Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) (37 page)

Ty
sucked in a quick breath.  “Really?”

Gion
nodded.

That
was wonderful… and horrible.  Ty felt the shattered remnants of her heart break
some more.  But, at the same time, a feeling of bittersweet happiness filled
her.  “If you could have, you would’ve chosen me?”

That
was more important to Ty than a Match.  Gion wanted her, just for herself.  If
he could follow his heart, it would have led to her.

That
meant everything.

“There
is
no choice for me.  No matter what.  There never has been.”  He met
her gaze, again.  “Would you have said yes?”

Ty
didn’t trust her voice to answer that.  She just bobbed her head.

Something
moved behind Gion’s eyes.  Something like triumph.  “So, without the woman
downstairs, you’d Bind with me?”  He clarified.  “If I asked, you’d say yes.  I
have your word on that?”

Why
was he doing this?  “Yes.”

Gion
reached over to grab the front of her blouse, dragging her closer to him.  Ty
should’ve stopped it, but she didn’t.  She leaned up to meet his mouth as
lowered his head towards her.  She didn’t care that Gion had a Match.  For this
one last instant, he was still hers.

Ty
poured everything she had into the kiss.  Wrapping her arms around his neck,
she gave every drop of love she possessed to Gion.  He wasn’t her Match, but no
one would
ever
love him like Ty did and she wanted him to know that. 
Her mouth opened beneath his, demanding everything that he had.

Gion
bent her backwards so her hair dangled over the edge of the balcony.  He pulled
her even closer to him as if he’d never get enough of her.  Ty lost herself in
the warmth and taste of him.  This reluctantly good man was the only one she’d
ever love or want.

Gion
pulled back suddenly, leaving Ty bereft.

She
almost apologized for allowing the kiss to happen.  But, Ty wasn’t sorry, so
why bother pretending?  Her real regret was that they’d never gone further. 
Once Gion left, all the heat and boldness and desire inside of her would
vanish.  He had Randa, now, but Ty would die a virgin.  She’d never be able to
give herself to anyone else.

Shit.

Ty
dropped her head onto his shirtfront and saw she was getting it wet with
tears.  “You should go.”  Before she completely broke down.

“Come
with me downstairs.”  Gion latched on to her arm, tugging her towards the door.

“No.” 
Ty shook her head vehemently.  “I don’t want to see that woman, again.  I don’t
want to see you leave with her and…”

Gion
jumped them.

For
one split second, Ty realized they were in Mayport Beach and then Gion was
jumping them back to the Water Kingdom… Right into the center of the living
room.

Ty
swore and batted Gion with her free hand.  “Jackass.”

Everyone
else just gaped at them.

Gion
smiled.  “Manda.”  He took a step towards the woman, not letting go of Ty. 
“It’s been…”

“It’s
Randa
, you clod.”  Ty interrupted, furious that he was going to make her
see this.

Gion
obligingly started again.  “Randa, it’s been very nice meeting you.”  He said
calmly.  “But, you’re renounced.”

Dead
silence filled the room.

Randa’s
lovely brown eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

Ty’s
mouth dropped open.  “
Are you crazy?! 
Gion,” she tugged him around to
face her, “what are you doing?!”

“I’m
renouncing her.  We have three Council members right here,” he nodded towards
Job, Cross and Nia who all looked shocked, “that’s a quorum.  So, it’s nice and
official.”

“But,”
Ty shook her head, “you can’t just renounce your Match like this!”

“Now,
let’s not be a hypocrite, Tritone.  You did the same thing, as I recall.”

“That
was for a reason, you blockhead!”

“I
have a reason, too.”  Gion retorted.  “
I.  Don’t.  Want.  Her.
”  He
carefully spaced each word.  “I don’t care if she’s my Match, or Thar’s Match,
or the lost princess Anastasia.  I don’t
want
her.  I won’t have her. 
Ever
. 
She’s renounced.”  He glanced over at Randa.  “No offence.”

Randa
mutely shook her head.

Cross
looked up at the ceiling.  “Shit.  I shoulda seen this coming.”

“Uh…
Gion?”  Job cleared his throat.  “Now, I’m not trying to influence you, but I’m
going to give you the same advice that I’d give anyone in this position. 
Renouncing your Match is a huge step and I really think you should consider…”

Gion
cut him off.  “There’s nothing to consider.  I told Ty and I’ll tell you, there
is no other option for me.  I will
never
Phaze with that woman or with anyone
else.”

“Is
he a monk, now?”  Tharsis guessed.  “Is that it?”

“It’s
Ty.”  Nia whispered.

“It’s
always been Ty.”  Gion kept his attention on Ty’s pale face.  “Always.”

“No.” 
Ty’s heart pounded in her chest.  Gion was about to ruin his life.  Throw away
all his chances at happiness.  “Gion, you’re being impulsive.  I know that you
feel a connection to me.  I feel it, too, but…”

“I
love you.”  Gion interrupted.  “I’ve loved you since you were eighty-four years
old and nothing will ever change that.”  He met her gaze steadily.  “I won’t
accept any other woman.”

Ty’s
lips parted.

Icy
blue eyes burned into hers.  “I don’t care what destiny says about Matches. 
You’re the only woman I want.”  Gion’s words hypnotized her and still he kept
going.  “For me, there’s only you, Ty.  Only you.”

Ty
started shaking her head.  “I can’t give you what you really deserve, though.” 
She whispered.  “I can’t give you children or Phaze with you.  Not because I
don’t
want
to, because I
can’t
.”  Tears started falling, again. 
“I’d be your Match, if I could.  I swear it.  But I’m not.”

“Stop.” 
He leaned forward to touch the side of her face.  “I don’t care about having a
Match.  I care about having
you
.”

Ty
bit down on her lower lip.  “You don’t mean that.”

“I’m
a liar, but not about this.”  Gion rubbed his thumb over her cheek, brushing
away tears.  “We have a deal.  If I didn’t have a Match, you said that you’d
Bind with me.  If I asked, you promised to say yes.  Well, I’ve gotten rid of
the Match and now I want you to keep your word.”

“You
have to take Randa back, though.  That’s the whole point!”

“I
won’t.”  There was absolute finality in his tone.  “Not even if you ask me to. 
That’s the one thing I can’t do, Ty.  Not even for you.”

“She’s
your Match!”  Ty pointed at Randa.  “Phases wait
forever
to find that.”

“I’ve
waited for you.  I don’t see why this comes as such a surprise.  I have it on
good authority that they write books about Phases giving up their Matches for
true love.”

“You’ve
never even read
Ismena
.  Don’t try that.”  Ty looked over at her
cousin.  “Nia, tell him this is nuts!”

Nia
shrugged helplessly.  “Loving you isn’t nuts.”

“Nia!”

“Alright!” 
Nia held up her palms in surrender.  “Fine.  Gion, maybe you should listen to
Ty.  Having a Match can be a wonderful thing.”

“I
am
listening to her.  No one’s listening to
me
.”  Gion pointed at
his chest.  “All my life I’ve endured.  I’ve survived.  I’ve
waited
. 
And I didn’t do all that so I could be stuck with some woman who I don’t love. 
I endure and survived and waited for
Ty
.  I love
Ty
.  Manda is
nothing to me.”  He glanced at Randa, again.  “No offence.”

“Many
Matches have to learn to care for each other.”  Randa put in, looking
surprisingly unoffended.

“Yes,
you could learn to love her.”  Ty grabbed hold of Gion’s wrist and gave him a
shake.  “And her name is
Randa
.”

“Who
cares what her name is?  I don’t love her.  I
won’t
love her.  And
fucking destiny isn’t going to force her on me.”

Cross
glanced down at Nia.  “I wouldn’t trade you for another woman, either, baby.” 
He reluctantly volunteered.  “If a different Match showed up for me, I’d
renounce her.  I’ve told you that before.  I want
you
, not just someone
to Phaze with.  Gion’s actually right for once.”

“But,
Nia
is
your Match, Cross.”  Ty shot back.

“It
wouldn’t matter if she
wasn’t
.  That’s what I’m saying.”  Cross looked
over at Job.  “Would it matter to you if Tessie wasn’t your Match?”

“No. 
I love Tess.”  Job turned to Gion.  “Do you love Ty enough to be certain of
this?”

“Ty’s
the only thing in this universe that I am certain of.”

“That’s
impossible!”  Ty insisted desperately.  “Why would you want
me
over
Randa?  She’s perfect for you!”

“She’s
not.”

“How
would you know?  You haven’t said anything to the poor woman except, ‘you’re 
renounced.’”

“What
else should I say?”

“That’ll
you’ll accept the Match, of course!”

“Which
would be a lie.  I won’t have her.  I think I’ve been very clear on the
subject.”

Ty
tried a new tactic.  “Alright, well what about the rest of the world, then? 
With Elementals on the edge of extinction, don’t you think it’s irresponsible
to give up a chance to have more children?”

Gion
seemed amused by that.  “What are you expecting here, angel?  Me to give some
Humphrey Bogart, ‘our problems don’t amount to a hill of beans’ speech?”  He
snorted.  “Bad news.  I’m a selfish bastard and I thought
Casablanca
was
overrated.”

“But,
you could help sustain the universe by Phazing with Randa.”  Even if the image
of it made Ty sick.  “You could help ensure another generation of Stone
Phases.”

“I
don’t care.  I don’t even like the Stone Phases.”  Gion waved a dismissive
hand. “Without you, the whole world can burn to ashes and I wouldn’t miss it.”

Tharsis
chuckled.  “He seems pretty certain of this, Ty.  I think you’re stuck with the
guy.  No pun intended.”  Thar leaned a shoulder against the wall.  “Honestly,
you could do worse than Guy.  Hell, you
have
.”

“Gion
is
better than Parald.”  Nia admitted.

Gion
inclined his head in their direction.  “So nice to have supportive in-laws.”

“Job.” 
Ty switched strategies, again.  “You’re the High Seat.  You can stop him from
doing this.”

“No,
he can’t.”  Gion corrected confidently.

“Gion
has a right to renounce his Match, Ty.  You, of all people, know that.  It’s
the law.”  To Job, that said it all.  The law was always paramount.

Gion
honest-to-God smirked at having Job side with him.  He arched his brows at Ty
with a “now what?” sort of smugness.

Ty
made a frustrated sound.  “But, Job, he’s overwrought and not thinking straight! 
He’ll regret doing this.”

“I’m
utterly lucid and capable of making up my own mind.”  Gion regarded Ty with
inflexible arrogance.  “I won’t give you up. 
That’s
my decision.”

“Alright,
how about this?”  Ty pulled out the big guns.  “I could kick you out of this
kingdom and refuse to see you, ever again.”  Even as she said that, Ty knew it
would never happen.  “
Then
, would you accept her, Gion?”

“No.”

It
was bizarre that a man calmly saying “no” like that would make Ty love him more
than ever.

But
it did.

And,
because she loved him, Ty felt like she had to make last effort to change his
mind.  “You believe in Gaia.  I know that you do.  This woman was chosen for
you by God.  Are you sure…”

“I
believe in
you
.”  Gion interrupted.  “You’re the only vision I’ve ever
had.  If I leave you, I won’t just regret it, it will kill me.  Literally.  I’d
rather die than exist without you.  Now, we can go on like this --back and
forth-- forever, but the woman will still be renounced.  It’s done.”

“But,
if you just gave it a day or so…”

“No.”

Ty
yielded beneath the word.  He just wasn’t going to budge.  Once Gion made up
his mind, he was like a brick wall.

And,
honestly, Ty saw no reason to continue arguing against what they both wanted. 
In fact, why the hell was she trying to talk him out of this?  A smile curved
her lips.  Gion said that he loved her.  He said that he didn’t care that they
weren’t a Match.  He said that he just wanted
her
.  For Ty, that was all
that really mattered.  Freewill always trumped fate.

“Maybe
you should actually
ask
me to Bind with you, then.”  She challenged.