Chapter 29
Skye
I woke up shaking, a nightmare still clinging to me.
Feeling like I might throw up, I frantically tried to crawl out of bed, then paused when I realized all three of my fucking Links were here, somehow.
I’d gone to sleep with Aiden and Rafe flanking me, but now Wyatt was miserably slouched in an armchair by the purple fire.
He’d either waited out the threesome or shown up after we fell asleep and decided to stay in here anyway.
That was kind of sweet, and I’d think about it more later when I wasn’t about to hurl.
I’d never recover if any of my Links actually saw me throw up.
I teleported into the bathroom, bracing myself over the toilet, then heaved.
Several times.
Lots of heaving.
Nothing came up, though, and eventually, the nausea waned.
I pressed my face against the cold tile flooring, feeling too out of it to be disgusted. Besides, this was Rafe’s bathroom. The Prince was one of the cleanest people I knew.
Fuck. The Crown Prince. And I was a fucking Heir.
And my dad wasn’t my dad.
And my mom might have cheated on her Chain.
And I hadn’t kept her safe.
The familiar sense of panic was slowly rising in my gut. My heart began to pound, and it felt as if the walls were closing in on me. The beautiful bathroom was suddenly too small, the walls too close. I stumbled to my feet, then teleported into the closet, which was probably a bad idea.
I fell on my ass immediately in the darkened room, but was able to move enough to pull on my old leggings from the day before and one of my cropped t-shirts.
I staggered into a rack of shoes –all black, mostly boots– then put my head between my hands while I tried to breath.
I needed air. Real air.
I stuffed my feet into a pair of my sneakers and then I teleported.
I appeared in the woods outside the academy, completely alone. I shook my head as I moved through the trees, looking for my little garden. I hadn’t been here since first term, and I’d missed the serenity it offered me.
I needed that serenity. I needed calm silence. Somewhere I could forget all the stupid things that were happening and just relax.
I’d just made it to the edge of the clearing when I stumbled to a stop, sucking in a gasp when I saw him.
River Mac was alone, sitting on a log. He was wearing sweats and a hoodie, sitting with his legs crossed in front of him. His neck was tilted back nearly all the way, his blue gaze on the full moon.
My affinity prickled along my palms, not quite pissed, but…I shook my head. I didn’t know what it was trying to tell me. And as much as I wanted to hurt River…I also didn’t want to hurt River.
He looked like a sad angelic statue, his dark hair flashing in the dim light, his pale skin practically glowing.
Oh, God. I sounded like I was in love with him.
A breath stalled in my throat at the thought, and I nearly choked.
There was no way. No way at all. I barely knew him, was pretty sure I hated him because he was always a dick to me, and then there was what’d happened at the gala, and what’d happened the other day in class–
River’s head tilted toward me lazily. “Are you really just staring at me?”
“No,” I replied defensively, barely taking in enough air to speak. I wanted to snark at him, but nothing came to mind. I strode into the clearing, pausing to pick one of the blue irises growing at the foot of a large tree.
I plopped down on the log beside River, crossing my feet at my ankles and leaning back slightly while I admired my flower.
River chewed his thumb while he watched me.
I wanted to know what he was thinking.
I could…if I wanted. He couldn’t sense when I went into his mind since it didn’t hurt him. I could look through anything I wanted.
And yet…I didn’t want to do that.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“For what?” he asked, curious.
“Class,” I choked out.
River snorted. “I’ve taken worse hits. Paper is nothing.”
It was meant to be a joke, but I found myself slowly turning to look at him, my eyes skating over his face and neck, down to his hands. Any bit of exposed skin. I didn’t find any bruises.
When my eyes snapped back to his, his brow was furrowed like he wasn’t sure what I’d been looking for. We settled back into semi-comfortable silence, our gazes meeting and then dropping every few seconds.
“Are you okay?” he asked after a bit.
“Like you care,” I scoffed.
“I do care, Skye.” River spoke so softly I’d almost thought I’d imagined the words, but when I scoffed again and glanced at him, I nearly jumped to find he was staring at me.
“Why?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he whispered, then leaned back again. “I don’t know.”
“I don’t have time for this shit, River.”
He chuckled. “I know. I heard about your day…princess.”
“Ugh,” I groaned and River chuckled, the sound giving me goosebumps.
“Did she actually do it?” River asked. “Did she kill the King?”
“I couldn’t tell you even if I knew,” I answered.
River chuckled again. “That’s fair. Have you met her? Does it seem plausible?”
“Unfortunately,” I muttered, my statement answering both questions. I didn’t feel guilty about that. I’d already decided the Queen was a bitch, and that was before she’d insulted Wyatt’s parental situation.
River nodded, then took a deep breath. “I’m…sorry about the other day.”
I didn’t reply, choosing to stare at my flower instead. It was already wilting. Maybe I’d been holding it too tightly.
River leaned closer to me, and I suddenly couldn’t breathe. Just as I thought to move away from him, he surprised me, his hand reaching out and touching the stem of the flower. The flower began to grow, the petals spreading and more buds forming and opening before my eyes.
I grinned, looking to River as he pulled back. He paused, his blue eyes caught on my expression of wonder, and he gulped before pulling away completely.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
“I love these flowers,” we said at the same time.
My cheeks heated for some reason.
River cleared his throat.
“I found some in the woods once,” River said. “I kept them in a cup in my bathroom. It was back before I’d practiced with my earth affinity.”
I ran my fingers over the petals. “Really? You kept flowers in your room? How girly.”
River snorted, then his expression melted into a frown. We sat in silence for a few minutes before I spoke again.
“I think this is the nicest conversation we’ve ever had.”
“I think this is the longest you’ve ever been quiet,” River muttered.
My jaw dropped. “You jerk!”
River chuckled again, the smile on his face so carefree and sweet. He looked…young. Younger than me.
“How old are you?” I asked.
River’s smile melted away again. “What?”
I raised my eyebrows. I knew he’d heard me.
He stared at the flower in my hand, his brow furrowed. “Would you believe me if I told you I wasn’t sure?”
I almost laughed, but his expression was so serious, it made me pause.
“I…would want to know why you weren’t sure.” I replied slowly.
“My parents are hippies?” His voice tilted on the last word as if he were asking a question.
“Do you like them?” I asked.
River jerked his head back to look at me. “My parents?”
I nodded.
He shrugged.
I nodded again. “I liked my mom and Ben. Levi hated me, though.”
“I don’t like mine,” River said slowly. “But…I liked my…other parents.”
He sounded pained. When I turned to look at him again, he’d turned his head away sharply, keeping his expression out of view.
“How many parents do you have?” I asked. “I have three. Had three? One’s alive. Sort of.”
River blew out a breath. “What the hell does that mean?”
I shook my head with a grin. “I’m going through some shit. We recently learned my mom may have had me after stepping out on the Chain.”
River went very still, though he didn’t glance at me. Instead, he kept his gaze on the trees across the clearing.
“Turns out she was a Key, just not Key to the Chain. Isn’t that crazy?” My voice devolved into a whisper.
“I was adopted into the cult,” River said quietly. “I–” He winced. “I remember my other parents, though.”
“What…happened to them?” I asked.
River shook his head, and I sighed. I shouldn’t have pried. Maybe sharing my own pain wasn’t enough for River to feel safe sharing his. But this confirmed what I’d suspected. River didn’t want to be in this cult. He didn’t have a choice.
“What do they want with me?” I asked. “Do you know?”
River’s lips twisted. “I couldn’t tell you if I even knew,” he said, repeating my own words back to me.
I chuckled.
“Would you ever tell me?” I asked. “If you didn’t hate me and this shit wasn’t happening?”
River looked at me, blinked a few times, then stood.
“I don’t hate you, but I can’t do this, Skye.”
“What?” I scoffed.
Instead of explaining, he began to walk away. “I’ll see you later…maybe.”
“What? No way.” I jumped up after him, leaving my flowers on the log. I stormed after him, scoffing again. “This is so typical for you, isn’t it? Running away from any sort of confrontation? You’re such a baby.”
River spun around, his eyes wide. “I…Did you just call me a baby?”
“Yeah, you’re a huge baby.” I replied, not wanting to acknowledge how utterly childish this was.
River moved closer until he was nearly on top of me, scowling down at me while he breathed heavily.
“Huge baby,” I repeated quietly as my eyes traced down his chest, because it was right in front of me. It was a beautiful chest…and it definitely didn’t belong to a baby. This was a man.
“What do you want from me, Skye?”
My gaze snapped back to River’s. He seemed confused…which made sense. I was, too.
“Answers,” I said after a moment of thought. “I want you to give me answers.”
River stared at me for almost too long, then he breathed out slowly. “Answer for answer,” he said. “You have to tell me something, too.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but he only raised his eyebrows, drawing out the moment until I snapped, “Fine! Who’s your dad? Don’t lie to me.”
River ran his hands down his face, exasperated before he took a few steps away from me. “My…dad is dead,” he answered finally, though it appeared to pain him.
“Your adoptive dad, River. Don’t be stupid.”