“I honestly wouldn’t put anything past you.” Especially not if Gion felt that he’d been cheated. He wasn’t a man who played fair.
Gion’s jaw ticked. He set his coffee cup down hard enough to send the liquid sloshing over the edge. “I have to go.”
He turned and Ty realized that Gion really was about to leave. Whatever he wanted, he didn’t
want
to want it. That was obvious. Gion wasn’t someone who was used to asking for things. This wasn’t just him being his normal provoking self. He must genuinely need help.
“Gion.” The word was out before Ty thought better of it.
Ty had only called him by name a few times before. And, just as it had on those occasions, the sound of it caused Gion’s attention to instantly fix on her. He stopped short and looked back at Ty. “Yes?”
She floundered for a beat, with no idea what to say. Ty usually had a difficult time maintaining eye contact with people, anyway. But, with Gion, it was flat out impossible to hold his gaze for more than a second. Icy blue eyes burned into hers, straight through to Ty’s soul, and she glanced away, again.
Gion sighed.
“Ty.” Ashley, Ty’s sponsor, came over, a huge grin on her face. Her honey colored hair was tied back in a ponytail and her t-shirt featured a sequined palm tree. “Sweetie, you were great up there.”
Ashley was a warm and caring human, nine years and seven months sober from her addiction to cocaine. She liked mothering everyone in the group, which Ty found sort of endearing since Ashley was only forty-one. In Elemental terms, she was still a baby herself. “You were open and honest, and I know how hard that must have been.” Ashley moved forward as if she planned on sharing a hug.
Ty experienced a surge of alarm. She didn’t like touching people. In fact, she shied away from all contact. Ashley wasn’t dangerous. Ty knew that, but she couldn’t help her automatic recoil. Ty instinctively stepped back to avoid the hug.
And ran right into Gion.
She hadn’t heard him come up behind her, but he was standing right there when Ty retreated. One of his graceful hands came down and caught hold of her arm, steadying her.
Supporting her.
Ty tiled her face back in surprise, even as she felt her energy tune towards his. Gion’s powers brushed against hers and Ty felt a spark deep inside of her. Her heart started pounding, 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 time ever, Ty saw Gion struggle for what to say. Usually, he was one of the most articulate people she’d ever met. Now, he seemed nervous. He trailed off and then started over, again, as if he just couldn’t find the words. “The…” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Fine. Here.” He dug a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket and presented it to her.
Ty had a real, visceral sense of déjà vu.
Like she’d lived this moment before or had been waiting for it for a long time.
Ty was a scientist and she absolutely didn’t believe in ESP or premonitions. Still, her hand shook slightly as she took the paper from Gion. It was the email that Job had sent out offering amnesty to the Air Phases.
In an effort to reduce Parald’s number and throw a life preserver to the Air Phases trapped behind enemy lines, the Council of All Houses had offered them amnesty. Any Air Phase who promised to denounce Parald was eligible, so long as they could find a new House that would take them in.
That was harder than it sounded, since most Phases hated the Air House, blaming all the Air Phases for the Fall. The plague had killed so many people that the Elementals teetered on extinction. No one came through it without scars and no one wanted to let the Air Phases into their kingdoms.
The Water House had been one of the only kingdoms that agreed to take in Air House refugees, even though none had actually moved in yet. Still, Ty had certainly never expected
Gion
to want to jump ship. That didn’t make any sense.
Ty blinked down at the email. “I don’t understand.” Her gaze cut back up to Gion. “You seriously want to switch Houses?”
Gion couldn’t possibly want to leave the Air Kingdom. He was the most powerful Air Phase alive. Within the Air Kingdom, he was feared and respected. If Gion walked away from his House, he’d be vulnerable to everyone in the vast universe who
already
wanted him dead,
plus
he’d have to face Parald’s fury. He’d still have all his powers, but without the protection of the House, he’d be on his own. “Why would you…”?
Gion cut her off. “It doesn’t matter why.” He’d clearly regained his verbal aptitude, because his expression became more arrogant than ever. “I have to get out of the Air Kingdom and you owe me that promise. The Water House needs to give me amnesty. Starting now.”
“Me?!” Ty squeaked. Why wouldn’t he go to the Earth House? Job would let him in. Tessie would make him. Job’s Match and the elusive keeper of the Quintessence, Tessie had her own weird friendship with Gion. He’d spent a few decades reluctantly protecting her. “You want to come to
my
kingdom?”
“No, I’m
going
to come to your kingdom.” Gion corrected mercilessly. “I’ve considered my options, because, obviously, I’m a citizen that so many Houses would love to welcome with open arms. But, I find that I’ve developed a real desire to immigrate to some sweet, little Munchkin Land of pastel castles and rainbow waterfalls. Also with very few people to get in my way.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “That means that the Water Kingdom is the lucky destination spot for me to fulfill my manifest destiny.”
Ty had no idea how to respond to that. She just gaped at him.
Gion arched his brows. “Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to help me move. I’ve already packed.”
“You really want to live in the Water Kingdom?” Ty translated, too amazement to know what to feel. Her homeland was a peaceful, gentle place filled with magical pools and seaside beauty. She just couldn’t imagine the Darth Vader of the Elemental realm tolerating the pastel serenity of the Water Kingdom for more than half-an-hour with cracking. “Gion, have you thought about this? I don’t think you’ll like it there, at all.”
He laughed and it wasn’t a pleasant sound. In fact, it 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.