Breaker (Ondine Quartet Book 4) by Emma Raveling Read Free Book Online Page B

reached the door. Cam halted.
    “Wait.”
    He strode to Chloe, tilted her face up, and gave her a scorching kiss.
    Testosterone saturated the room. Good God.
    Just when I began to worry about their oxygen levels, he broke off the kiss. Chloe looked slightly dazed.  
    “Now we can go,” Cam said smugly. He glanced back at me as he neared the door. “You should never trust a Redavi chevalier, Irisavie.”
    “Hey!” I called out. “I resent that!”  
    The door shut behind them.
    “Guess Julian’s having a hard time,” Chloe said softly.
    I exhaled. Weren’t we all?
    “They’re having a difficult time trusting him.”
    “What about you?”
    “I trust him.”
    She raised her brow. “But?”
    “But he’s compromised that trust before and there’s nothing that says he won’t do it again.”
    He’d placed Tristan in danger in an attempt to find the Shadow. Now that we knew who the Shadow was, what would he do to get to him? How far would he go?
    “Is he the right person to be Head Chevalier?”
    No hesitation. “Yes."
    “Then give the others time. Once they get to know him better, I’m sure they’ll see what you see in him.”
    The distrust in Cam’s face earlier flashed before me. I wasn’t so sure about that.
    “I should get ready.” She headed for the door. “Oh, and your outfit for the ceremony is all set.”
    Of course, I’d completely forgotten about that.
    She glanced back, a small smile graced her mouth. “It’s hanging in the antechamber. I’ll meet you there before the ceremony.”
    My heart lightened. Chlo made everything bearable. “Thanks.”
    Once she left, I unpacked my meager belongings in the upstairs bedroom. Plush, comfortable furnishings in sage and white accented the room. Gauzy drapes drifted over a set of tall French doors.
    I opened them and stepped out onto a private balcony facing the western section of the garden. In the distance, the azure ocean sparkled, shafts of light skittering across the surface.  
    The garden’s floral perfume and the crisp, salty tang of ocean and rain flooded my senses. My anxiety faded.  
    I’d made the right decision. This was home.
    Familiar voices drifted up and I hurried back downstairs.
    Aubrey unceremoniously dumped a laptop on to the table. “I can’t believe it crashed on me.”
    Ian rubbed her shoulders. “You can replace it after the ceremony.”
    “I should just get the new model.“
    “It’s buggy. You’re going to be irritated —“
    “Todd got his hands on a prototype and I had the chance to try it out.” A stubborn tilt of her chin. “It’s good.”
    Ian pushed a lock of dark hair out of his eyes and settled onto the sofa with a soft smile. “Aub, the system is fundamentally flawed. Hardware needs time to catch up to the theoretical. Function trumps all. Design is not everything.”
    She shot him a look of mock horror. “Sacrilege. Take that back.”
    “I can’t decide if you guys are adorable or if too much computing has fried your brains,” I said.
    She flopped down next to Ian. “This coming from someone who walks around with knives on their body —“
    “One dagger!”
    “More than enough.” Brilliant emerald eyes danced. “Besides, you’re not the only badass ondine walking around Haverleau.”
    Huh. “Spill.”
    She extended her sleeveless prosthetic hand. Slim, metal fingers glinted in the light. “Shake my hand.”
    I tilted my head. “Isn’t that joke from second grade?”
    “You’re thinking of pull my finger,” Ian said dryly.
    “Yeah, but it’s pretty much the same thing —“
    “Just shake the hand,” Aub said, exasperated.
    I glanced at Ian. He shrugged.
    I placed my palm in hers, the steel cool and hard against my skin. She slightly lifted her elbow.
    A soft whirring sound vibrated through the metal followed by a soft click. I yelped and yanked my hand back.
    Three lethal blades emerged from her wrist. They’d cleverly been concealed within the forearm bars of the