Whirl (Ondine Quartet Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

that
led to an imposing black wrought-iron gate. A large letter H was
etched into the center and inscribed under it was a French phrase
in elegant script.
    "What does that say?" I squinted.
    "Haven of water," Tristan said, slowing down
the car. "Haverleau's name comes from the French, havre de
l'eau. "
    Guess I should've paid better attention in
French class. But, damn. If Mr. Jensen's voice had been as sexy as
Tristan's, I probably would've made an actual effort to go to class
in the first place.
    The car came to a full stop. A tall man came
out of the guard post and approached the driver's side, silver
glinting around his neck. Another gardinel.
    Tristan rolled down his window and spoke with
him in a foreign language. It vaguely sounded like the French he'd
just spoken, but different. Older, more ancient. I recognized it as
the language that gave Tristan's voice that subtle accent.
    The gardinel peered into the window and gave
me a hard look. After a moment, the gate swung open and the car
moved forward onto a large paved street.
    It was like entering Oz.
    Haverleau was a wealthy residential town,
much larger than what I'd expected. Rows of immaculate houses and
blooming masses of flowers lined the streets. The buildings were in
a variety of architectural styles, from modern sophisticated
structures to classical Greek-styled columns and marble.
    Charming cafes and quaint boutiques bustled
with activity. Ondines, demillirs, and selkies hurried about on the
sidewalk, attending to their errands for the day.
    "Doesn't anyone notice it's here?" I couldn't
keep the awestruck tone out of my voice.
    All elementals kept under the radar of
regular society. Humans had a hard enough time believing in magic,
much less an ongoing war with immortal demons. I couldn't believe a
community as huge as Haverleau wasn't being noticed.
    "It's protected by Mist," Tristan replied.
"Any human who passes by only sees empty woods. If they come near
it, they're suddenly overwhelmed with a desire to avoid the area.
The Mist also protects the community from satellite photography.
Magical wards along the entire border keep the Aquidae out."
    The road crossed through the center of
Haverleau and wound east, leading toward a cluster of large
buildings that were constructed in grand French Baroque style with
towering wings and tall windows. The complex was nestled along the
edge of Haverleau and surrounded by a border of well-manicured
gardens and thick woods.
    Tristan drove the car around the back of one
of the buildings to a parking lot. Without another word, he turned
off the engine and got out.
    Suspicion shot through me. "Where are
we?"
    The briefest hint of amusement flickered in
his dark eyes.
    "Welcome to Lumiére Academy. Your
school."
     

 
     
    THREE
     
    He headed toward the building and I ran
to catch up. Being five-four, my legs had to work a lot harder to
match his long strides.
    "School? Are you kidding me, gardinel?"
    Tristan kept walking without turning around
to look at me. "You'll be attending classes and staying in the
dormitory until you graduate. We're meeting the headmaster. He'll
tell you the rest."
    I'd imagined myself with my own place in
Haverleau, free to do as I pleased. Nowhere in my fantasies had
school come into play.
    Tristan opened a large set of entrance doors
and we were met by a broad, muscular man who looked like he should
be playing professional football. His smooth skin was the color of
dark chocolate, and his hair was cropped close to his head in
military style. He wore grey sweats and a navy blue gym shirt that
had "Lumiére Academy" printed on it in white, elegant script.
Beneath it was a symbol of interlocking water swirls enclosed
within a diamond.
    Huge arms bulged under the short sleeves. On
his left bicep, a large tattoo of a golden eagle glared menacingly
at me, its outstretched wings circling around his arm.
    But I was far more interested in his other
tattoo — the outline of a small, black kouperet on his