Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

find him again.
    When I opened it, another one appeared before me.
    I ran through another, another, a never-ending succession of closed doors.
    Sweat dripped over skin and wild desperation thundered through veins.
    An ornate gateway suddenly arose in the darkness, glittering crimson like blood burning in violent fire.
    I stepped through and fell.

    ***

    The icy wind of a New York January sliced against my skin. Watery sunlight trickled through the grey sky, casting a milky veil over the West Side.
    I'd awakened this morning with the lingering sense of a dream, as if something had faintly touched my mind during the night.
    But nothing else.
    No impression of danger, no sense of foreboding.
    I took a deep breath and felt a mild sense of relief. With the mess over the Shadow investigation and our failed attempts to locate the Lieutenant, the last thing I needed was a dream heralding the arrival of a future threat.
    The twenty-eight story building rose near the Seventy-Ninth Street boat basin, tucked slightly off the northwest corner of Riverside Drive. Rivelleu, the community of Manhattan, was housed in a classic, pre-war structure that effortlessly blended in with the area.
    Completely protected by Cloaking and wards, the building appeared to accommodate a private corporation. When humans walked past it, they felt no desire to linger or explore.
    Like the elemental wing at Lyondale Hospital, Rivelleu simply hid in plain sight.
    I nodded at the tall, well-built man standing at the entrance. Dressed warmly in a sweater and wool coat, he looked like any other city doorman.
    No one would suspect he was a highly trained shapeshifting gardinel. Only the gleaming silver pedaillon around his neck gave it away.
    "Hey, Brynn." I paused. "You hear the one about the selkie, siren, mermaid, and nix who head into the bar?"
    He gave a solemn nod. "Bartender takes one look at them and says, 'Is this a joke?'."
    Not even the faintest twitch of a smile. It was like trying to crack a stone statue.
    I shook my head and headed for the elevator. "Someday I'll find one you haven't heard of."
    " Sondaleur ."
    He still faced the street, his expressionless profile stark against the grey sky.
    "Fujio is upstairs."
    Huh. Rivelieu's top chevalier wasn't exactly on my list of favorite people.
    I stepped into the elevator. "Thanks."
    The car rose to the penthouse apartment. Doors slid open with a soft chime and I stepped out onto a private corridor. Wood panels and deep carpeting created a hushed atmosphere.
    "Kendra?" A husky female voice came from the entrance to the right. "We're back here."
    I made my way down a long hallway to the spacious salon. Morning light filtered through the large windows lining two walls, bathing the entire apartment in a soft glow.
    Marquisa Catrin Bessette, head ondine of Rivelleu and Renee's mother, sat on an elegant beige couch. A leggy confidence defined her, the result of years performing on Broadway. Combined with a sultry voice and the kind of bold beauty that deepened with age, Catrin possessed a charisma that made people stop in their tracks.
    As one of my grandmother's closest friends, she'd also been my tutor for the past month.
    Urian Karinser, Rivelleu's head gardinel, sat on her left, stoic and silent. With a shaved head and linebacker chest and arms, he seemed more like a club bouncer than a selkie.
    On Catrin's right, Chevalier Fujio Viel looked as unhappy to see me as I was to see him.
    Like my Uncle Gabe, Fujio was a human who became demillir when he mated with an ondine. His marital arts background carried him to the top of Rivelleu's chevaliers.
    A stickler for regulations and rules, he insisted Julian and I consult him about our investigation in the city.
    I refused.
    He didn't take that so well.
    I settled into a chair. Virtue unfiltered, softly brushing against them.
    Catrin was tired, worried. Troubled reluctance in Fujio. And from Urian...amusement?
    I glanced at the selkie. His face remained