Chapter 4
River
I hated Telepaths.
Hated them.
Avery had shipped in seafood straight from the Gulf as his way of apologizing for losing his shit in the temple.
The Seer wasn’t here, though, and it was her stuff he destroyed, but I wasn’t about to complain.
My forced nap had actually put me in a better mood, though I’d never dare say I was thankful for it.
The shrimp were huge and delicious, and the swordfish had brought a genuine smile to my face. Avery had been relieved to see me in a good mood, and then our guests had arrived.
Now, I was double pissed. Pissed about the good food going to waste, and pissed that my mood had soured so obviously. Gina wasn’t here, but it didn’t matter. Avery was just as fussy over my moods lately.
Avery stared me down apologetically, trying to smooth things over by piling some rice pilaf on my plate, but I was ignoring him and all the wonderful food.
Across from me, Lena Iykos was simpering to Avery.
Again.
This was the…fifth time this month?
She was afraid for her life.
She needed more reassurance.
She wanted more security.
She wanted me to personally guard her home like she was the fucking Prime Minister of South America.
Avery said no, then dug into his food.
Thank God.
Lena had three Links in total. Two were weak and annoying, the third was Landon’s dad, a fire affinate with just enough power to cause a problem.
That one stared at me over the table as if challenging me.
I narrowed my eyes at him, almost smiling when he finally looked away.
He didn’t like that I’d been close to Landon, and he didn’t trust me.
I didn’t trust him either. He hated Lena. Any dude that could hate his Key was a weirdo as far as I was concerned.
“Lana’s affinity has grown,” Lena went on, one of her eyes slightly smaller than the other.
She’d done well enough covering the wicked bruise on the side of her face but the swelling hadn’t gone down at all.
I wondered why Avery hadn’t offered a Healer to her.
“She can fully shield, now, not just paralyze.”
I blinked at her.
Avery made a pleasant sound in response, but continued cutting into his fish.
Lana wasn’t a Shield.
Avery knew that. Didn’t he?
Actually, as far as I knew, he had no idea what Lana’s remaining affinity was.
There were a lot of things he didn’t know, obviously. He had no idea I could teleport, at least for now. As it was, I was resisting the urge to teleport everywhere so I could use the affinity up already, because it was annoying as hell.
It didn’t like me.
I didn’t understand how or why I knew that, but it was clear as day. It really didn’t like me, and a deep, dark part of me hoped it’s owner didn’t feel the same.
It’s owner.
The. Fucking. Phantom.
The faceless deity I’d spent my life preparing to face down in the name of Avery’s ego.
I never imagined a goddess would wear yoga pants and a crop top.
“A strong Shield could be useful,” Avery said. “After you allowed the Phantom to escape, I think it’s the least you could do. Especially before I give you extra protection.”
Everyone at the table froze.
I finally took a bite of food.
Fuck. It was so good.
Not good enough to forget my nap, but still.
Lena recovered first, her skin slightly paler than before, her flush visible even through her makeup. She cleared her throat a little uneasily after a glare from her Link beside her. “The least I could do?”
“Yes,” Avery went on. “Lana’s affinity will be useful. Let’s prepare her to meet with my Maelstrom. This weekend, maybe?”
My eyes widened. Lena’s eyes widened. Her Link tightened his grip on his silverware, almost bending the fork. His arms began to glow for just a moment before he visibly relaxed, forcing himself to remain calm.
Avery sat back, ignoring the tension and smiling softly as if we were discussing the weather and not someone’s impending death.
Lena chewed her lip for a moment, and I actually felt excitement.
That hadn’t been a direct order from Avery, which meant this was going to be a huge blowup. Lena had been a screechy mess for weeks when Landon died. There was no way she would allow Avery to take her only remaining child.
I excitedly took another bite of food.
“Very well,” Lena said finally, stunning me. “The Maelstrom needs practice, and Lana is nothing now that Landon’s gone. At the very least, her affinities can do some good.”
My jaw almost dropped.
I stared at her, not even relishing in how she shrunk back from my angry glare.
How?
Avery hadn’t ordered her to give up Lana. I’d just watched a woman give up her daughter willingly.
Actually, that wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever seen in this place. I took another bite of food even as my stomach churned. Avery had made a man eat his own eyeball once.
And that’s why I hadn’t eaten a grape in almost ten years.
At that thought, I eyed the plate of fruit in the center of the table, with huge green grapes placed prominently in the center.
I scowled down at my plate of half-eaten shrimp. The shrimp scowled back up at me.
I pushed my plate away, my appetite officially gone.
“River?” Avery’s voice filtered through my self-loathing, and I glanced up, barely holding back my cringe at his look of concern. “Are you alright?”
“Allergies,” I replied.
Avery stared at me.
I didn’t have allergies. Nothing was blooming. It was the dead of winter on the northern end of Lake Tahoe. But it was the first thing that came to mind, and it’s not like I could say, sorry, grapes make me think of eyeballs.
Lena’s orange-red lips twisted into what was supposed to be a frown. “The poor dear,” she said, looking back to Avery. “You really do so much for him.”
I didn’t hold back my glare of disgust. But, thankfully, she was no longer looking at me, so I went back to scowling at a bowl of chowder that’d been placed in front of me.
I was not a child. Sure, I acted like a brat because it was easier than trying to act like a rational adult around so many crazies, but I wasn’t actually a child.
At least…I was pretty sure I was over eighteen. How long ago had the massacre been? I narrowed my eyes at the chowder. How old was Skye?
Skye.
The Phantom.
Fuck. I really needed to stop thinking about her around these people.
“Is the food alright?” Avery murmured. His pale eyes watched me with something close to real concern, which was annoying. Now that I knew he was the reason why Skye’s eyes were so familiar to me, I wanted to hurl every time I thought about how the two of them were related.
I still remembered the first time I saw her, my first day on campus. The woman never looked where she was going. She ran right into me, then looked up at me with those wide silver eyes, the wild amount of attraction between us nearly palpable.
It’d scared me, and that was the only reason I’d been rude to her right after.
I’d never felt attracted to anyone, ever.
I’d slowly been thinking I was asexual or something. Or at least I was until that woman stared up at me like I was some sort of god.
I’d never seen anyone with that look on their face before, and I was surrounded by people who were supposedly in love.
Lena was one of the worst offenders. She never looked at any of her Links the way Skye had looked at me. Even now, she sat chattering away to Earl, ignoring her Links as they tried to interject.
Peter Earl looked more put together than the last time I’d seen him, though he still had a weary look to him like he’d run away if he could. I almost pitied him.
“River?” Avery prompted.
I shrugged in response to Avery, having zoned out again. The food was perfect, it was just our company, but if I told him that, he’d send the Iykos’ away, and then they’d gossip about how I was a brat.
Which, like, I was. But I was getting sick of being spoken to like I was a teenager still…because…I wasn’t a teenager. I was pretty sure. Like ninety percent.
I was at least twenty.
I hoped.
How about you head upstairs and I get you a pizza? Avery asked.
My hands trembled as the splitting pain started behind my eyes. I breathed out shakily, looking through his concerned expression.
It was a suggestion, not a direct order, but my skin prickled anyway. Pizza did sound better, but it was going to be homemade and Carrie Martin’s cooking left a lot to be desired. That, and her daughter would surely come deliver it to me, and she…also left a lot to be desired.
I needed to get out of here. The pain behind my eyes wasn’t receding like usual, and as Avery’s pale gaze grew more concerned, my skin began to itch.
Do you need your medicine? Avery asked.
“I want to take a walk,” I said, standing. “Maybe I’ll go get a drink. Can I have some coffee or something?” I’d read caffeine could help a headache, and I wondered why no one had ever offered it to me before.
Avery nodded in obvious relief at my reply. “Of course. No coffee, but Carrie will make you anything you want.”
I shoved away from the table without saying goodbye, ignoring the pitied glances from everyone sitting around us.
Same as always.
Everyone was filled with concern, yet no one bothered to check on me.
So, maybe a walk was a bad idea.
I held a steaming hot travel mug of caffeine-free tea in one hand while I ran the other through my hair that was getting colder as the seconds ticked by.
There was snow everywhere, because of course, Gina had thrown a fucking tantrum the moment we arrived. She didn’t like our accommodations. She wanted the lodge from last time.
Avery had to remind her she’d destroyed the accommodations from last time, which only made her angrier. Apparently, he was meant to repair the old lodge even though she’d expressly stated she never wanted to go there again.
Women were fucking weird.
I sighed as I waved my hand, sending a pile of snow into the air to reveal a fallen log. I cringed as my ass met the freezing wood, but it warmed as I laid my hand across the bark, letting my fire affinity out just enough to make sure my ass didn’t freeze solid.