Chapter 28
She Was the Storm
Power.
Rushing, wonderful, mighty power crashed through River like a storm of its own making. Stole her breath before the first cuff hit the ground.
She groaned at the sheer weight of her magic, staggering backwards.
The back of her legs hit the sofa, and it held her upright as she fought against the sudden onslaught of her magic. Mere weeks had passed since she’d last felt its pull, but it felt like lifetimes.
The magic collided with her veins, slamming through her, eager to fill the void inside her.
River clenched her fists. Sweat beaded on her brow as she focused, forcing her magic to behave. She would never let it slip, never again let her power have an ounce of control.
Focusing inward, River rebuilt the dam she’d held in place for years.
Brick by brick, she forced her magic behind that wall. Already, she could feel the throbbing need of the water inside her, the storm desperate to be freed.
But she wasn’t done yet.
When River felt ready—which was a relative term, considering the stress of the situation and the fact that she needed to move as quickly as possible—she lifted the key once more. It had fallen to the ground, along with the first shackle.
She inhaled, exhaled, and repeated her actions.
This time, when the manacle fell, the rush was better and worse than before.
Better, because the prohiberis was gone. River’s lungs inflated, and it felt like she could breathe for the first time since her father’s death. It was as though she’d been living as a shell of herself, barely a person. She hadn’t even realized what she’d been missing.
Worse, because as her magic flooded her veins, the storm’s call was louder than ever. It urged her to pay attention. Insisted on it, in fact.
River couldn’t ignore its summons.
She ran to the window and wrenched it open. The air was cooler today, lacking much of the humidity that had been present during their stay here. Leaning out the window, River extended her palms, facing the sky, and removed a single brick from the dam.
Instantly, the sky darkened. Clouds rolled in, called by her power.
She inhaled. Focused. Then, she sent a rush of water from her palms to the sky. It funnelled from her, this water that was her birthright, as though she had never been separated from it.
The rain, the clouds, even the mist gathering in the air, were all a part of her. She was the storm, and the storm was her.
There was something powerful about releasing her magic.
Freeing, in a way, because even though water was rushing from River’s palm and reaching for the sky, even though she was calling rain to this desert land that was dry in the midst of the winter, her magic wasn’t ungovernable.
She could feel it pulsing through her, and she knew that she could turn it off in a heartbeat if she had to.
In this moment, she felt something she hadn’t often felt before.
Control.
Was this how Ryker felt every day? That he was the master of his magic, that it obeyed him, not the other way round? That he really could tell his storm to do anything, go anywhere, and it would obey?
This felt... good.
When River no longer felt like her storm was going to crush her from the inside out, she twisted her fingers. One moment, water was rushing from her hands to the sky. The next, it was gone.
The clouds dissipated as though they’d never been there, and the sun shone as she stepped back and shut the window. River chose to believe that was a sign that today would go well.
Maybe she was wrong, and Nikhail wasn’t in danger. Maybe this was all for nothing, and the guns she’d strapped to herself would remain unused, as would the magic in her veins. Maybe she’d find him, and they’d laugh about how silly this was.
Maybe.
But maybe not.
River was halfway to the door when her phone buzzed in her pocket.
Ryker
Hey Shortie
While I’d like to talk you out of this plan, I know you’d never listen to me. I’m going to get to the Southern Region as fast as I can, rules be damned, but in the meantime, I sent some help your way. They should be there soon; I just didn’t want them to take you by surprise.
Stay safe.
River had barely finished reading the message before a knock came from the door.
“River?” The voice was vaguely familiar, but River couldn’t place it. “It’s Arlo. Your brother sent me. He said you might need some help.”
That was fast.
Who did you send?
She wasn’t naturally distrustful, but the current circumstances had her on edge.
Arlo Night. They were already in the area when I called.
That explained why the voice was familiar. Arlo worked with Tertia, and River had met them a few times before. She wasn’t overly familiar with the water fae, but both Ryker and Nikhail seemed to like them, and that was a good enough endorsement for River.
Tension seeped from her shoulders.
Perfect. They’re here. I’ll let you know when I have an update.
With any luck, the next time she sent her brother a message, she would be with Nikhail.
A dark part of River’s mind asked her what she would do if she didn’t find her air fae, but she quickly shut down those thoughts. She couldn’t let herself think of all the ways this could go wrong or let her mind delve into unknowns.
She had to find Nikhail.
“Hold on,” she called out.
River peered through the peephole, confirming Arlo was alone. Like River, the water fae was dressed in black, but they wore fatigues. They were also armed, and they had the look of a soldier about them.
River unlocked the door and pulled it open, even as she heard Nikhail’s voice in her head admonishing her to stay in the safe house.
The air fae would surely be angry with River when he found out she broke her promise and disobeyed him, but River would risk Nikhail’s fury a hundred times over if it meant he would be all right.
Fae fatalities in the military were rare, but they did happen. Ryker had attended more than a few funerals over the years, and River refused to sit by while Nikhail became another statistic. She was here, and she would be damned if she didn’t follow her instincts.
“Thank you for coming.” River tried to force a smile onto her lips, but the stress of the situation made it more of a grimace. “I appreciate it.”
Even if she hadn’t been fae, that wouldn’t have been a lie.
Powerful though she was, River was not a fool.
She had been training with her magic for years, but she’d also been cut off from it for weeks.
Not only that, but she lacked military experience.
Yes, she knew how to shoot a gun, but she’d never aimed one at a person before.
She’d never wanted to do such a thing, not even on days when Tertia had been at her worst.
In her heart, River was and always would be a healer. It was why she’d become a doctor, and why she’d yearned so desperately to find a cure for her father. She’d reluctantly armed herself today, the weapons more for self-preservation than anything else.
She already had enough souls on her conscience. She didn’t need any more.
On top of all that—as if that wasn’t enough reason—River was only one person. Yes, she was incredibly powerful and born with volatile magic, but still. Just one person.
“Of course,” Arlo said. “Anything for Nik.”
Grateful that Arlo was there to help, River let the door shut behind her. They had no time to waste.
It should’ve taken one hour to reach the last known location of Nikhail’s phone.
Instead, it took them three.
It was the middle of the day, and everyone and their mother seemed to be clogging up the city streets. Even the side streets were busy.
The longer they sat in Arlo’s black sedan, the more impatient River became.
She tapped her foot on the ground and hugged her arms around herself.
Her skin was itchy, as if it didn’t exactly fit on her frame.
Her magic coursed through her veins, and it was not quiet or calm.
There was a storm within her, growing louder with every passing moment.
Even the change in scenery, the cityscape giving way to the sandy desert that was commonplace in the Southern Region, didn’t calm River’s unease.
By the time the chipper GPS voice announced that they’d reached their destination, confusion and dread were mingling in River’s gut. She wasn’t sure where they’d been going, but whatever she’d been expecting, it hadn’t been this.
This was… strange.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” River asked Arlo, breaking the silence that had settled between them since they left the city behind.
The water fae gripped the steering wheel. “Yes. This is the location Corporal Rune sent.”
“I see,” River murmured, staring out the window.
Interrupting the endless stretch of desert was an abandoned gas station that doubled as a diner.
It was so run-down, River couldn’t imagine it ever having been anything but.
The sign was peeling and illegible. The windows that weren’t boarded up were broken.
A “closed” sign hung at an angle, as if it had given up.
Even the asphalt showed signs of age, with large cracks running through it.
River unbuckled her seat belt as the vehicle slowed. Arlo parked the car, and before they could say anything—or caution River to stay in the vehicle—she was already stepping out.
Warm, humid air wrapped around her as she stood on the broken, sandy pavement, a frown tugging on her lips.
“What were you doing here, Nik?” she mumbled, the question more for herself than anything else.
River chewed on her lip, trying to see past the vast quantities of sand in search of a clue. Where had they gone next?
People didn’t just vanish into thin air, and yet, there didn’t seem to be any sign of where Nikhail and his team had gone. No tire tracks, no evidence of life at all. She wouldn’t have even known the air fae had been here if Corporal Rune hadn’t told them.