Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) (34 page)

Parald
was a pansy, but even he wouldn’t shriek like a woman.  The high-pitched squeal
of panic came from inside the bathroom.

It
was hard to say who was more shocked as Ty pushed opened the door.

Gion.

Memory-Ty.

Parald.

Or
the naked woman struggling to get her bra back on.

Real-Ty
sighed.  “What an embarrassing cliché.”

“Darling.” 
Parald flashed his politician’s smile, even as he grabbed for his pants.  God,
that was more of Parald than Gion
ever
wanted to see.  “I can explain.”

“Explain?” 
Memory-Ty’s mouth barely moved.  “You’re sleeping with another woman on our
Phazing Day.  I don’t see what there is to explain.”  She turned towards the
door, a blank look on her face.  Gion sincerely hoped that Ty never used that
tone with him.  It was scarily cold.  Not hurt or angry.  Just…
done
.

“Darling,
this woman is nothing.”  Parald finally got his pants on and he chased after
her.  “A useless whore.”

“Hey!” 
The woman yelped.  She was a Heat Phase.

“
Shut-up
.” 
He roared.  Backtracking, he seized her arm and yanked her half-naked body
across the room.  “Get the fuck out of here!”  He shoved her out into the hall,
straight into Isaacs’ arms.

Gion
read the shock on Isaacs’ face.  “Sire?”  When Isaacs, of the Air House, a man
who’d once ripped off his enemy’s arms with a chain and a Toyota pickup truck,
seemed astonished by someone’s actions, you knew you’d hit the big time.  Phases
didn’t cheat on their Matches.  It was… crazy.

“Get
rid of her.”  Parald snapped and slammed the door, again.  He turned back to
Ty.  “Darling, this was nothing.  A last moment of bachelorhood, before I
commit myself to you.”  He held out his hands peacemaker style, but a
watchfulness stayed in his eyes.  “You wanted to wait for our Phazing Day and I
agreed, but I still have needs…”

“I
wanted to wait,” Ty interrupted, “because, when you touch me, it makes my skin
crawl.  Now, I see why.  You’re not a good man and I won’t have you as my
Match.”

Parald’s
eyes narrowed.  “What the hell are you talking about?  You
are
my
Match!”

Tension
grew in Gion’s body.  Ty was pissing Parald off and that was never a smart
thing to do.  Parald was bigger than she was, more powerful, and he was
standing between Ty and the door.

“Ty.” 
He said softly.  “Just get out of there.”

“Please,
don’t watch.”  Real-Ty repeated.

“I
won’t have you, Parald.”  Memory-Ty insisted.  “I won’t have my life dictated
to me by some force beyond my control.  I could have put up with just not
loving you, but this…”

“I
don’t give a shit if you love me or not!”  Parald roared.  “You’re
mine
. 
I’m the fucking King of the Air House and I can have whatever I want!”

Ty
looked right at him.  “No.”

The
word was unequivocal.  Gion knew from the stubborn look on her face that she
wouldn’t back down.  Ty looked fragile, but the woman had a core of solid
steel.

Ty
swept up the hem of her robes and started for the door

Parald
stepped directly into her path.

Gion
automatically reached for his sword.  He could feel the situation
deteriorating.

“What
do you think you’re going to do, huh, Ty?”  Parald loomed over her.  “You think
this is that fucking fairytale where the girl gives up her Match for true
love?”

“
Ismena
happens to be my favorite story.  Not that you’d know that, because you
couldn’t care less about me.”  Ty gave her hair a toss.  “I’m actually happy
that this happened. 
Finally
, I have a valid reason to get rid of you.”

“I
own you.  You
can’t
get rid of me!”

Ty
leaned closer to him, her eyes bright with triumph.  “You’re
renounced
,
you asshole.”

Under
any other circumstances Gion would have laughed at that, but this was getting
very, very bad.  Parald’s face went purple with anger and Gion’s apprehension
grew.  “Ty, don’t…”

“You
stupid bitch!”  Parald lunged at her.  “No one fucking renounces me!”  He shook
her.  “You should be on your knees, grateful that I chose you!”  He tried to smash
his lips over hers.

“Stop!” 
Memory-Ty pushed him away and Parald hit her.

His
fist slammed into her face and the blow sent Ty flying to the floor.  The back
of her head struck against the tile, leaving her dazed.

Gion
swore viciously.  “
I will fucking kill him!
”

“Stop
watching!  Stop watching!  Stop watching!”  Real-Ty grabbed his arm as Gion
automatically tried to help the past her.

“You’re
lucky
I decided to have you as my Match.”  Parald stalked over and
dragged memory-Ty up onto the sofa, pinning her beneath him.  “I can have
anyone I want!”

Memory-Ty
cried out in fear as Parald tore at her clothes.

Gion’s
fury was a living thing inside him.  “
You son-of-a-BITCH!
”

“Please,
Gion.  Please, stop watching.  I can’t bear it.”  Real-Ty tugged at his arm.  “
Please
.”

Gion
glanced down at her, his eyes wild.  “I can’t do anything!  He’s… And I can’t…”

“Wait.” 
Ty beseeched.  “He doesn’t rape me.  Just wait.  Please don’t watch.”

“What?” 
Gion’s mind buzzed with rage and frustration.  He couldn’t focus.  Parald’s
palm was covering Memory-Ty’s mouth and her muffled screaming slashed through
him like jagged nails.  “Ty.  Oh my God.”  Parald pried her legs apart and Gion
doubled over in physical pain.  “Oh my
God
.”

“I’m
sorry.”  Real-Ty’s voice broke on a sob.  “I tried to stop him.  I swear.  I
feel so dirty, having you see this.  I didn’t want him.”  A tear went sliding
down her cheek.  “I fought, but I was just too weak.  I’m always too weak.”

“You…” 
That actually penetrated his haze.  “What?  No.  Ty,
no
.”  He shook his
head and tried to concentrate on her, instead of the frenzy threatening to
consume him.  “Listen to me.  Nothing he does is your fault. 
Nothing
. 
If he forced you, it
still
wouldn’t be your fault.  And it wouldn’t
change a damn thing about how I feel about you.  Understand?”  His voice was
harsher then he’d intended.

She
looked up at him and Gion forced himself to calm down.

“Understand?” 
He repeated in a softer tone.

Ty
gave a jerky nod.

Gion
turned away from the sofa.  It gutted him, but he did it and opened his arms. 
That was all it took for Ty to burrow against his chest, clinging to him.  Gion
exhaled into her hair.  It wasn’t about him.  It was about Ty and what she needed. 
“I won’t watch.  I’m here and I won’t watch, alright?”

“Thank
you.”  Ty swallowed audibly.  “It’ll be over in a minute.”

“When
the hell…?”

A
loud pounding on the door interrupted his demand for an exact ETA on her
rescue.

“Sire,
the Council is ready to see you.”

Gion
blinked as he recognized his own cold voice.

“I
wasn’t strong enough to stop him.”  Ty smiled in relief.  “But, I didn’t have to
be.  You stopped him for me.”

“I…?” 
Gion glanced over his shoulder and saw Parald sit up.  His face had a harsh,
calculating glow.  He
wasn’t
out of control, which was somehow even
worse.  Parald wasn’t crazy.  Ty was right.  He was just evil.

“Sire?” 
Gion heard himself say, again.  “Isaacs isn’t out here, but Job’s ready.”

“Just
a moment.”  Parald called, sounding out of breath.  He leaned over Ty, again. 
Her eyes were wide and glassy.  “Get up.”  He hissed and quickly rearranged her
clothes.  Ty tried to push him away and Parald gave her another hard shake. 
“We’re going to the stand before that fucking Council and you’re going to say
the words to make me your Match, ya got it?  You do what I say or you’ll regret
it.”

Memory-Ty
looked over the side of the couch.  Her hand moved, reaching out for the door…

Towards
Gion.

In
her traumatized state, Ty automatically reached for him and Parald stopped her. 
The bastard grabbed her wrist and yanked her to her feet.

Gion
hated the man.

He
hated Parald so much that it burned straight through to his soul.  Gion pressed
the heels of his palms into his eyes.  Maybe it would be safe to kill Parald
when Ty was a hundred.  That was only four years away.  Somehow, he could
endure four more years of Parald being alive.

Parald
kept talking.  “You think Gion’s gonna help you, Ty?  Huh?”  Another shake. 
“What have I told you about him?  Gion thinks you’re weak and useless.  He told
me that.  He’ll laugh if you start whining at him.”

Gion’s
anger made the Air energy crackle around him.  “I didn’t tell him
anything
.” 
He shook his head.  “Parald’s lying.  I
never
would have let him hurt
you.  He knew that.”

“He
always said things like that about you.”  Ty murmured.  “He wanted me scared of
you.  He wanted us separated.”

Gion
considered that.  Was Parald savvy enough to have felt their connection?  No
Match would want his woman’s energy linking with another man’s.  Was that the
source of Parald’s scheming?

Once
Ty looked presentable, Parald dragged her towards the door.  “Just get out
there and keep your mouth shut.  You don’t know what the hell you’re doing. 
When Job asks you if you accept the Match, you just bob your head or I’ll make
you sorry.”

Ty
ripped free of his hold and didn’t say a word.  Gion recognized the ‘rot in
Hell’ gleam to her eyes, but Parald apparently didn’t notice.

He
opened the door and smiled at Gion.  “Here’s the happy bride.  Take her to
Job.”  He patted the top of Ty’s hair and the mask of a loving Match fell over
his face.  “See you soon, darling.”

Gion
remembered this day.  He’d been crazed.  Thinking of Ty Phazing with Parald
left him desolate.  He couldn’t even bear to look at Ty, for fear of what he
might say.  He wouldn’t have noticed a parade of aliens dancing down the hall,
let alone the quiet appeal in her eyes.

Memory-Ty
looked up at him and Gion saw himself stare at a spot two feet above her head. 
“Ready?”  He asked flatly and started walking without waiting for a response.

Shit.

Ty
had needed help and he’d been completely oblivious.

He’d
screwed up.  He always screwed up when it really mattered.

“I’m
sorry.”  Real-Gion glanced down at her and wondered how she could ever forgive
him.  “Angel, I’m so sorry.  I wanted you so badly and I was so upset about
your Match that I didn’t see…”

Ty
cut him off.  “Wait.”  She instructed and followed the two other thems out into
the hall.

The
Classical elegance of the Council Hall surrounded them as they made their way
towards the main chamber.  Memory-Ty looked shell-shocked.  Gion wanted to
punch his former self.  Oblivious moron.

“You
should have said something to me, Ty.”  He snapped.  “I would have…”

“Wait.”

Memory-Gion
reached the doors to the Council Chamber.  He started to pull them open, then hesitated
and slammed them shut, again.  He finally focused on Ty.  “Tritone?  I can’t do
this without…”

She
looked up at him with damp turquoise eyes and Gion saw himself lose his
original train of thought.

“Just
know yourself and be happy.”  He said, instead.  “You deserve that.  I wish… I
wish things could have been different.  I wish…”  He stopped and glanced away. 
“Damn it, I wish we didn’t have fucking Matches.”  Gion jerked the door open
and stalked into the Council Chamber without giving Ty a chance to reply.

He
had no idea what Memory-Ty gazed after him like he said something amazing.

Real-Ty
sighed contentedly.  “Thank you, Gion.”

“For
what?  Saying
that
?”  It wasn’t exactly Shakespeare.  “Why?”

“You
never read
Ismena
, did you?”

Gion
didn’t see a way to skate around that question.  “No.”  He admitted.

“Parald
was actually right.  It’s about a woman who renounces her Match for true love. 
I always adored that book.  I named all my dolls ‘Ismena’ as a girl.”  She
smiled.  “I never understood why a story so antithetical to the Elementals’
basic laws would be so popular with Phases, until now.  I think it’s because a
lot of us secretly want what the humans have.  We want the freedom to choose
our own destinies.”

“And
you did it.”

“I
did.”

It
stuck Gion how much courage that must have taken.  On the very day that she
came of age, Ty rebelled against every Elemental tradition and renounced her
Match.  In fact, Memory-Ty was about to go into the Council Chamber, look right
at Parald and tell him she’d rather die than be his queen.