Billow (27 page)

"What?"

"I saw you."

Dark blue eyes searched mine.

He nodded at the Training Center. "In there."

Satisfied, I followed him to a smaller workout space on the first floor.

I sat on one of the benches lining the wall. "So?"

Julian sighed and joined me. "So, nothing. You saw."

"What do you mean nothing?" Excitement blazed and I tried to lower my voice. "Holy shit, LeVeq. You have a Virtue. How is that even possible?"

He leaned back. "I don't know. Freak genetics, I guess." At my confused look, he explained. "It runs in my family."

"I thought the Marquisa was a Transmutator."

"She is." He suddenly looked tired. That slight trace of sadness seeped from him again. "I meant my father has it, too."

I vaguely recalled Marquis LeVeq from the Governing Council. Nothing particularly special stood out about him. He seemed to go along with whatever his wife said.

"My real father," he added.

I startled.

The Projection Virtue could be used for a wide variety of tasks. Besides covering up our tracks in the human world, a Projector could also cast illusions on himself and others.

When ondines first came on land, each of the Virtues had a particular purpose. Projection allowed ondines to infiltrate and obtain useful information without giving away our true identity.

Julian's unusual eyes and black hair were directly from the Marquisa. But he had a certain charisma his parents didn't have. His features were sexy, almost roguish…

I inhaled sharply. Someone else had recently mentioned investigating among humans.

"Jeeves is your father."

The sardonic look fell back into place. "I still think you've given him the most ridiculous nickname ever."

I ignored the comment. "How —"

"My mother and Augustin had one last fling before her binding ceremony to my father." He shrugged, but the light gesture didn't hide the bitterness in his voice. "Turned out I was the result."

"Does your fath…er, I mean, does Marquis LeVeq know?"

"Sometimes I think he does, but I'm not sure. Not really something you bring up in conversation."

"How did you find out?" Even as I asked the question, I already knew the answer. "Nexa."

"She pretty much raised me. My mother didn't know how to deal with a son with a Virtue."

Julian already took so much crap from her over being a chevalier. The haughty Marquisa wouldn't want anyone to know about her son's unusual magic.

I suddenly had the urge to punch her. Hard.

"Nexa already experienced it with Augustin so my mother passed me off to her."

I couldn't imagine how difficult it must've been for Julian. Being a demillir with a Virtue was like being an ondine without magic.

It was different. Lonely.

"Does…does Jeeves know?" I asked, tentative.

"Yeah." Julian ran a hand through his hair. The locks haphazardly stood, giving him a scruffy look. "He's been good to me. Well, as good as he could be, considering not many people know I'm his kid. He helped me with the Virtue. Trained me to control it."

I imagined Jeeves' twinkling eyes watching over a young, laughing Julian. "That must've been fun."

He grinned. "Augustin suggested I join the chevaliers. He was one, before I was born. Said it was a great way to use my magic and piss off my mother at the same time."

Jeeves was just so awesome. "Good advice."

So the Chief Counsel had once been a chevalier. He always wore those suits that covered the tattoo on his inner arm. 

"Do you use Projection a lot for the chevaliers?"

Julian raised a brow. "Digging for more info?"

"You know I'll find out one way or another."

He laughed and the sound comforted me. It was far better to hear that than sense the sadness.

"Gabe and a few others know what I can do," he said. "Besides concealing our war from humans, I also do undercover work for the chevaliers. Gathering information on Aquidae cells and activity."

"Is that what you do when you're out searching for the Shadow?"

His expression turned serious. "I've been tracking Aquidae cells and trying to find out more about the top guy. No one seems to know much about the Shadow. He's a master at concealing his identity."

The only way he could infiltrate Aquidae in that way was if he impersonated one. He cast an illusion on himself to get close.

That was really dangerous work. Aquidae could realize at any moment he wasn't one of them and kill him. Even the most hardened chevaliers wouldn't have the guts to do it.

"And Nexa helps you."

He nodded. "Sometimes I go solo, but we work together quite a bit."

Nexa could also identify Aquidae, though she once told me her ability wasn't as strong as mine.

It made sense. She'd point them out to Julian and he'd make contact from there.

Hah. I knew it. She was a super-spy.

Julian's eyes narrowed. "You look too satisfied."

I aimed for a modest tone. "You're confirming things I pretty much knew."

He shot me a skeptical look. "Sure."

"Nexa or Jeeves also told you about Ian, right?"

His mouth curved. "Still pissed I got that info so fast?"

"Not as pissed as you are that I found out about your Virtue."

"Call it even?"

"Fine." I leaned back. "Now tell me."

Amusement lit up his face. "Sorry to disappoint, but I found out about Ian by accident. We got a tip on his nix group and I left to investigate their members. While I was there, Ian got arrested and they told me about him, including his history with you."

Definitely not the answer I was expecting.

"Does Ian know you met his group?"

Julian shook his head. "The less people are aware of what I do, the better. As far as anyone knows, demillirs can't be Projectors."

"But can't the nixes, selkies, or Aquidae see your aura?"

I squinted at the air. Of course, I couldn't see anything.

"No, because I don't have one."

Well, damn.

That was huge. He had a powerful Virtue and no visible trace of it.

It was an incredible advantage. Once again, a part of me was envious of his abilities.

"Can you show me?" I tried to stay cool, but excitement seeped into my tone anyway. "Cast an illusion on yourself?"

"I don't know. It's a little strange —"

"Please."

I kept my eyes on him.

He hesitated. "All right."

The air shimmered. A faint white light flickered and weaved around his head and body. Almost as if the air were sewing together.

Energy dissipated and he suddenly wasn't there anymore.

An old, bald, Asian man stared at me. A pair of round spectacles perched on the edge of his nose and he was dressed in orange and yellow monk robes.

"Nice to meet you," he said in an accented voice. It was higher-pitched, not like Julian's at all.

I managed to make my mouth work. "That's amazing."

Another diffuse pulse of magic. The old man disappeared and Julian reappeared, body shaking with laughter.

"What?"

"All this time I've tried to impress you by hiding my freakish magic skills. I finally show it to you and now you're impressed."

A lot of things about me would surprise you.

Since the moment we met, Julian broke every mold and assumption. And for the first time, I wondered if he showed off his physical abilities and skills for a reason. To make people see him as a chevalier first rather than a Redavi.

Maybe he was trying to define himself, regardless of who or what he was born as.

"Thanks." It came out fast before I had time to think about it. "For helping. For being there tonight."

He looked a little stunned and I realized I'd never thanked him for anything before. Not even for training me.

"I was —" The words stuck in my throat. "I was wrong about you. You're really good, Julian. A great chevalier."

He'd shown me something true and I wanted to show something back. That I knew what he'd done in sharing it with me.

"I won't tell anyone," I promised.

For a few long moments, he stared at me with a strange expression. It almost looked grateful.

"I know."

"Good." I stood, feeling slightly awkward. "Now I have someone else I need to bitch out."

Julian rose with languid movements. "I thought I was the only guy who got that treatment."

The flirtatious tone shifted us back to our old ways and relief washed through me. These were the boundaries I could deal with.

"Of course you are. You're the most obnoxious person I know."

He gave a mysterious smile as we headed out the door. "Don't be too hard on her."

"She went alone," I pointed out. "With a
kouperet
."

Dark blue eyes gleamed with clarity. "Yeah, but she may not need the badass
sondaleur
right now. She may just need a friend."

 ***

Only one thing replayed in my mind as we returned to the dorm.

The image of Chloe alone.

Standing in the courtyard. Frozen in the Trident with a
kouperet
.

It shook my insides and infuriation grew with each step.

Julian made excuses for my late return to the lobby guard and I marched straight to her room.

I pounded on the door. She opened it, face pale with exhaustion. But the defiant spark in her eyes meant she'd been expecting me.

Without a word, I pushed my way in and slammed the door.

I wanted to get to the bottom of this. Now.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wanted to do something." She crossed her arms. "Aren't I allowed to help?"

"By going out alone?"

She ignored the question. "The first victim was taken from the Trident. I wanted to see if there was something we missed."

Chloe reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, green swirl marble. It dimly sparkled in the soft light of her room.

She placed it on her desk. "Isn't that what Nick lifted from the booth?"

"Yeah, but…"

"But what?" She shot me an impatient look. "Doesn't that help? Isn't it some sort of clue?"

"It doesn't change anything," I said, exasperated. "If you'd found it in another location, it might've provided some sort of lead. But it was in the Trident. It probably fell out during his abduction."

Hurt followed by resignation flashed through her eyes. She turned away, shoulders curved.

"You're telling me I got nothing."

What I said was true. She'd risked her safety for something that didn't add anything to the investigation. Retrieving the object wasn't worth her life.

But I'd also ended up hurting her again.

Hands clenched in frustration. "Why did you go alone? Why didn't you tell us? It's not like we're keeping you out of it —"

"Oh really? You sure about that?"

"Of course, I'm sure —"

"You trust me? The traitor's kid?"

"What are you talking about?"

Her entire body tensed. It reminded me of how I'd armored myself before heading into Silk or going out with Julian.

"Isn't that why you didn't tell me about your plan with Ian? Why you used your Virtue on me?"

For a moment, I didn't know what to say. She thought being Miriam's daughter affected how I felt about her?

There were a few Redavi who treated Chloe badly and their attitude had worsened since her mother turned Aquidae.

Did she think I was that superficial?

The ones who thought that were people like Amber. Someone she'd turned to first, instead of me or Aubrey.

Hurt and doubt set off a spark of outrage. "Don't be ridiculous. I already explained why —"

"Now I'm ridiculous?" Her body was so rigid, it looked like a band about to snap.

Everything I said came out wrong. I didn't know how to do this.

Keep your mouth shut
.

It was better if I didn't make matters worse.

But I wasn't going to leave. Not until she talked to me.

Thick silence filled the room. I waited.

She finally gave a shaky exhale and her posture slightly softened.

"I'm not like you or Aubrey." She walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. "Aubrey's so smart. She does all those things on the computer and with her brain. And you're the
sondaleur
. Miss Go-Out-And-Kick-Some-Ass."

I didn't understand her point. Sure, Aubrey was smart. And I was the
sondaleur
.

But she was Chloe. Of course she wasn't like us. She could do things Aubrey and I couldn't do in a million years.

"I went to Gabe at the beginning of the year," she continued. "I wanted to enter the chevalier program and become a recruit like you. Prove to everyone I wasn't just Miriam Moreaux's daughter."

A sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

She's been through a lot.

How could I have not known about this?

"What did he say?"

A harsh bark of laughter escaped her lips. "Said I didn't have a Virtue that'd allow me to fight. I didn't have enough background or experience to ever catch up. So he arranged an internship at the State Department."

The look on her face was so hard it could cut diamonds. "A desk job is all anyone will trust me with. Suddenly Ian shows up and all three of you are the good guys, working for the war. And I'm just Cam Martin's girlfriend."

That wasn't true at all.

Gabe made a good choice with Chloe's internship. She was great with people and her intuitive kindness and flexibility allowed her to handle situations effortlessly.

It was a job no other chevalier could do. It was something only she could do.

We all saw that in her.

Something may be true for you, but false for someone else.

Realization slowly spread. Chloe didn't see that.

"Is that why you broke up with Cam?" I asked carefully.

Fingers twisted in her lap and I hoped she wouldn't avoid the question again.

She sighed. "I thought about how you and Aubrey are with guys."

Aubrey approached dating with the same pragmatism she did everything else in life. Guys were there for fun. She didn't get too involved because her priorities always lay elsewhere.