Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) (13 page)

“You’ll
what
?”  Tharsis interrupted.  He didn’t even bother to shove Gion back. 
“
Nothing
.  You can’t touch me and you know it, genius.  Not if you ever
wanna be the good guy in Ty’s eyes.”  He arched a brow.  “And that
is
what you want, isn’t it?”

“Get
your hands off of him.”  Cross wrenched Gion away from the sofa.  “Nia told me
not to kill you, yet.  But, I can and
will
if you touch Tharsis.  Or Ty. 
Or my uncle.  Or
especially
my Match.”  He gave Gion a shove.  “I’m
holding an entire fucking House.  In a fight, I’ll win.  Because, even if you
kill me, I’ll just take you out along with everyone else when the Shadow House
falls.”

Cross
had a point.

Gion
vividly recalled the last time the Shadow House collapsed.  As the end of the
world spiraled closer, Gion’s last thought had been of Ty.

Tharsis
crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.  “So… Let’s talk about my little
cousin.”  He suggested with cheerful menace.

Tharsis
knew.

Gion
could see it in the younger man’s face.  Thar knew that Gion wanted Ty.  Damn
it, that was the last thing Gion needed.  Tharsis seemed like a slacking
workaphobe, but the guy had a vicious streak and an IQ frighteningly close to
his cousin’s.  Thar could severely screw-up Gion’s life.  If Tharsis drew a
line in the sand between Gion and himself, Ty would stand on Thar’s side. 
There wasn’t a doubt in Gion’s mind.

Which
meant that Gion couldn’t underestimate the kid.

“I
have no intention of discussing Tritone with anyone.”  He cautiously said.

“Oh,
but we have to.  Because, I see it
allllll
now.”  Tharsis drew out the
word.  “Why you never jumped into the Water Kingdom and just tried to steal Ty
for Parald.  Why you freaked out that time in the jail when she had the panic
attack.  Why you set her free when the Air House kidnapped her.  Why you’re
even
here
.”

Not
being able to simply kill assholes was a frustrating drawback of Gion’s new
life.

He
glanced down at the clipboard and decided to pick his battles.  “I’m going to
go check the windows in the throne room.”

“I
don’t think so.”  Tharsis patted the sofa cushion.  His wristwatch had the
Ghostbusters
logo on its face.  “Sit down and let’s watch some TV.”

Gion
couldn’t have been more shocked if Tharsis suggested that they try out for the
Olympics together.  “I beg your pardon?”

“Oh,
no.”  Cross groaned.  “Not those damn models.”

“I
DVRed this week’s episode.”  Tharsis clicked on the flat screen TV via remote
and settled back on the couch.  “Did you ever see this show, Guy?  Tyra’s hot,
isn’t she?”

“Who?” 
The Elemental realm received hundreds of television channels, but Gion
certainly never
watched
any of them.  He didn’t have the time or
inclination.  Watching TV required a level of relaxation that Gion never
achieved.

He
never relaxed.

Ever.

“I’m
not going to endure some idiotic human prattling.  I’m conducting a security…”

“Sit
down or I’ll have to go find
someone else
to watch my show with me.” 
Tharsis propped his feet up on the coffee table.  “And that someone will be
Ty.  Who do you think we’ll talk about, Romeo?”

Fuck.

Gion
glanced over at Cross, although he seriously doubted that Cross was in the mood
to lend him a hand, what with the throwing him through the glass door and all.

Cross
was already ducking back through the broken doorway and making his escape. 
“I’m gonna go check on Nia.”

Fuck.

Gion
drummed the clipboard against his leg and grudgingly headed over to the sofa. 
“You really don’t want to make an enemy out of me, boy.”

Tharsis
snickered.  The massive sapphire stud in his earlobe flashed deep blue in the
light.  “Guy, you stopped intimidating me back when Ty and I were in those jail
cells.  You didn’t even
try
to kidnap Ty for your boss.  I knew right
then that you weren’t going to hurt her.”

“That
doesn’t mean I won’t hurt
you
.”

“Please.” 
Tharsis rolled his eyes.  “Just shut up and stop with the Cobra Commander-ing.”

Gion
didn’t know what that meant, exactly, but Tharsis’ total lack of fear
disconcerted him.

Gion
scared people.  Since he was eight years old, other Phases avoided him or
looked at him with wary frowns.  Parald and Seneca had been terrified of Gion’s
power.  Not even Isaacs rolled his eyes and told him to shut-up.  For some
reason, Gion actually found Tharsis’ unintimated attitude… interesting.

“Sit.” 
Thar repeated.

Gion
didn’t know what else to do, so he sat.  Chairs in the Air Kingdom promoted
good posture and attentiveness.  The Water Kingdom only decorated with
overstuffed furniture suitable for slouching.  It took Gion several tries to
position himself so his feet stayed flat on the floor and his back remained
straight.

Tharsis
puffed out a “God in heaven” sort of breath and turned his attention back to
the TV.  “So, now, I get why you’ve been doing such a suck-y job of stealing Ty
for Parald, at least.  I figured you were attracted to her, but I didn’t
realize how deep it went.”

Gion
stared fixedly at the television.  Thin humans screamed at each other.

“How
long have you been in love with her?”  Tharsis persisted.

Gion
rarely thought about Ty in terms of love.  The word seemed too pretty and
innocuous for what he felt.  Not that he had any intention of discussing that
with Tharsis.

Silence
hummed between them for a long moment.

“Ty’s
my baby cousin.”  Tharsis persisted.  “And she’s been through enough.  If you
even want a chance at her, I’m gonna need some assurances here, Guy.  You’d be
saying the same thing to me if our positions were reversed.”

It
was irritating that Tharsis had a point.  Only Gion wouldn’t let someone like
himself near Ty, at all.  She deserved a better man.  What assurances could he
possibly offer?  “My name is Gi
on
.”  He corrected while he tried to
figure out what to say.

“God,
loosen up and stop being such an Air Phase.”  Tharsis pointed at the screen.
“See that blonde girl?”

“They’re
all blonde.”

“No,
that
one.  She’s such an evil bitch.  I
love
her.  See?”  Tharsis
made an expansive hand gesture.  “I’m willing to share my deep feelings about
what’s-her-name with you.  Now, it’s your turn to open up with me.”

The
keeper of Tharsis’ heart wept mascara-y tears at being told her body language
was too stiff to properly sell the sexiness of deodorant.

Gion’s
eyes narrowed at the screen.  “What am I watching?”  The question was part
conversational placeholder and part appalled curiosity.  The show had been on
for two seconds and it was already hurting his brain.

Tharsis
grinned.  “Oh, come on.  You know that you like this.  Tessie said you used to
watch
Days of Our Lives
with her all the time.”

“That
was part of my job.  The Quintessence
forced
me to endure that drivel.” 
The blonde woman explained to the camera that a modeling career meant the
difference between languishing in mediocrity versus a life full of deep meaning
and designer handbags.  “And, amazingly, soap operas have more artistic merit
than this.”  Something worse than
Days of Our Lives
.  Who would have
thought that even the humans could create such a thing?

A
photographer told another blonde that she didn’t “own her sexy” and was
therefore doomed to be “merely pretty” instead of “wha-wham!”  More tears
ensured.

Gion
found the horrible spectacle of it slightly hypnotic.

He
stared at the screen until the next commercial break.  “I’ve been in love with
Ty for eleven years, three month and six days.”  He finally said when it became
apparent that Tharsis planned to wait him out.

“She
wasn’t even of age eleven years ago.”  Thar didn’t seem surprised, though.  He
just fast-forwarded until the half-naked humans returned.

“I
know.”

“You
loved her
before
Ty discovered that she was Parald’s Match?”

“Yes.”

Tharsis
considered that.  “So, why didn’t you kill that son-of-a-bitch a long time
ago?”

“Ty’s
too young.  Even though they never Phazed, I’m concerned that killing Parald
will pull her down, too.”  Matches life spans usually coincided.  That had
contributed to the huge death toll in the Fall.  Some immune Phases couldn’t
live without their Matches and just faded away.

Tharsis
scowled.  “Shit.  I never thought of that.  Parald would abso-fucking-lutley
try to take her with him.  Bastard.”

“When
Ty’s two hundred, I’ll kill Parald.  She’ll be stronger, then.”  Gion watched
as one of the interchangeable models craned her neck like a barn owl for her photo
shoot.  “In the meantime, I’ll keep her safe from him.  I have nothing in my
life except her.  You won’t believe that, but it’s true.”

“Sure
I believe it.”

Gion
wasn’t sure if that was sarcasm or not.

Tharsis
gave another smirk.  “So, you figure that you
really
have a chance with
Ty, huh?  Even with the whole ‘you being a super-villain’ thing, you think you
can win her over?”

“When
I require advice on women, I’ll ask somebody who actually has one.”

“Let’s
just get right to the bottom line here, okay?”  Tharsis turned away from the TV
and studied Gion for a long moment.  “You hurt my cousin and I’ll kill you in
your sleep.”

“That
seems fair.”

Tharsis
nodded.  “Just so we agree.”

It
took Gion a moment to realize that Thar had just given him his blessing.  That
shocked Gion so deeply that he stared at Tharsis speechlessly for a moment. 
“Why?”  He finally asked.  “Why aren’t you kicking me out of here or telling me
to stay away from Ty?”

“Well,
for one thing, you saved my cousin and my sister, so I don’t think you’re as
nefarious a guy as your wardrobe suggests.”

Gion
nearly snorted at that.  Aside from the Fall, he was personally responsible for
more graves than any other disaster in the Elemental realm.

“And
because, good or bad, Ty always reacts to you.”

It
was beneath Gion to ask for details on that.  Completely adolescent and
pointless.  “How so?”  He demanded, anyway.

“She
just acts different around you.  She always has.  Even back when she wasn’t
talking to you, at all, there was a ‘rot in hell’ defiance about it.”

Yeah,
like Gion hadn’t picked up on that by himself.  Ty’s silence was always spoke
volumes.  Reaching into his pocket, he absently touched the hair barrette he’d
stolen from her, his finger rubbing over the plastic daisy pedals.

“Ty’s
not defiant.”  Tharsis went on.  “Not usually.  Only about things that really
matter to her.  I always thought it was odd, the way you two interacted.”

Gion
glanced at Tharsis out of the corner of his eyes.  He’d never been able to talk
about Ty with anyone before.  “She just argued with me.”  He was proud of
that.  “Interrupted me and everything.”

“Did
she?”  Tharsis made a considering face.  “Impressive.  You bring her out of her
shell.  That’s important to me, Gion.  You make her bolder.  Maybe, it’s
because of the energy between you.  That has to mean something.  I don’t know
what
,
but something.”

“I
want Ty to Bind with me.”  Gion needed Ty’s family on board with his plan and
he wasn’t great at breaking news to people gently.  The sooner Nia and Tharsis
accepted his intentions, the sooner he could gauge how big a fight they’d mount
against him.

“Huh.” 
Tharsis turned back to the TV.  “Parald will come after you, you know.”

“I’ll
deal with Parald.  Will you try and stop the Binding?”

Tharsis
sat there quietly for a full minute.  “Let’s put it this way: You’re the
meanest, plotting-est, most selfish bastard in the universe.  I’m betting that
you’d wipe out every innocent orphan in the world for a parking spot.”

“I
don’t own a car.”

“I
know.”  Thar agreed pointedly.  “And now you want Ty.”

“I
do.”

 “Right. 
So, while I don’t really like you all that much… I’d still rather have
you
guarding her, than some nice, sensitive, guy with a conscience.  No one will
touch her, with you around.”

Gion
met his eyes levelly.  “
No one
.”  He vowed.

“So,
if Ty agrees, --And if you try to pressure her, I’ll
stop
you-- but, if she
willingly
agrees, I’ll support a Binding.  You’re like me getting a
round-the-clock SEAL team for my cousin’s security.  I can tolerate the rest of
your intolerable-ness.”