Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

My immediate family was nowhere near her status."
    She walked over to a bookshelf and picked up a frame, studying a photo of her daughters.
    "Poor business decisions over several generations resulted in deep debt and desperate parents. The Bessettes were unable to have a child. They adopted me and in exchange, took care of my biological parents' finances."
    She caught my expression. "It's no different than the practice of arranged bindings."
    That was true.
    "So you and Renee are still Redavi, even if your name isn't one." I shook my head. "All those arranged bindings preserving wealth and status are useless."
    "I agree." She replaced the photo, voice tightening with anger. "Things have evolved so much over the years. Look at Julian's Virtue. We are far past these customs and yet we continue to desperately hold on because they remain familiar."
    The sound of laughing voices carried into the room a moment before the door opened.
    Helene Bessette's gangly thirteen-year-old body moved with an awkward self-consciousness. One bright eye fastened on me. A silver, handheld video camera obscured the other half of her face.
    In the month I'd been here, I'd never seen her without it.
    Camera now focused on me.
    I eyed her warily. "I thought you were making a zombie film."
    "I'm doing something new," she said. "A hard-hitting documentary about the life of the Chosen One, the long-prophesied ondine destined to end the war."
    "What?"
    She knelt on the sofa and I caught the faint buzz of the lens zooming in. "Are you the sondaleur ?"
    I slowly inched away. "Yeah, but —"
    "Tell me." Her voice deepened, articulate and smooth as a news anchor. "Do you have a hard time accepting the pressures of your destiny? Does it ever all feel too much?"
    I scooted away. She followed.
    "Go, girl." Renee ruffled her sister's fine, light brown hair. "Never give up on your story."
    Strangling her in front of her mother and sister was probably not a good idea. Plus, it'd be caught on tape.
    Renee perched on the sofa arm, striped wool scarf hanging loosely around her.
    "So Amir called."
    Red and turquoise phoenix tattoo emerged from her shirt collar, sleek form elegantly stretching up her neck.
    Catrin returned to the sofa. "Does he know who bought that paint?"
    Excitement gleamed in Renee's eyes. "You're not going to believe who it is."
    Silence fell. Seconds passed.
    "Well, who is it?" I said, impatient.
    Helene shushed me. "It's called dramatic effect."
    "Peter Schlusser," Renee announced.
    Catrin's eyes widened. "What?"
    I frowned. "Who's Peter Schlusser?"
    "A human who runs a used bookstore in the Lower East Side called The Alder Branch." Helene wiped the camera lens with a soft cloth. "Mom and I went to see him last week."
    "We sold a few of our older books," Catrin said slowly. "Peter's store specializes in esoterica. Legends, myths, books on magic. I ordered the textbooks we used from him."
    Another human aware of our world and actively involved in it.
    "Why would a bookseller purchase high-grade oil paint?"
    "Good question." Renee's expression turned serious. "Peter's never shown any interest in art."
    "He's worked with elementals in this city for years." Catrin shook her head. "I can't imagine how he'd be involved. His store has been the place for magic books since I was a child."
    Renee's eyes met mine. "Julian wants to pay him a visit."
    No matter how strange it seemed, a paint this harmless bookseller purchased was found on Edmundo.
    If The Alder Branch was at the heart of the city's elemental community, there was a possibility it'd come into contact with Aquidae.
    I stood. "Let's go."

THREE

    DREARY LOW-RISE APARTMENT BUILDINGS loomed over the small playground. Loneliness shrouded rusted equipment, an empty sandbox, and bare trees. A few forgotten toys littered the ground.
    Other than the occasional rumble of a car and scratch of wind against the sidewalk, the streets were quiet.
    Shivering, I pulled my coat tighter around me.
    Julian was twenty