Whirl (Ondine Quartet Book 1) (30 page)

Crap. I'd completely forgotten about
that.

Michael took a step forward, glaring at Cam
and Alex. "Martin and Girard. Do you think this is appropriate
behavior for a chevalier?"

"It's Friday night, Chevalier Gaudet," Cam
protested.

"We wanted to have a little fun," Alex
added.

"Fun? And you want to be chevaliers?" Michael
roared. I could practically see the spit flying out of his mouth.
"When was your sense of responsibility going to kick in? How
effective do you think you would've been against an attack? Drunk
and in an exposed location without any other security backup? You
would've been completely vulnerable!"

"It was my idea," I said, defiant. "They
didn't do anything except show up. It was my party."

"Kendra — " Chloe began.

"Everyone came because I invited them," I
interrupted her before she could contradict me. "I got all the
alcohol, too."

The others shifted uneasily behind me, and I
hoped they were smart enough to keep their mouths shut. It was
better this way. Pelletier was used to dealing with me and I
already had a reputation as a troublemaker.

The headmaster stared at me for a long
moment.

"That may be, Irisavie," he finally said.
"But I can't let the others off without consequences. Given your
unusual circumstance, you may continue your early morning training
sessions. However, you are no longer allowed access to the Training
Center after curfew."

"How am I supposed to practice?" I
demanded.

Pelletier smiled in a way I didn't like. "You
should've thought about that before you behaved so
irresponsibly."

"All of you are now on probation," he
continued before I could protest. "You are only allowed to attend
your classes. Any time you're not in class or taking your meals,
you are confined to your rooms. You are not allowed to participate
in any other social activities until the end of the school
year."

"That's not fair!" I argued. "You can punish
me, but they were just going along with something I did."

"Keep it up, Irisavie, and I'll extend all of
your probations to the next school year," the headmaster replied
quietly, the threat cutting an edge in his voice.

I was about to say he could take his damn
probation and shove it up where the sun don't shine, when I caught
Ewan's eye. He shook his head, a movement so subtle I almost didn't
catch it. But I knew what he meant. This was the best deal we were
going to get.

Swallowing down my rant, I gave Pelletier a
curt nod.

Satisfied, the headmaster sent us directly
back to our rooms. The unfairness of the punishment made everyone
miserable. I was also pissed off that I'd squandered the special
permission I'd gotten from Gabe.

I woke up Saturday afternoon with a brutal
hangover. I'd already missed lunch, and because of the probation I
was stuck in my room. I spent the day cleaning, catching up on
reading, and generally being bored out of my mind. I tried to
lightly run through a few katas, but my muscles groaned in protest.
When dinner time rolled around, my stomach was still queasy and I
had no appetite.

Exhausted, I lay on my bed and thought back
to last night. It bothered me that Ryder hadn't shown up. I was
glad he hadn't gotten into trouble like the rest of us, but his
absence from his own party made it clear just how much he didn't
want to see me.

Tristan. Ryder. All I did was push people
into situations where they ended up walking away. Part of me
wondered if that wasn't what I really wanted. It was easier if they
avoided me, disliked me. Then I wouldn't have to deal with
troublesome feelings that were getting stronger.

Confused, I fell asleep and my jumbled
thoughts sank into darkness.

***

An inky, dark blue fringed
the edges of my dream. It was night and I floated through the Quad
of the school. I slid through the air, pulled forward by an unseen
force.

A form walked up ahead, heading into the
woods. I recognized him. Ryder.

He carried a bouquet of wildflowers in his
hand and had a slightly nervous expression on his face. A dark
shadow flitted alongside him, just beyond the trees. He didn't
notice, too intent on getting to the beach. The shadowy movement
came nearer, and I tried to warn him. But like the other dreams, I
was just a bystander, unable to participate.

A sudden flash of movement. An arm wrapped
around his neck in a choke-hold. The flowers fell, tumbling to the
ground. He struggled against the hold, but the Aquidae was too
strong, too powerful. He lost consciousness in a few seconds. The
Aquidae put her arms under his limp body. Cold, ruthless eyes and
perfectly coiffed hair gleamed in the dark of the forest.

A white fog rolled through the scene. The
vision shifted. I floated on a street corner, signs showing me that
this was the junction of Chaseton Street and Belford Road. Pulled
down Belford, I drifted toward an abandoned warehouse, entering
through large, iron doors into a dark, empty space.

Ryder. Tied to a chair, his face bloody and
beaten.

An old man stood by his side. Ryder glared,
his smoky eyes defiant and angry.

"I'm not doing it."

The Aquidae chuckled, rubbing his finger
along Ryder's jaw in a twistedly intimate gesture. I recognized
that laugh. It was the same inhuman sound I heard when I saw
Cassandra and Kevin.

"All you have to do is tell her to meet you.
She'd do it for you. She trusts you. Ask her to come here, and
we'll let you go."

Ryder spit at him. "Fuck you."

"Young love. How charming. I wonder, what is
it about the sondaleur that moves you to such stupidity?" His hand
reached back and smacked Ryder's face so hard, I could hear the
bone crack.

A scream swelled up inside me, pushing
against my stomach and chest. A scream I couldn't voice. The old
man shook his head, moving toward the back doorway where a second
Aquidae stood watching. A little girl with a cold, delighted look
on her face…

I woke up, gasping for air. A fine sheen of
cold sweat covered my skin and fear made my heart pound like
thunder. Another dream. Another vision I couldn't participate
in.

No, no, no.

Details flooded into my mind. Ryder's
abduction and the Aquidae who'd taken him. That perfectly styled
platinum hair, finely dressed in a black turtleneck and black
pants. Everything fit together. The way she always wore stylish
clothes that cleverly covered her neck; her close friendship with
Cassandra; how she watched Ryder and me when he took me out of the
Council Chamber.

Miriam Moreaux was Aquidae and she was right
here in Haverleau. I cursed myself for my stupidity. Since I didn't
know how to use my Virtue against elementals, I'd blocked it since
coming to Haverleau and only tapped in to it during my magic
sessions. If I hadn't kept it off all the time, I would've sensed
her.

Ryder
.

I jumped off the bed and threw on clothes
while I ran through my options. Grabbing my cell phone and dagger,
I glanced at the clock. Another hour till curfew.

I called Ryder. It went straight to voice
mail.

I tried a few more times.

No answer.

Sheer terror threatened to overwhelm me.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.

Gather information
.

My instincts screamed that this was real,
that Ryder was in pain. But I had to make sure it wasn't a
dream.

The dorm chaperones and lobby guard knew I
was supposed to be confined to my room. I carefully made my way
down to the first floor, waiting patiently in the stairwell until a
large group of students came through the main doors. Using them as
cover, I slipped out without anyone noticing.

I half-walked, half-ran across the Quad
toward the woods. My thoughts were so focused on what I needed to
do that I didn't notice Amber and her friends until I almost ran
into them.

"Aren't you supposed to be locked up in your
room?" she sneered, her eyes filled with derision. The three girls
with her surrounded me.

"Not now," I snapped, moving to walk around
her. Her friends closed in, blocking my way.

"I think now is the perfect time." Amber took
a step closer. "What's the matter? Not so brave when your little
chevalier isn't around to save you?"

The fact that she dared to mention Ryder sent
waves of rage coursing through me.

"Get the hell out of my way," I snarled.

The bitch grabbed my hair and pulled. Hard.
Sharp pain raced along my scalp.

I punched her face as hard as I could,
putting my entire body behind it. My fist hit her cheekbone with a
crunching impact. Crying out in pain, Amber toppled to the ground.
One of her friends screamed. Without another glance, I stepped over
her and walked away. There would be hell to pay later, but I didn't
care.

I soon arrived at the location I'd seen in my
dream. It was dark, but the area had fewer trees and the light of
the moon provided some illumination. My eyes scanned the ground,
searching for something that would provide a clue. Some sign to
show me what had happened.

And then I saw it. Lodged in the roots of a
tree were several blue, pink, and yellow wildflowers, just like the
ones he'd been carrying. Bending down to take a closer look, my
heart leapt into my throat.

The wind had scattered most of the bouquet,
but these had remained. Almost as though they'd been waiting for
me.

I jumped up and ran like I never had
before.

Taking a slightly longer route around the
Quad, I avoided the area where I'd punched Amber. A small group of
people were gathered there, including several teachers and
chevaliers. It wouldn't be long before they started looking for
me.

Curfew was nearing and the dorm appeared,
light shining through most of its windows as students returned to
their rooms.

I called Cam.

Come on, come on.

"Yeah?"

"When was the last time you saw Ryder?" My
breath came out in short gasps as I pushed my legs to work
faster.

He was silent for a moment. "Haven't seen him
all day. He wasn't at lunch or dinner, either. I think the last
time I saw him was before we headed out for the beach last
night."

So he'd been taken on his way to the party.
He was bringing flowers. For me.

I tried not to think of how much pain the
Aquidae could have inflicted on him over the past twenty-four
hours.

The vision was real. My skepticism had cost
the lives of Cassandra and Kevin. But I believed it now, and I
wasn't going to let something happen to Ryder. I wasn't going to
make the same mistake twice.

My mind raced. The first problem was Ryder's
abduction. The second was the presence of an Aquidae in Haverleau.
The only person who knew of the possibility of a traitor was
Tristan. I debated whether or not I should tell him about Ryder,
but immediately nixed the idea.

Miriam Moreaux may have turned others that we
didn't know of. Tristan needed to deal with her threat and contain
any others. He was the best. His focus had to remain on
Haverleau.

The Aquidae had taken Ryder because of me.
There was no way I was going to endanger anyone else.

"Look, Cam, I need you to do me a favor."

I burst through the doors of the ondine dorm,
ignoring the protests of the lobby guard. My heart pounded with
exertion as I raced up the stairwell.

He groaned. "You do realize we're now on
probation?"

"I'm not fucking around!" I snapped.

A pause.

"What is it?" Concern laced his voice.

I took the third floor exit. "I need you to
go to Tristan's room. Tell him
exactly
the following
message. Kendra said to tell you it's Miriam Moreaux."

The name of Chloe's mother got his attention.
"What? Kendra, what's —"

"Repeat the message to me so I know you got
it." I knocked on Aubrey's door. When he didn't answer, I growled.
"Cam!"

"Okay, okay. Kendra said to tell you it's
Miriam Moreaux."

"Go. Now."

"But—"

I hung up before he could finish, turning off
my phone just as Aubrey opened her door. I trusted Cam to do what I
asked of him. Startled, she took in my disheveled appearance and
labored breathing.

"What's —"

I pushed my way into her room and closed the
door before she could react.

"Do you trust me?"

My brain kept clicking the seconds as they
went by, each second Ryder was in more pain…

"What?" She looked completely confused. "Of
course I do. What's going —"

I took a deep breath.

"I need you to lend me your car. I don't have
time to explain."

Aubrey blinked a few times as she processed
my words. I restrained my impatience and waited, each beat of my
heart like the ticking of a clock.

Without a word, she handed over the keys. Her
emerald eyes never left mine.

"It's in the usual spot," she said
quietly.

"Thanks."

I headed for the door and grabbed the handle.
She said she trusted me and it'd meant more to me than I thought it
would.

There was a high probability I wouldn't be
coming back. That I wouldn't be able to live up to her trust. But
there was someone else here who could. Someone who was kind, loyal,
and a much better friend than I could ever be. Someone who would
now need Aubrey's help.

I glanced back at her. "I need you to stay
awake and keep an eye on Chloe."

Something about my expression must have
terrified her. She paled and her eyes widened. "Why? Wha —"

"She's going to need you."

I opened the door and walked out.

TWENTY-TWO