Free Whirl (Ondine Quartet Book 1) by Emma Raveling

person."
    I saw it in his eyes. Gabriel wasn't going to
budge. He was a military man, trained to respect the importance of
order and chain of command. He wasn't going to break the system
that was currently in place, no matter his personal
reservations.
    He placed a hand gently on my shoulder and
his voice softened. "Look, you already have a lot to deal with.
Take some time to adapt to your new life here."
    He gave a comforting smile and left.
Frustrated, I wandered down the east hallway. I was disappointed
with Gabe's reaction. Since he'd been raised human, I was sure he
would side with me on this. But I hadn't known there was an actual
law that governed who could become a chevalier.
    Asking him to put me in was the same as
asking him to perform a criminal act. But hadn't my father been
willing to break the law by training my mother? No, that was
different. My mother never wanted to be a chevalier. She'd simply
wanted to learn how to fight, and my father had taught her
privately. Although it was frowned upon, it didn't technically
break any laws.
    I could ask Gabriel to do the same. But as
soon as the thought came, I rejected it.
    Even if Gabe gave me private sessions, I knew
that it wouldn't be enough. I wanted to fight against Aquidae.
Regardless of what every other ondine here thought, I was a shark,
not a swan.
    Sighing, I stopped and looked around. Most of
the rooms in this part of the House were either small sitting areas
or large, coldly furnished conference rooms. I'd stopped in front
of an enormous set of carved wooden doors at the end of the
corridor. Slightly ajar, a faint yellow glow emanated from the
opening.
    Curious, I pushed the doors open and peeked
inside. An expansive library spiraled upward for three floors,
taking up the entire corner of this wing. Hundreds of thousands of
books gleamed in the soft light and a hushed power reverberated
through the air.
    Two royal gardinels blocked the entrance,
their muscular chests and glinting pedaillons suddenly a few inches
in front of my face.
    They moved so silently it was like they'd
appeared out of thin air.
    "Sorry. Didn't realize books needed
protection," I muttered, irritated.
    "May I help you, sondaleur ?" Augustin
Genevieve rose from a reading table in the middle of the room. As
he walked to the doorway, he made a small gesture and the gardinels
stepped aside.
    Funny. Just like Rhian, he called me sondaleur. But it didn't bother me. He made it sound
respectful, like calling someone, "ma'am," or, "miss."
    "Why all the protection?"
    He looked puzzled. "Protection?"
    "Gardinels and all this magic." I loosely
waved my hand in the air. "For a library?"
    He considered. "The magic is Essence that
leaks from the books. This library contains the extensive history
and knowledge of the water elemental world. Words have immense
power." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "How interesting that you
can feel it. Most people have no awareness of it."
    Essence was the magic created by combining
the blood of the four most powerful water elemental races -
ondines, demillirs, dessondines, and selkies. It was the same magic
that infused the kouperet blade.
    He arched an eyebrow. "The gardinels are here
because library access is only given to Governing Council members
and government administrators."
    "Why?"
    "History and knowledge are powerful things, sondaleur . And it's always better to be cautious about who
is allowed access to that power."
    I was beginning to wonder if anyone was
allowed to do anything here. Everything was restricted, the flow of
information carefully controlled.
    His expression turned shrewd. "Is there
something on your mind? Perhaps I may be of assistance."
    I gave a dramatic sigh. "Not unless you know
how I can change a stupid, ancient law."
    His light blue eyes sparkled. "Maybe I do.
After all, I've been involved with law and politics around here for
a long time." He leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms, a
pensive expression on his face.
    He may