Chapter 6 Disarray, Thoughts, and Danger
Disarray, Thoughts, and Danger
Nikhail was meant to be working.
For all intents and purposes, he was working. Or at least, that was how it would appear to anyone who walked by the office he’d temporarily claimed as his. It was small, but he didn’t need much space to work.
Nikhail was sitting at the desk, in front of his laptop.
Instead of combing through security reports about the latest rebel attacks, which was what he was meant to be doing, he was staring blankly at his computer screen.
He had a file pulled up, but all the words were blurring together.
He could’ve been reading a grocery list, for all he knew.
Dragging his fingers through his hair for the twentieth time that hour, Nikhail groaned.
He tugged on the tie hanging askew on his neck, loosening it.
Nikhail couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in such disarray at work.
He prided himself on being put together at all times, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.
Not right now, when he was in pieces. He’d been this way all day, and it was an unsettling feeling.
Less than twenty-four hours had passed since he’d left River in Ryker’s hands, but it felt like years had gone by.
It wasn’t that Nikhail didn’t trust his best friend. He knew Ryker was more than capable of looking after River, not that she needed a babysitter. It was the fact that he wasn’t with River that was bothering him.
Last night, Ryker had texted Nikhail to confirm that he and River had arrived safely at the farmhouse. The generic message had been a check-in between friends, nothing more, and that had been the end of the conversation.
Nikhail hadn’t asked about River because, as far as his best friend was concerned, he’d stayed at the Hub with her out of obligation to Ryker, not to his sister.
He hadn’t wanted to arouse suspicion, but not asking for more details had physically pained Nikhail.
He had never hated the fact that he and River were hiding their feelings for each other more.
Waking up on his own this morning had been a special kind of torture. Nikhail had tossed and turned all night long, his brain seemingly unable to comprehend that just because River wasn’t with him at that moment didn’t mean she was in danger.
It hadn’t been like this before.
For years, Nikhail had been able to keep River at a distance. He’d gone about his life as best he could, knowing that River was out there, away from him.
But something had shifted between them.
Now that Nikhail had tasted River and watched her come apart for him, he didn’t want to let her go. Being with her completed him, filled in a gap he hadn’t realized existed before her.
He wanted to keep River close at all times.
Not because she was weak and couldn’t look after herself, but because there was a part of Nikhail—the ancient, primal, fae part of him—that knew River was his. And he always looked after the people he claimed.
So now, every fucking minute was dragging. Each was longer than the last as Nikhail tried to exist in this new reality where he needed River, and she wasn’t at his side.
Nikhail glanced at his phone, which was resting innocently beside his laptop. The black screen mocked him. His fingers were reaching for the device, unlocking it before his mind had even registered the movement, and he checked for a message that he already knew wasn’t there.
Nikhail was fairly certain that River’s phone wasn’t even in her possession, since she hadn’t had it in the Hub. Still, that hadn’t stopped him from sending her a message last night. Nothing big, just a simple, Thinking of you. Miss you.
For the hundredth time that day, Nikhail opened his message thread with River.
His last text remained unread, which was the ultimate reason for Nikhail’s disarray.
It had been a long day. This morning, he’d showered before going into work, knowing he couldn’t afford to miss any more days.
He’d sat through three meetings, including a video call with a dozen Representatives and the Chancellor herself, who was back home and recovering.
The whole time, his mind had been on River.
In all his years, Nikhail had never understood the term, watching the clock, especially when it came to work. He loved his job. Not only did he get to use his magic on a daily basis, but he also enjoyed puzzles and technology and getting to piece things together.
But now, he sympathized with those who had coined the term. He understood perfectly where they’d been coming from.
He was here, waiting for a socially acceptable time to leave. He wouldn’t be done working—with the recent attacks, downtime was nearly nonexistent—but he could at least take his work back to Atlas’s with him.
Nikhail had given up his lease on his Golden City apartment when he moved to Lakewater, so he appreciated the professor’s generosity. Atlas had lent Nikhail one of his spare bedrooms, saying he could stay as long as he needed.
The earth fae’s bungalow wasn’t overly large, but the three-bedroom, two-bath home felt extravagant for the two of them. Nikhail didn’t know how Atlas handled the size of the home on his own when he wasn’t hosting guests.
The pair had crossed paths in the kitchen that morning. Atlas had looked up from his coffee, taken one look at Nikhail and grimaced. “Hard night?”
“I need to be by her side,” Nikhail had said, relieved to be able to speak openly about his relationship with River to at least one person.
Thank all the gods, Atlas knew River and Nikhail’s secret.
He’d uncovered it on the night of the bonding, having guessed what the two of them meant to each other when Nikhail couldn’t stop looking at River.
“It makes sense,” Atlas had said after a moment, his knowing gaze sweeping over Nikhail. “You’ll be heading there after work, I assume?”
“That’s the plan,” Nikhail had replied.
If only he’d known how the day would drag. Nikhail kept telling himself that once he checked on River and saw that she was all right, things would be easier. He’d be able to go back to how things were before. Surely, he’d—
His phone rang, and he picked it up, swiping his thumb across the screen.
“Hello?” he said gruffly, his voice as rough as he felt inside.
“Hello, sir.” Nysa Catheen’s warm voice filtered through the phone. Even though it was ridiculous, Nikhail’s stomach sank when he realized River wasn’t on the other end of the call. “Is this a bad time?”
Nikhail blinked, then groaned.
The fact that he’d forgotten about this call was a testament to his gods-damned distraction. In this day and age, most people would just email, but his assistant was particular and had always preferred doing things a certain way.
Nikhail had never forgotten about an appointment before. That in itself was out of character for him. But he supposed this entire day was out of the ordinary, what with the way he’d been daydreaming about River.
But that felt like a lot to say, and while he liked Nysa, this was outside her realm of expertise, so he kept those thoughts to himself. Clearing his throat and adjusting his tie, even though this wasn’t a video call, Nikhail shook his head.
“No, Nysa, it’s a good time,” he said, answering her previous question.
As good as it would get, anyway.
There was a pause, and Nikhail envisioned Nysa’s brow raising. “If you say so, sir.”
Her tone made it clear she didn’t believe him.
“I do.” Nikhail leaned back, the chair creaking as he did so. “What updates do you have for me?”
“Well, there are quite a few.” Papers shuffled, and in his mind’s eye, Nikhail imagined Nysa getting out her blue ballpoint pen and checking things off her list.
Nikhail opened a new document on his computer. Maybe that would help him pay attention. “Start at the beginning, please. The attack in the Western Region.”
It had been the first one to hit after the bomb went off at Hydrangea House, and three others had swiftly followed.
“Of course, sir.”
“Has surveillance been pulled from the surrounding buildings?”
A pause, then, “Yes, sir. But there’s a note here from Gonzalez. Apparently, the footage has been wiped. Twelve hours are missing—six leading up to the attack, and six after.”
Nikhail sighed and rubbed his temples. This wasn’t exactly surprising, but it would make things more difficult. Chancellor Rose was already putting pressure on them to find the Black Night and dismantle the rebel organization. Each day that passed without an arrest was one too many.
Usually, the police would deal with matters like these, but since the rebels had targeted the Chancellor, this had become a military problem.
“You’ll have him send me the files?” Nikhail asked.
“Of course, sir. I’ll send everything you need via vampire courier as soon as the sun sets.”
“Good. What else do you have?”
More papers shuffled, then Nysa continued. Unsurprisingly, all the cameras had been wiped. Nysa was in the middle of telling Nikhail about the evidence that had been gathered from the scene in the Northern Region when a shadow darkened the door of Nikhail’s office.
Arlo Night, former soldier and current military liaison to Representative Waterborn, stood in the doorway. Wearing a tailored purple dress shirt and black slacks, they looked more like a model than a soldier as they leaned against the doorframe. Their brows creased as they met Nikhail’s gaze.
Arlo’s presence here, along with the concerned look on their face, had Nikhail’s stomach sinking. He held up a finger to let them know he’d be a minute while he wrapped things up with Nysa.
It was unlikely, Nikhail realized as he finished his phone call, that he’d get out of here any time soon.
Nikhail hung up and met his old friend’s gaze.
“Arlo.” Warmth filled his voice, despite the unease in his soul. “It’s good to see you.”
The water fae inclined their head, their expression remaining unnervingly serious. “It’s good to see you, too.”
Nikhail sensed there was more. “But…” he prodded.
“I’m afraid this isn’t a social visit.”
“I figured as much. It’s about the unrest, right?”
Arlo entered the office, drawing the door shut behind them and rounding the desk. They had a tablet tucked under their arm that Nikhail hadn’t noticed before.
“Take a look at this, Nik.” Arlo held out the unlocked tablet, which was open to a Thoughts page.
Thoughts had emerged a year and a half ago.
It was a text-heavy social media platform that boasted limited characters.
As a result, the posts were quick and snappy.
While Thoughts had originally been popular among the republic’s youth, it had quickly grown in popularity, and now it was a widespread, common form of communication.
Nikhail didn’t have a Thoughts account, but his sisters did, and they often sent him posts. Even when they didn’t, he saw Thoughts pop up on his other platforms—usually small snippets of text that went viral for all the wrong reasons.
Nikhail took the tablet and scrolled down the page. The feed updated constantly, a living, breathing being.
The more Nikhail read, the more his stomach sank. Sprinkled between casual posts of recipes and comments on the latest sports win were a slew of Thoughts about the Black Night’s recent attacks.
The posts started out innocuous enough, as people speculated on what had caused the bombings, but the more he scrolled, the more concerned he became.
She should have died. It would’ve been better. —anon087
I’ve lived in the Central Region for centuries, but until two weeks ago, I never feared for my life. I can’t say that anymore. —darlinggirl4057
No one should be celebrating death or wishing for it. Shame on all of you, and RIP to the Representatives who lost their lives in the attacks. —fancyelf
Nikhail scanned a lively discussion between firebreather78 and wolfman332 discussing whether the Republic had been in decline for years or whether it was a more recent development. Both raised good points, in Nikhail’s opinion.
The posts continued.
I was a block away from the explosion in the Western Region. Now, I’m scared to take my kids to the grocery store. WTF is happening to our country? —motherofsix
Isn’t this why we have motherfucking laws? Find the people responsible and make them pay. —isvanasfavorite
At the bottom of the page, Nikhail saw a Thought that had his blood chilling. His grip tightened around the tablet.
The Black Night will not rest until the Representative scourge is washed off the face of this planet. This is just the beginning. —darknessiscomingagain
Nikhail took a screenshot, showing it to Arlo. “Did you see this?”
The water fae frowned. “Yes. It’s not the first, or even the tenth, message we’ve seen like that.”
“Fuck,” Nikhail breathed.
An answering curse came from his friend.
It wasn’t the boldness of the Thought that had the hairs on the back of Nikhail’s neck prickling, nor the fact that there were so many of them. It wasn’t even the inherent threat they posed, although that concerned him, as well.
It was the fact that the Black Night was making it clear they wouldn’t hide any longer. They were making themselves known, demanding a place in the spotlight. They wanted everyone to know that they were there and wouldn’t be silenced.
Which meant the Representatives were in danger. And more importantly, River was in danger.
Nikhail would have to table his plans to swing over to the farmhouse after work. There was too much to do.
Swallowing his disappointment, he met Arlo’s gaze. “What do you need from me?”