Chapter 25 River #2
“I know, love.” River moved her hands to stroke gentle circles on Celine’s arms with her thumbs.
“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Celine said. “I’ve been to Vestriya many times. I come to Arveto as often as I can to check on
everyone who still lives here.”
“I figured as much. Not that I don’t think random children wouldn’t fall at your feet for story time without knowing you.
You have an arresting effect.”
This made Celine smile—small, but there.
It was a start.
“It’s not enough,” Celine said, unraveling once more. “I came here again because Ario was poisoned, and it’s my fault.”
“How can that be your fault?” River asked, unconvinced. She implored Celine with her eyes. Trust me, she begged. I can handle it.
“I knew the poison they used was a product of my own destruction,” Celine said. “When the soil in this area first mixed with
the ash, the land never recovered. But then the cinderflower berries popped up, and the people realized they could be of use.
Except now they are a weapon. Just like me.” New tears stifled her words. “I cause so much pain. I’m a danger to everyone
else.”
River pulled her in, wrapping an arm around her waist and pressing the other to her cheek to wipe the tears away. “Love, you
did this by accident,” she said. “I’ve done bad things on purpose. Many, many times. I did a bad thing the moment I left you
on the carousel, and I think—I hope—you’ve forgiven me anyway.”
“I have,” Celine said.
“Then why can’t you do the same for yourself?”
They fell quiet again. It was nearly dark outside, and the air had a heavy static to it, a silence filled with grief and loss.
Still, the villagers had made the best of the worst. They’d survived.
“Let’s go somewhere,” River suggested. “Just for us.”
Celine gave her a permissive nod, and River closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, they were inside the Grotto. The cave was empty. It was just River, Celine, and that same strangely
calming glow of the water that turned everything bluish-green.
“Ario had mentioned that no one is allowed inside after the sun goes down,” River said. “Looks like it’s true. Too bad no
one else knows how to teleport.”
Already River could see some liveliness returning to Celine’s face, her eyes wide in wonder, just as they had been the last
time they were here.
“It’s quite fortunate,” Celine said. She crouched down to run her fingers through the glowing stream. Her features began to relax, knots of tension unspooling with every gentle swirl and swish she made. “I’m still afraid of what the amplification to my powers will do,” she whispered.
“I know,” River said, squatting down to join her. The water was warm and somehow silky, like petting a soft animal. “Just
because you’re afraid doesn’t mean you have to hide, though. We can figure it out together.”
“Thank you for coming back to me,” Celine whispered.
River caught the tremble in her voice, the threat of sadness waiting to crest once again.
“Hey,” she whispered back. “It’s okay. Come here.”
She turned Celine’s body toward hers, pressing them together.
And she kissed her.
She kissed her like they’d spent centuries apart. She kissed her like Celine was breath itself, and River would die without
her. She kissed her with everything she had, until she felt more stirring inside her, a trembling ache of want that bloomed low in her belly.
River kissed Celine all the way over to a wall of rock. She kept kissing her until they reached another alcove not unlike
the one they’d hidden in the last time they were inside the Grotto.
When River gasped for air, it was Celine who pulled her back, hungry in a way River understood. They kissed as they peeled
off layers of clothing, tearing off blouses, tossing away skirts and leggings, still standing against the cool rock, enjoying
its rough edges and unforgiving sturdiness.
Even skin to skin, they did not come up for air. River’s hand wandered instead, sliding her fingers down until she found the
slick, warm source of Celine’s need.
Celine let out a throaty gasp of pleasure, and this was no time for cautious exploration.
River’s fingers worked as fast as they could, and Celine’s cries grew louder with the effort—a ragged, echoing sound against the hollow emptiness of the cave.
River craved more of it, panting with exertion, pressing and coaxing until Celine’s desire crested.
Hot, orange flames licked the air around them both.
This was not the work of River’s imagination, or a feeling that had become vivid through the fervor of their touch.
No. Celine had caught fire.
“Shit,” they breathed in unison.
River closed her eyes, thinking of velvety warmth, and soon they were submerged in the Grotto’s pool.
Though the water looked opaque on the surface, it was crystal clear beneath, and River saw Celine in full, the curves of her
naked body flowing with the water, her wild brown curls ribboning around her. Ghosts, she was beautiful.
They shot up to the surface together.
“You sparked fire,” River said in disbelief.
“You put it out,” Celine replied, equally as stunned.
They stared at each other until the shock turned into laughter. And then they were delirious with it, gasping between bursts
of joy, kissing and spinning each other in the silky water.
“Seems we make a good match,” River couldn’t help but say. “You catch fire, I bring us to water.”
Rivulets ran into Celine’s mouth as she smiled, but that now-familiar sadness was starting to creep back in. “I wish I didn’t
have fire at all. I thought with all my years away from my power, my age and wisdom had given me more restraint. But even
now, I still can’t contain it. Most people learn how to control their gifts. Clearly, I’m not worthy of that.”
River kissed her forehead. “Of course you’re worthy.
How could you ever think anything else? You’ve made amends in Arveto the best you possibly could.
Everyone in that village adores you. And look, even the harpies blessed you.
” She waved her hand around, secretly hoping said harpies might reappear, if only because it would make an already unforgettable night even more incredible.
“I don’t want their blessing,” Celine said, and River was glad the harpies did not heed her private wish, because it seemed
the kind of thing the mercurial creatures might not like knowing. “The last thing I need is more power.”
Hearing Celine say things about herself that were so obviously untrue sharpened River’s mind in a way few other conversations
ever had. She knew Celine was not defined by her magic . . . yet River constantly defined herself by her own.
If she believed Celine did not need to be, then couldn’t she offer herself the same grace? Couldn’t she want a different life
after all?