Did she? She didn’t feel innocent. Blood coated her hands and her soul like a second skin. It was invisible, but she knew it was there.
The hands rolled her away, and she landed on something soft.Moments later, her shoes were tugged off her feet. A blanket was pulled over her, the sides tucked around her.
Lips brushed over her forehead in a feather-light kiss.
“I want to fix this, Brynleigh. To fix us. But I don’t know how.”
The words twisted deep within her.
She wanted to reach out and grab the other person, but sleep hooked its claws into her. It pulled her down, down, down, into its deep embrace.
Her last conscious thought was that she wanted to fix it, too.
CHAPTER 13
She was His, Even If They were Broken
Ryker had thought he’d already sustained the maximum amount of heartbreak one person could bear, but he was wrong. Sitting beside the hospital bed they’d brought into Waterborn House for his father, Ryker’s heart broke all over again.
The aching hurt was different than the one he’d felt when Brynleigh betrayed him, but it was no less painful.
In the twelve hours since he first pulled up to his childhood home, Ryker had only left his father’s side once. He’d ordered River to go to bed since she had another exam in the morning before moving Brynleigh from the hallway to his old room.
He told himself he didn’t move her to be nice but to keep her out of the way when the servants came to clean in the morning. He was lying, but it didn’t matter.
Nothing mattered right now except the broken, aging fae beside him.
How had Cyrus Jacob Waterborn been reduced to this shell of a man? Skin so pale it was nearly translucent clung to his skeletal frame. Blue, almost purple, veins stood out against his flesh. Brown, wispy hair remained on his head, far thinner than it used to be. An aura of illness permeated the room.
Tears pricked Ryker’s eyes, and he scrubbed a hand over his face. Rough stubble scratched his palm. He needed to shower and shave, but he didn’t want to leave his father’s side.
Before the Stillness struck, Ryker’s father was one of the most powerful water fae in the entire Republic of Balance. Life and vitality used to flow from him like water from a fountain. He’d always been the center of attention, and people were drawn to him. He’d been a torch in a room full of candles.
Now, Cyrus’s light had faded to a mere flicker.
Ryker dreaded the day his father’s flame would be snuffed entirely.
Reaching out, he picked up his father’s hand. Fingers that had once taught him how to hold a softball properly were now brittle and covered in strange brown spots.
“Dad?” Ryker murmured. “Can you hear me?”
There was no response, just like the last dozen times he’d asked.
Cyrus’s light brown eyes were open, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Ryker sighed, and his heart broke a little bit more. “I’m here, Dad. I came back.”
He shouldn’t have stayed away for so long. What if his father had died while he’d been dealing with Brynleigh? Ryker would have never forgiven himself.
A soft knock came from the door, pulling Ryker from his melancholy thoughts.
“Captain Waterborn?” asked a soft female voice.
Ryker didn’t release his father’s hand as he looked over his shoulder. “Yes?”
A human nurse stood in the doorway. She looked around River’s age. Curly blonde hair was swept in a ponytail, and she wore cheerful blue scrubs that somehow made Ryker feel even worse.
“It’s time to administer your father’s medication.”