie strolled over to our table with
two of her followers tagging along behind her. I sighed inwardly.
It was inevitable, but I'd hoped for a few more hours of peace.

"Hi," she purred in a nauseating, sweet
voice. "I thought you might want to join us at our table. After
all, the
sondaleur
shouldn't have to sit with unwanted
trash."

Oh. She was one of those nasties.

"I'm Amber," she continued haughtily. "Since
you're new, I thought I'd show you around. Introduce you to the
right kinds of people."

I widened my eyes in mock surprise. "Oh.
Thanks for your concern, Amber. But I believe I am sitting at the
right table."

She sniffed in disbelief. "I don't think you
understand," she said in a loud whisper. "You're sitting with
recruits and," she paused for dramatic effect, "
tainted
ondines."

"Shut up, Amber," Cam growled.

I stood and leaned forward, giving her my
most predatory smile.

"I believe you've worn out your welcome,
little girl. Now why don't you go back and play with your toys.
Leave the grown-ups alone."

Indignant anger replaced the shock in her
eyes.

"Watch yourself. Given your
family
history
," she said with emphasis, "you don't want people
thinking the same thing about you."

She turned to her followers. "I'll bet she's
not even the
sondaleur
, anyway."

The girls giggled. With a final toss of her
head, Amber stormed off.

"Bitch," Aubrey muttered.

"Slut," Chloe added.

I grinned and took a swig of water. My eyes
followed the little twit as she stalked back to her table. "Guess
she wanted the Governor's granddaughter as a minion in her little
Abercrombie and Fitch group."

Anger swirled in Chloe's eyes and a shrewd
look hardened her delicate features. "No, it's because you're the
sondaleur
. That bitch is like her parents. They'll do
anything to get closer to power."

"Yeah, well." I rolled my eyes. "Doesn't
sondaleur
mean like governor's heir or something? First
family and all that crap."

It took me a few moments to realize that a
stunned silence had descended upon the table. Unpleasant
apprehension made my stomach clench.

Ryder's mouth hung slightly open. "You don't
know?"

"Know what?" I tensed. "Doesn't it have
something to do with my relationship to the Governor? I mean
Tristan, Rhian, and everyone else didn't exactly say what it was.
And after that Aquidae said it, I thought—"

"Wait. What Aquidae?" Cam interrupted.

I gave them a quick summary of everything
that had happened last night.

"So I thought they were trying to kidnap me
because of my relationship to Rhian," I concluded. Judging by their
speechlessness, I was way off the mark.

Ryder recovered first. "Look," he said in a
matter-of-fact tone. "Lift up your left pant leg."

I shot him a skeptical look.

"Yes. I do want to check out your legs," he
said suggestively then gave a mock sigh. "But, I promise. This time
it's an innocent request."

Reluctant, I pulled my jeans halfway up my
left calf.

"See that?" Ryder asked, pointing at the four
tiny beauty spots on my inner ankle that loosely formed a small
diamond. I'd almost forgotten they were there.

I frowned. "What about it?"

"That," he declared, "and
that
" he
pointed at my tattoo, "make you the
sondaleur
."

I began to wonder if he was mentally ill. But
everyone else had the same somber expression.

"There was a prophecy," Aubrey said. "No one
knows the exact details because prophecies are highly protected.
But it predicted the coming of an ondine who would have the mark of
the elemental diamond on her left ankle, and the mark of water on
her right shoulder. As the
sondaleur
, she'd bring about the
end of our war with the Aquidae."

Silence.

"I see. Any other orders I can fulfill as
this
sondaleur
? Ending poverty and hunger? Bringing about
permanent world peace?"

Chloe's brow furrowed. "It's not a joke,
Kendra."

Incredulous, I shook my head. "Come on.
There's no way in hell I'm this
sondaleur
thing."

"I don't know," Ryder's eyes were still glued
to my ankle. Hastily, I tugged down my jeans. "Prince Belicoux and
the Governor obviously believe it. And the Aquidae that came after
you."

"I got the damn tat a year ago to piss off my
mom," I scoffed. "It can't mean anything. The whole thing is
ridiculous."

A prophecy about me? No. The idea was as
far-fetched as me becoming the president of the country. If
responsibility for the fate of the water elemental world was going
to be placed on someone, it certainly wasn't me.

I chose my own way, made my own decisions
about who I was and where I wanted to be. My life belonged to
me.

"Trust me. I'm no
sondaleur
."

FIVE

The first day of classes whipped by in
a blur. I sat through most of the classes in a stupor, not able to
follow half the things being discussed. Pelletier had been right —
elemental schooling was different from human education. I'd never
been academically brilliant, but my first day at Lumiére made me
realize how little I really knew about the elemental world.

It didn't help that my Virtue didn't work. In
human schools, I relied on it to sense what other students felt
toward me. But since my magic didn't work on elementals, I'd had to
suffer through stares and whispers like any normal person.

I arrived at Ondine Magical History a little
early and joined Chloe and Aubrey at the back of the room.

"Thank God this is the last class," I
muttered. "Now I just have to get through that stupid dinner
tonight."

A meal with the uptight governor was not on
my list of fun things to do.

"Guess we'll be suffering through it with
you, then." Chloe laughed.

"You're going?"

"Chloe's parents got invited and my aunt and
uncle somehow managed to weasel an invite." Aubrey rolled her eyes.
"So we'll both be there."

Suddenly, the dinner didn't seem so
horrible.

"It won't be fun. But it's all about playing
the game right. All you have to do is smile a lot and not say
anything. You should get through it just fine," Chloe reassured
me.

I groaned. "That's impossible."

Aubrey smirked. "Listen, speaking of real fun
—" She glanced around the room, making sure we wouldn't be
overheard.

"Thought it'd be nice to have a girls' night
out in Lyondale tomorrow. Kind of like welcoming you to town."

Now we were talking. "What'd you have in
mind?"

"We were thinking of hitting Axis, a new club
that just opened. Good drinks, hot human guys, sexy music, some
dancing." She closed her eyes in bliss.

Chloe nodded. "We'll meet up in my room after
dinner tomorrow. Aubrey has all the details worked out."

The good-looking Redavi demillir I saw in the
cafeteria yesterday walked in with two buddies and settled in seats
near the front.

"Who's the hottie?" I murmured.

"Dylan Rosamund." I was surprised to hear the
anger in Chloe's voice.

Aubrey snorted. "That asshole is a walking
nympho. Tries to nail anything that moves."

The hungry way Dylan watched the ondines in
the class reminded me of a predator. His arrogant eyes swept over
chests and butts as he laughed with his friends. Irritation spiked
inside me when I overheard a few of their derogatory comments.

Amber and her group of doll robots entered
and immediately latched on to Dylan's group. Disgusted, I wondered
if she had any self-respect.

Ms. Broussard came in and clapped her hands.
With dull, black hair pulled back into a tight bun, a long,
hook-like nose and beady eyes, she gave off the appearance of a
vulture.

"Today we'll be discussing the development of
Virtues and elemental magic among ondines," she said in an austere
voice.

"When dessondines first created the ondine
race, they selected eight families to rule. These families became
the first Redavi. The dessondines gifted the Redavi with eight
magical traits to help them with the new challenges of living above
water. These Virtues continue to pass through the bloodlines of
Redavi."

Broussard's eyes swept the classroom. "Who
can name the eight Virtues? Ms. Rossay?"

"Clairvoyance, Kinesis, Projection, Healing,
Cloaking, Empath, Teleportation, and Transmutation."

A few rows ahead, Amber whispered to an
ondine seated in front of her.

"Ms. Blanchard," Broussard barked and Amber
jumped. "Please explain the difference between Virtues and ondine
elemental magic."

Amber straightened in her seat. "Because
Virtues are such powerful talents, the dessondines decided that
ondines born with them would not be gifted with elemental
magic."

"And why not?"

"Because the Redavi would become too
powerful," Amber answered, a tone of resentment in her saccharine
voice. "Ondines without Virtues were born with elemental magic. It
provides the ability to produce, control, and harness water in its
different forms."

Broussard gave a curt nod. "Correct.
Elemental magic is significantly weaker than the power of Virtue
and is primarily used to maintain the water balance by
complimenting the work of Earth Elementals in nurturing the
environment and providing small-scale weather manipulation."

She paced up and down the aisle between
desks. "Virtues were used for larger purposes, including
assimilation among humans without drawing excess attention to
ourselves. They are used for protection, concealment, information
gathering, and essential necessities such as infrastructure and
economic building."

Broussard walked back to the front and
whipped around. Her eyes landed on Chloe, who was surreptitiously
checking text messages under her desk. This woman seriously made me
think she had eyes on the back of her head.

"Ms. Moreaux," she called out. Chloe shoved
her cell phone between her legs. "There was an unforeseen
limitation with Virtues and elemental magic. Can you tell us what
that was?"

Chloe cleared her throat. "Virtues and ondine
magic were designed to work with humans and water elementals. When
ondines began warring with Aquidae, they discovered that their
magic didn't work against the demons."

"Yes. The magic could not be used
offensively. Aquidae bodies act as a null, absorbing the magic
without any consequences." Broussard walked over to Dylan and
tapped a finger on his desk.