Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B
Author: Cassandra Gannon
again, and this time it had nothing
to do with her fear of public speaking. A rush of heat and light moved through
her and Ty found herself gasping in surprise.
With Gion, Ty’s usual aversion to touching didn’t materialize.
Instead, it seemed exciting and inexplicably pleasant. For some reason, Gion
touching her didn’t feel… wrong. Ty didn’t have the panicked need to instantly
jerk away.
Which caused her to panic and instantly jerk away.
It was insane.
Gion released his hold on her, but not before his thumb stroked
the inside of her elbow as if he just wanted to feel her skin under his
fingers.
He’d experienced it, too.
Ty knew that she looked shocked. Gaia knew, she felt shocked. That energy had happened the last time she touched Gion, too, and it
still shocked the bejesus out of her.
Phases weren’t supposed to experience anything like that pulse of
energy outside of a Match. Except, Ty never felt anything close to that
with Parald. His powers always felt… dirty. Parald was her Match. Ty
knew that. She’d never have another one. Truthfully, she didn’t even want another one.
Unlike the rest of the Elemental realm, Ty remained unconvinced
about the greatness of Phase-Matches. As far as she could tell, they just
sucked independence from people and forced them into situations beyond their
control. The human way of finding mates was so much better. They chose based
on their own hearts.
Freewill.
For Ty, freewill always won out over blindly accepting whatever
fate offered.
Gion didn’t look nearly so rattled by their brief contact. He
didn’t even step back out of her personal space bubble. Instead, he arched a
brow at her. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, Tritone?”
“Hi! I’m Ashley.” Ashley sent Ty an understanding smile about
the hug-avoidance and held her palm out to Gion. “I’m Ty’s sponsor. Are you
her boyfriend? I think that’s great. It’s really helpful to have the support
of family and friends, ya know?”
Ty shook her head emphatically and edged away from Gion. “No,
he’s…”
“I am Gion… Peterson.” He actually shook Ashley’s hand. “From
Delaware.”
Ty rolled her eyes and waited for lightening to strike him down.
Why were Elementals always so terrible at interacting with humans?
“Yeah? I drove through Dover a few years ago.” Ashley exclaimed
as if that was an amazing coincidence. “Great cape.”
“I like it.” Gion smirked down at Ty. “Don’t you?”
“Well, definitely it suits you.” She murmured.
Jackass .
Gion’s eyes gleamed as if he heard her mental name calling and
found it amusing.
“Super.” Ashley beamed at Ty. “Anyhow, I know that you don’t
like getting the chips in front of the group and I didn’t want to push you
anymore this evening. So here.” She held out an orange token. “Thirty days
clean, sweetie. That’s quite an accomplishment.” She grinned at Gion. “You
should be proud of her.”
Ty stared down at her chip admiringly and, for no reason in the
universe, glanced up at Gion for a reaction.
“I’m always proud of Tritone.” He said seriously.
Ty decided to ignore that and focused on her chip, again. “Thank
you, Ashley.”
“Sweetie, I didn’t do anything. It’s all you.” Ashley winked at
her and headed back into the midst of the group.
Ty rubbed her chip between her fingers, admiring the feel of it.
“So, weren’t you leaving?” She prompted when Gion continued silently standing
there.
“I should. But, it turns out that I’m a selfish bastard.” He
snorted. “I’m not surprised. There’s certainly ample evidence of it, isn’t
there?” He changed positions so that he could face her. “I can’t walk away.
I need that promise from you.”
Ty studied him through length of her lashes. “Alright.”
His jaw went tight. “I…” For the first
to do with her fear of public speaking. A rush of heat and light moved through
her and Ty found herself gasping in surprise.
With Gion, Ty’s usual aversion to touching didn’t materialize.
Instead, it seemed exciting and inexplicably pleasant. For some reason, Gion
touching her didn’t feel… wrong. Ty didn’t have the panicked need to instantly
jerk away.
Which caused her to panic and instantly jerk away.
It was insane.
Gion released his hold on her, but not before his thumb stroked
the inside of her elbow as if he just wanted to feel her skin under his
fingers.
He’d experienced it, too.
Ty knew that she looked shocked. Gaia knew, she felt shocked. That energy had happened the last time she touched Gion, too, and it
still shocked the bejesus out of her.
Phases weren’t supposed to experience anything like that pulse of
energy outside of a Match. Except, Ty never felt anything close to that
with Parald. His powers always felt… dirty. Parald was her Match. Ty
knew that. She’d never have another one. Truthfully, she didn’t even want another one.
Unlike the rest of the Elemental realm, Ty remained unconvinced
about the greatness of Phase-Matches. As far as she could tell, they just
sucked independence from people and forced them into situations beyond their
control. The human way of finding mates was so much better. They chose based
on their own hearts.
Freewill.
For Ty, freewill always won out over blindly accepting whatever
fate offered.
Gion didn’t look nearly so rattled by their brief contact. He
didn’t even step back out of her personal space bubble. Instead, he arched a
brow at her. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, Tritone?”
“Hi! I’m Ashley.” Ashley sent Ty an understanding smile about
the hug-avoidance and held her palm out to Gion. “I’m Ty’s sponsor. Are you
her boyfriend? I think that’s great. It’s really helpful to have the support
of family and friends, ya know?”
Ty shook her head emphatically and edged away from Gion. “No,
he’s…”
“I am Gion… Peterson.” He actually shook Ashley’s hand. “From
Delaware.”
Ty rolled her eyes and waited for lightening to strike him down.
Why were Elementals always so terrible at interacting with humans?
“Yeah? I drove through Dover a few years ago.” Ashley exclaimed
as if that was an amazing coincidence. “Great cape.”
“I like it.” Gion smirked down at Ty. “Don’t you?”
“Well, definitely it suits you.” She murmured.
Jackass .
Gion’s eyes gleamed as if he heard her mental name calling and
found it amusing.
“Super.” Ashley beamed at Ty. “Anyhow, I know that you don’t
like getting the chips in front of the group and I didn’t want to push you
anymore this evening. So here.” She held out an orange token. “Thirty days
clean, sweetie. That’s quite an accomplishment.” She grinned at Gion. “You
should be proud of her.”
Ty stared down at her chip admiringly and, for no reason in the
universe, glanced up at Gion for a reaction.
“I’m always proud of Tritone.” He said seriously.
Ty decided to ignore that and focused on her chip, again. “Thank
you, Ashley.”
“Sweetie, I didn’t do anything. It’s all you.” Ashley winked at
her and headed back into the midst of the group.
Ty rubbed her chip between her fingers, admiring the feel of it.
“So, weren’t you leaving?” She prompted when Gion continued silently standing
there.
“I should. But, it turns out that I’m a selfish bastard.” He
snorted. “I’m not surprised. There’s certainly ample evidence of it, isn’t
there?” He changed positions so that he could face her. “I can’t walk away.
I need that promise from you.”
Ty studied him through length of her lashes. “Alright.”
His jaw went tight. “I…” For the first