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

inner
right arm, just below the wrist. The chevalier mark.
    My father had the same tattoo in every
photograph I had of him. Before leaving Haverleau, he'd been the
head of the chevaliers, a corps of demillir knights who worked
together with the gardinels to protect ondines.
    Selkie gardinels were like the human military
and secret service. Their primary jobs were in security,
protection, and large-scale offense. Demillir chevaliers were more
like local law enforcement. They went out on daily patrols,
searching and targeting Aquidae cells to take out.
    Mom once told me that Dad received the tattoo
when he was officially inducted. She'd learned everything about
fighting Aquidae from him.
    The chevalier scrutinized me with light brown
eyes. A combination of stoic and piercing awareness defined his
expression.
    "And she's really…" His voice was a deep,
rumbling bass.
    Tristan nodded. "Yes."
    His eyes widened slightly in surprise. With a
gruff nod, he headed towards an ornately carved staircase. Tristan
and I followed.
    No one spoke. The interior walls had wood
paneling and the parquet floor extended down two hallways on either
side of the entrance. The hum of copy machines, clicking keyboards,
and murmured conversations drifted out from the many smaller
administrative offices lining the corridors.
    At the top of the stairs, the chevalier
turned down a hallway that led to huge double-doors. He knocked
once before opening it, ushering us into a large office with plush,
beige carpeting and walls full of bookcases and filing cabinets. A
floor-to-ceiling window dominated the far side of the room.
    Dressed in a conservative suit and with grey
hair slicked back like a helmet, the headmaster sat behind the
mahogany desk in front of the window. His tie was knotted so high
up on his neck, I was amazed he could still breathe.
    Two ondines sat on a small, leather sofa
beside the desk. The first was an older woman with a sharp, hawkish
face. Her body was so rigid and still, I almost mistook her for a
statue. The other was a young, pretty woman with raven hair that
flowed like a waterfall down to her waist.
    Tristan and the chevalier went to stand
beside the two ondines, hands clasped behind their backs like
imposing sentinels.
    I settled into the uncomfortable wooden chair
in front of the headmaster's desk, resentment pouring out of every
cell in my body. I was never much for confined spaces and the idea
of being stuck in a boarding school for another year was like my
worst nightmare come to life.
    The headmaster's eyes flickered over me, and
I realized that the Aquidae encounter had probably left some dried
blood and bruising. It seemed to make him nervous.
    Good. I wasn't planning on making it any
easier.
    "Kendra Irisavie." It took me a moment to
realize he was addressing me.
    Every few moves, Mom had changed our last
name for precautionary reasons. For the past three years, we'd been
using the name Durrand and I hadn't heard anyone call me by my real
name in…well, forever.
    "I'm Headmaster Pelletier and we're here to
discuss the arrangements for you to be a student at Lumiére."
    He opened a file on his desk that had my name
written on it in bold, black letters. "You've been Rogue and living
among humans your entire life." I heard the undertone of disdain
and my dislike of him grew exponentially. "The human education
system is very different from the schooling for water elementals.
Your case is a first for us."
    "What can I say? I'm an original." His
pompousness was irritating.
    He gave me a reproving look. "According to
your records, you haven't exactly been a diligent student." He took
out a sheet that looked like a school report and read aloud. "Shows
academic potential and leadership skills amongst her peers. But has
frequent behavioral problems and an inability to respect authority.
Confrontational, quick to get into fights, skips class on a
frequent basis, shows a lack of concern for rules."
    I shrugged. I'd heard the same thing