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Authors: Emma Raveling
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decision.
My respect grew. He’d taken care of them for years and they trusted him implicitly.
I didn’t want to have to turn him away. But this was an ultimatum I couldn’t give up.
Finally, a nod. “Fine.”
“Good,” Jeeves said smoothly. “I will arrange for Holden and his friends to have something to eat while Prince Belicoux and I figure out how to seat them at the confirmation ceremony. Sondaleur , I believe Ms. Moreaux is waiting for you in the Council Chamber.”
Jeeves elegantly strode across the room, Grady, Will, and Tara right behind him. Someone’s stomach rumbled but no one thought it was funny.
Holden hesitated. “Governor —“
“Call me Kendra.” I stood. “Don’t make me wrong about this.”
“You got it the other way around, Kendra,” Holden said quietly. “Don’t make us wrong about you.”
He held my gaze a bit longer, all sharp cheekbones and hungry eyes, then left. Tristan, Ian, and Aubrey followed.
A final figure pulled away from the wall.
“Wait.”
Julian stopped.
“Is what Holden said true?”
He turned. “About what?”
“About the other communities. Is security weak? Is Haverleau safer because of the Redavi?”
He was the only one who could give me an unbiased answer on the topic.
Julian slouched against the wall. Without his usual posturing, he appeared thinner. Dark shadows hung under his eyes.
“We are what we know. Why are you able to fight and other ondines can’t?”
“Because no one told me I couldn’t.”
He nodded. “If you don’t know something is impossible, it’s possible. Same principle applies to quality. If you accept something as good enough, then you can’t imagine something better.”
Before I arrived in Haverleau, I’d never seen another elemental other than my parents. My mother had explained how selkies and demillirs moved, but hearing her description and seeing it were very different things.
I thought I was a good fighter.
But I didn’t know what it meant to be the best until I saw Tristan whipping around that corner in San Aurelio.
Seeing what was possible altered my perspective and gave me something higher to aim for.
“The level of security in elemental communities is only as good as what they know,” Julian continued. “Since Haverleau attracts the highest level of gardinel and chevalier talent, it’s obvious the other communities won’t have anywhere near the same standards as us.”
His statement left me uneasy. The majority of elementals lived outside Haverleau in one of the twenty-eight communities located worldwide. Lax security meant they were all vulnerable.
Julian turned to go.
“Why didn’t you call me in earlier? With Cam and the others?”
A pause. “I wasn’t sure you’d have time for it.”
I moved in front of the desk and perched on the corner. “Becoming Governor doesn’t change the fact that I’m a chevalier.”
“Really?” He faced me, his eyes icy. “So if you’re in the middle of a Council session and word comes in of an Aquidae attack in Lyondale, would you leave the chamber to fight? Or remain there and let the other chevaliers handle it?”
“I’d find some way to —”
“You don’t get it.” Julian shook his head. “You keep yourself busy trying to fulfill every expectation, so you don’t have to face who you are.”
“What are you talking about?“
“You’re becoming Governor to satisfy your grandmother. You became a chevalier to satisfy your mother. You became the sondaleur because of a prophecy.” He threw his hands up. “You let words you didn’t even write dictate the course of your life!”
“I choose my life.” I stood. “You’re wrong.”
“Am I?” He crossed his arms. “Face it, Kendra. Eventually, you have to decide who you are. You can’t be all things to all people.”
Stunned, I stared at him. I’d once said something similar to Tristan at the cove a year ago.
You don’t know who you are. Are you a
My respect grew. He’d taken care of them for years and they trusted him implicitly.
I didn’t want to have to turn him away. But this was an ultimatum I couldn’t give up.
Finally, a nod. “Fine.”
“Good,” Jeeves said smoothly. “I will arrange for Holden and his friends to have something to eat while Prince Belicoux and I figure out how to seat them at the confirmation ceremony. Sondaleur , I believe Ms. Moreaux is waiting for you in the Council Chamber.”
Jeeves elegantly strode across the room, Grady, Will, and Tara right behind him. Someone’s stomach rumbled but no one thought it was funny.
Holden hesitated. “Governor —“
“Call me Kendra.” I stood. “Don’t make me wrong about this.”
“You got it the other way around, Kendra,” Holden said quietly. “Don’t make us wrong about you.”
He held my gaze a bit longer, all sharp cheekbones and hungry eyes, then left. Tristan, Ian, and Aubrey followed.
A final figure pulled away from the wall.
“Wait.”
Julian stopped.
“Is what Holden said true?”
He turned. “About what?”
“About the other communities. Is security weak? Is Haverleau safer because of the Redavi?”
He was the only one who could give me an unbiased answer on the topic.
Julian slouched against the wall. Without his usual posturing, he appeared thinner. Dark shadows hung under his eyes.
“We are what we know. Why are you able to fight and other ondines can’t?”
“Because no one told me I couldn’t.”
He nodded. “If you don’t know something is impossible, it’s possible. Same principle applies to quality. If you accept something as good enough, then you can’t imagine something better.”
Before I arrived in Haverleau, I’d never seen another elemental other than my parents. My mother had explained how selkies and demillirs moved, but hearing her description and seeing it were very different things.
I thought I was a good fighter.
But I didn’t know what it meant to be the best until I saw Tristan whipping around that corner in San Aurelio.
Seeing what was possible altered my perspective and gave me something higher to aim for.
“The level of security in elemental communities is only as good as what they know,” Julian continued. “Since Haverleau attracts the highest level of gardinel and chevalier talent, it’s obvious the other communities won’t have anywhere near the same standards as us.”
His statement left me uneasy. The majority of elementals lived outside Haverleau in one of the twenty-eight communities located worldwide. Lax security meant they were all vulnerable.
Julian turned to go.
“Why didn’t you call me in earlier? With Cam and the others?”
A pause. “I wasn’t sure you’d have time for it.”
I moved in front of the desk and perched on the corner. “Becoming Governor doesn’t change the fact that I’m a chevalier.”
“Really?” He faced me, his eyes icy. “So if you’re in the middle of a Council session and word comes in of an Aquidae attack in Lyondale, would you leave the chamber to fight? Or remain there and let the other chevaliers handle it?”
“I’d find some way to —”
“You don’t get it.” Julian shook his head. “You keep yourself busy trying to fulfill every expectation, so you don’t have to face who you are.”
“What are you talking about?“
“You’re becoming Governor to satisfy your grandmother. You became a chevalier to satisfy your mother. You became the sondaleur because of a prophecy.” He threw his hands up. “You let words you didn’t even write dictate the course of your life!”
“I choose my life.” I stood. “You’re wrong.”
“Am I?” He crossed his arms. “Face it, Kendra. Eventually, you have to decide who you are. You can’t be all things to all people.”
Stunned, I stared at him. I’d once said something similar to Tristan at the cove a year ago.
You don’t know who you are. Are you a
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