Chapter 35 Propriety and Reputations
Propriety and Reputations
“What do you mean, I can’t come in?” A shrill voice hauled River out of sleep, and she instantly tensed.
That voice could only belong to one person.
Blearily, River lifted her head from the flat hospital pillow and blinked away the last vestiges of sleep.
Sure enough, Tertia Waterborn was standing outside the hospital room.
Dressed in a plum blouse and matching A-line skirt, her hair was in a tight bun at the back of her neck.
She looked like she had just stepped out of a meeting.
She probably had.
Tertia was talking to a young blonde woman whom River recognized as Lynette, the night nurse who had introduced herself a few hours ago.
Or rather, Tertia was berating Lynette, and the nurse was barely speaking a word.
She looked like she wanted to run away, which tracked.
Talking to Tertia was never a delightful experience.
A soft snore came from beside her. Nikhail’s lower half was on the hospital chair he’d dragged over, while his arms were crossed on the mattress, providing a pillow for his head. River didn’t see how that was comfortable, but he’d fallen asleep quickly, so it must not have been that bad.
The air fae, foolish man that he was, had refused to leave River’s side when they left the bunker.
He’d remained with her as the medics had stitched the claw wounds in her chest, even though River had insisted that they were shallow and would heal on their own.
Then, the doctors took care of Nikhail’s wounds right there in her hospital room.
He’d had a nasty injury on his side that required immediate attention, and though he remained silent while the doctors worked, he’d fallen asleep as soon as they left.
Nikhail needed to rest, and he wouldn’t be able to do that if the screaming continued. River knew more than most how persistent Tertia Waterborn could be.
With a sigh that resonated through her entire body, River threw back the covers and slid out of bed. The hospital floor was cold beneath her socked feet, and she pulled on a pair of hospital slippers.
Thanking the gods she was in a pair of proper pajamas and not a flimsy hospital gown, River cracked open the door, interrupting Tertia in the middle of her tirade.
“Hello, Mother,” River said.
Tertia turned. She studied River critically, frowning when she noticed her piercings, before her gaze lingered on the bandage poking out from beneath the collar of her shirt. “Daughter.”
There was the ice that River was used to. The hatred that she had dealt with for years. It didn’t carry its usual sting, though.
Or maybe River just didn’t care what her mother thought anymore.
“Sands, Mother. This is a hospital.” River pinned Tertia with a look that she hoped expressed how extremely disappointed she was in the Representative’s behavior. “Keep your voice down. People are trying to sleep.”
Nikhail was trying to sleep.
Tertia’s lips thinned, clearly displeased.
River found she didn’t care about that, either, and she turned to Lynette. “Is there somewhere my mother and I can talk privately?”
The nurse nodded, seeming relieved that River was taking over. “This room is empty,” she said, pointing down the hall. “Feel free to use it for as long as you need.”
River thanked Lynette, who returned to the nurses’ station. Without looking to see if her mother was following, River made her way to the room.
Running her hand along the back rail of the empty hospital bed, she turned around as Tertia made her way inside. The door clicked shut behind the Representative.
A long moment passed as mother and daughter silently regarded each other. The air, thick like mud, was uncomfortable. Several minutes passed before River rolled her lip ring through her teeth and gripped the bedrail.
“What are you doing here?” She was proud of herself for keeping her voice steady. Calm, even.
Tertia raised a well-manicured brow. “Can’t a mother show up for her daughter?”
“Sure, some can.” Good mothers. Ones who didn’t hate their own flesh and blood. River tilted her head. “But you and I both know that’s not why you are here.”
A minute that felt like a lifetime passed before Tertia lifted a shoulder. “Ignatia sent me to check on the situation. She is not pleased.”
The Chancellor’s moods were none of River’s business, but her mother’s words provided the clarity she sought.
“So, you’re here for work,” River said flatly.
Not for her daughter. Not because she’d almost been murdered.
“Yes.”
River huffed a laugh. “Fucking tracks.”
Maybe before, there would’ve been a part of her that was upset by her mother’s blatant lack of care. Now, though? It was expected. Par for the gods-damn course.
Tertia snarled, crossing the room and stopping a few feet away from River. “Don’t use that language with me, daughter. It isn’t proper.”
Sands fucking save her. River rolled her eyes. “Propriety. That’s all that matters to you, isn’t it?”
Stupid social rules.
“Propriety is important. We have a reputation to uphold.”
Reputation.
Because even now, after everything, that was Tertia’s primary focus. Not River or even her favorite child, Ryker. For fuck’s sakes, Tertia hadn’t even inquired about her daughter’s health.
Something inside River splintered, then shattered into a thousand pieces.
“I am important!” River screamed.
Her words rang around them, and her magic crashed through her veins, but she kept it in. She would not break. Not now. Not ever again.
“Me! I am your daughter!”
The Representative just... stared at River. As if her words didn’t bother her.
“Don’t you fucking care?” River gripped the bedrail so hard it cracked. “Doesn’t it bother you at all, the way you’ve treated me?”
“You ungrateful child.” The words were quiet, yet they slammed into River with the weight of a thousand pounds.
“I have always taken care of you, even though you’ve been nothing but a thorn in my side since the day you were born.
I gave you a roof over your head. Provided the best education money could buy. And I saved you after the Incident.”
“You did that for you!” River shouted as loudly as she dared, remembering their location.
Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she didn’t pay them any heed.
“All of it was for you! You kept the Incident out of the press for yourself, not me. It was selfish, wasn’t it?
Gods forbid people know the Waterborns are cursed with too much power. ”
Chest heaving and lungs barely contracting, River released the bed, clenching her fists. “I’m right, aren’t I, Mother?”
The Representative stared at her.
“They would’ve been frightened. After they came for me, they would’ve come for you. They would’ve learned about your curse.”
Tertia’s eyes widened a fraction, and that was all the confirmation River needed.
“They would’ve taken away your position as Representative, right?” There was such a thing as too much power, and River had an intimate knowledge of what that was like. “They would’ve stripped you of everything. That’s why you helped me.”
That was the conclusion River had come to in the days after learning why her mother hated her. It burned just as much now as it had the first time.
Tertia didn’t deny her daughter’s claims. For the longest time, she didn’t say anything at all. River’s tears dried up, anger replacing her frustration.
Anger that this woman was her mother.
Anger that she’d spent years trying to gain her approval.
Anger that this was yet another conversation that proved just how little her mother cared about her.
“You’re different,” Tertia said calmly. “Something has changed.”
Not a question. Also not a denial of River’s previous accusations. That was probably as close as Tertia would ever come to acknowledging the truth.
“Yes,” River bit out.
Another drawn-out moment passed.
“Because of that... soldier?” Tertia made no effort to hide her disgust. “He’s a common air fae, River. He comes from a poor family and barely makes any money at all.”
“Life isn’t about money.”
“Spoken like someone who has always had it,” Tertia retorted.
River bit back a sigh. Gods, she wanted to get this over with and return to Nikhail before he woke up. She could feel her blood pressure rising, could hear her pulse racing in her ears.
But there was a part of River—that little girl who had yearned for her mother’s love—that wanted her mother to approve of her relationship. It was that part of River, that desperate hope that maybe Tertia could see reason, that had her softening her voice.
“Nikhail is a good man. A great one, even.” And she loved him, not that Tertia deserved to know that. “And besides, Ryker is also a soldier.”
Tertia lifted her nose. “It’s not the same. Ryker is a Waterborn, and he’s only doing this to pass the time until the mantle of Representative falls to him.”
And just like that, any desire River had for her mother’s approval vanished. Why was she worried about what Tertia thought when, even now, she made it clear that the only thing she was concerned about was her position in society?
“Ryker isn’t playing at being a soldier. It’s his job, just like mine is working at the hospital.”
“For now.” Tertia sniffed, as if the thought of her children being gainfully employed repulsed her.
River crossed her arms. “All right, Tertia. I’ve had enough of this. You came. You checked on the situation. You saw me. Do you need anything else?”
“No, but—”
“No,” River spoke over Tertia. “I’m done with this conversation, and I’m done with you.”
The Representative had the audacity to look surprised. “What?”
River lifted a shoulder. “You heard me. You and I are done. Over. As far as I’m concerned, I no longer have a mother.”
Sputtering came from behind River as she walked to the door and placed her hand on the handle. “You know, I spent years trying to understand why you treat me the way you do. And I hated myself for a very long time because of you.”
Even Cyrus’s love, plentiful though it had been, hadn’t been enough to stop that.
“I don’t feel that way anymore. I am a good person, and I am not cursed. If you can’t see that, it’s your fault.” River turned the handle. “Goodbye, Tertia. May you find what you deserve in life.”
And with that, River walked out of the room and away from her mother for good. Her steps were light, and a smile teased at the edges of her lips.
Nikhail lifted his head as she entered. “Hey,” he murmured, his voice groggy with sleep. “Everything okay?”
River slipped under the covers and reached for Nikhail. His arms wrapped around her, and they hugged. She nuzzled his neck, inhaling his comforting scent, before pressing her lips to his. He didn’t hesitate, taking over the kiss.
“Yes,” she replied when they broke apart. “Everything is great.”