Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) by Cassandra Gannon Page A

ruthless as Gion was, Parald wouldn’t have stood a chance if Gion
pulled an Ides of March on his ass.
    Gion
could be in charge of the Air House, right now.
    So
why was Gion with the Water Phases?
    “They
say he broke Ty out of the Air House dungeon.”  Raiden put-in.  “She owed him.”
    Lansing
scowled at the mention of her name.  “Ty owes us all .”
    Like
many in the Reprisal, Lansing hated Ty, blaming her for triggering Parald’s
wrath and, with it, the Fall.  Chason himself had nothing against the girl. 
She hurt Parald more deeply than anyone else when she renounced him.  That
pretty much made Ty and Chason even, in his book.
    Raiden’s
glowing eyes watched Lansing.  “Ty, of the Water House is vital to our world.”
    Chason
had no idea what that meant and he didn’t bother ask.  Half of what Raiden said
was like something out of a Nostradamus quatrain.  It
only became clear after the event already happened.  None of Raiden’s
soothsaying made much sense a nd, yet, he was somehow always right.
    “She’s
a fucking bitch.”  Lansing shot back.  “Ty and Gion deserve each other.”
    “Perhaps
they do.”  Raiden’s head tilted as if something was whispering in his own
fractured mind.
    That
was one of the reasons that Chason relied on Raiden.  No matter how crazy
Chason was, Raiden was worse.
    For
now.
    Chason’s
gaze went back to his Match’s grave.
    “Look,
I just don’t understand any of this.”  Lansing shook his head.  He was a man
who preferred neat and tidy explanations for everything around him.  “What
triggered Gion to switch sides?  Why would he want out of the Air House when he
was the strongest?  Why would he betray Parald for Ty ?  What can she do
for him?”
    Ty
and Gion deserve each other .
    Chason’s
head tilted, too.
    The
writing over Mara’s sepulcher was simple and to the point:
    Mara,
of the Magnet House.
    Beloved,
    Forever
and Then Some .
    His
amethyst eyes traced over the words.
    Why
would a Phase do things that made no sense?  Why would he leave his home and
risk his life?  Why would he free his enemy from a dungeon?  Why would he
abandon everything and ask for amnesty from a House where he’d never fit in?
    A
woman.
    The
right woman made everything else fall away.  Made you do whatever it took to
have her and keep her forever.  No one knew that better than Chason.  If you
loved a woman, logic meant nothing.
    Chason’s
mouth parted as he realized the truth.
    If
he’d still believed in God, he would’ve sworn a heavenly choir of angelic
voices soared in a prefect, revelatory “laaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” all around him.  For
once, the reminder of music didn’t cut through him, though.  Chason stood at
the feet of true inspiration and looked upward at the answer to all his empty prayers.
    Gion
had a woman.
    Gion
had a weakness.
    Ty.
    It
had to be Ty.
    It
seemed so obvious, now.
    Killing
Ty to punish Parald would have been pointless.  The man was incapable of
love.  Ty was just a possession to him.  But, Match or not, if Gion really loved
Ty, then losing her would destroy him.  That sweet, little redhead was the key
to bringing Gion to his knees.
    If
this was true, Chason could do to Gion exactly what had been done to him
when Mara died.  He could rip out Gion’s heart and leave him alone in an empty
world.
    He’d
have justice for his Match.
    He’d
finally have revenge.
    Chason
very slowly smiled as the blackness in his head pulled him ever deeper into
madness.

Chapter Six
    I have
already moved too long in an environment that is not my own.
    Flying
fish can live for a time in the air; but soon they must splash back into the
water.
    I, too,
must swim in my own element.
     
    Ivan
Turgenev's ‘Fathers and Children’
     
    “You
son-of-a-bitch!”  Cross, of the Shadow House did not possess a calm and
soothing voice.  It rumbled with Shadows most of the time and, when he started
yelling, it went into complete darkness.  “What the hell are