Read Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3) for Free Online Page A

sounded
utterly devoid of humor.  “‘Have I thought about it?’  It’s all I ever think about.  Escape.  Freedom.  I have to have amnesty now or it’ll be
too late.  I’m slipping.”
    Ty wasn’t sure what that meant, but she believed him.  Had
something gone wrong for Gion in the Air House?  Did Parald know that he’d
saved her from the dungeon?  Whatever it was, Gion was apparently desperate.
    Ty’s mind finally started catching up with the conversation. 
“I…”  She shook her head, trying to organize her thoughts.  “My cousins live in
the Water Kingdom.  I mean, Nia’s the Shadow Queen now, but she and Cross spend
a lot of time back home with Tharsis and me.”  Ty was babbling, but she didn’t
care.  “I can’t endanger my cousins.  I own you the favor, but…”
    “I’m not a danger to Tharsis and Nia.”  Gion interrupted.  “If I
was going to hurt them, I would have done it long ago.  But, what would be the
point?  I have no interest in them, at all.”
    Ty frowned at his dismissive tone.  “My cousins…”
    “Are your life.”  He finished for her.  “I know that.  Everyone
knows it.  That’s why, if I ever had any intention of taking you to
Parald, I would have targeted your cousins and used them to draw you out.  You
should be more careful about revealing weaknesses.”
    Ty’s eyes narrowed dangerously.  “I’ll bear that in mind.”
    Gion kept talking.  “I never went near Nia and Tharsis.  Not even
when they made it incredibly easy.  In fact, I saved Nia for you, when you
asked me to, didn’t I?”
    “Yes.”  Ty admitted.  “For a price.”
    Gion leaned closer to her, pressing his sale.  “I can be of use to
you, Tritone.  Because, I can make sure that no one else targets your family,
either.  If you give me sanctuary, I’ll guard what’s yours.  I swear it.”
    Ty’s brows drew together, considering that.  Everyone knew that
another Elemental war brewed on the horizon.  Sooner or later, Chason and
Parald would take their conflict to another level.  Since both men hated Ty and
her family, Gion would be a nice addition to the Water House’s side.
    In theory.
    Gion kept his attention on her face.  “I’m not a threat to you. 
You have to sense that somewhere inside.”
    Ty thought about the feeling of his energy touching hers.  The
strange rightness of it.
    Instinct.
    There were fifty thousand reasons why this was a bad idea and Ty
wasn’t sure what she would have said next, if she hadn’t looked up at Gion at
that moment.
    For the first time since she’d known him, Ty saw Gion. 
Really saw him as more than an invincible robot out to upset her life.  Gion
looked tired.  Somehow tense and resigned, at the same time.  Like someone who
knew they were about die and just wanted to go out fighting.  His face might
have been an implacable mask of superior indifference, but Gion thought that Ty
would turn him down and that he’d be on his own.
    She could see it in his eyes.
    Gion might have had a spot with Tessie in the Earth Kingdom, but
he’d never take it.  He needed to come to the Water Kingdom because of the
promise.  It gave him some control.  It wasn’t charity.  It was a trade.  Gion,
arrogant bastard that he was, needed that.  He seemed positive that Ty would back
out of the deal and leave him stranded, but he was desperate enough to try,
anyway.
    Ty knew what it felt like to be trapped by Parald.  She knew what
that kind of desperation felt like and how far someone would go to escape.  How
helpless it could make you feel.
    And, for some reason, Ty couldn’t stand to think of Gion, the man
who terrified her and everyone else in the world, suffering alone.
    “Alright.”  She heard herself say and immediately winced.  Lord,
how was she going to explain this to her cousins?  Cross would flip out for
sure.  Ty sighed and frowned at Gion in annoyance.  “You’ll have to sleep in
the palace, though.  None of