Breaker (Ondine Quartet Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

relationship that would cost my mortality in a few years, there would be an uprising.
    Those who sought power would sense a weakness and exploit it. The public would react to the perceived power instability.
    In a time of war, people wanted to believe they were safe, even if it was just an illusion. No matter how much I wanted to lean into Tristan, I had to maintain a public facade. Our relationship had to remain a secret.
    He rubbed his face. “Sorry.”
    “Don’t be.” It sounded more bitter than I intended.
    He studied me. “What can I do?”
    “You can tell me how I’m supposed to do this.”
    A beat. “The governorship? Or us?”  
    Exhaustion washed over me. The past two days had knocked me down, stomped on my ribs, and kicked me in the face. The thought of wearing another mask for the sake of duty made me nauseous.
    I was too tired to explain. “I should get back to Lumiere. I need to start packing up and preparing for the move.”  
    For a long moment, he didn’t say anything. Then his hand lightly touched the small of my back.  
    The tiny gesture almost undid me.  
    “I’ll take you.”
    Silence stretched between us during our ride. Tristan’s presence was soothing and a part of me wished I could crawl over to his side of the car and let him hold me until the world stopped tilting.  
    But tonight the space between us was too filled with Rhian, with the ghosts of Marcella and my mother, and the weight of things to come.
    He parked in the school lot and leaned over. His lips brushed against my forehead.
    “I’m here if you need me,” he said quietly.
    I gave a small nod and exited.  
    Instead of returning to the dorms, I veered toward the western edge of campus. Recent rain had softened the dirt trail leading up to the bluffs. The faint promise of spring draped over bare tree branches. Patches of grass had begun to appear, stubbornly poking their way through the winter-hardened ground.
    Nexa stood outside her cottage. Her blouse billowed, the wind whipping long strands of silver hair around her.
    She hadn’t been at the funeral and I wondered how long she’d been waiting for me.  
    Without a word, she led me to the bluff’s edge. Together, we gazed out at the ocean. The tides were smooth and long, languidly rolling in rhythmic swells, an infinite heartbeat against the unforgiving shore.
    “You are ready.”
    My chest hurt. “I don’t feel ready.”
    She turned to me. Terrible pain flickered in the depths of her eyes.
    “To be ready does not mean it will be easy. It doesn’t mean it will be smooth.” The wrinkles on her face appeared deeper, more pronounced. “It means that even when it’s difficult, you have what it takes to survive.”  
    Fear dripped down my spine. I remained alive not because I survived, but because he let me live.
    Fueled by an endless reservoir of hate and rage, the Shadow possessed a colossal power. He could annihilate us with a snap of his fingers.
    My blade, skills, and magic were woefully ineffective. They worked against physical beings.  
    But the Shadow was blood and energy, an immortal who used mortal form out of convenience, not necessity.
    The numbers hang high where red towers over sea. Can you find me now?
    His strange words reverberated inside me again, a challenge I didn’t know how to address.
    “I don’t know where to begin —”  
    “I’m leaving for Fontesceau tomorrow.”
    “Oh.”
    Located on an island off the southwest coast of Florida, Fontesceau was a popular community and favorite vacation spot for many elementals.
    I’d assumed Nexa would be here for my confirmation ceremony. I shook aside the slight hurt. “Why?”
    “RePa con.”
    Um. “What?”
    “Restless Passions Convention,” she said impatiently. “In Miami. Since it’s the show’s final season, the entire cast will be there to greet fans. I’m getting everything signed.”  
    I blinked. She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket.  
    “And also because of