“River—”
“I murdered all those people.” She buried her face in herhands, but nothing could muffle her heartbroken confession. “I’mcursed.”
That pain that had started in Nikhail’s chest had grown exponentially as River spoke, and now, he was wondering if one’s heart could shatter from emotional pain. It felt like it. Had his heart been whole before? Now it was an aching, pulsing, broken organ in his chest.
What kind of mother was Tertia Waterborn? How could she have let her daughter come to this conclusion? How come she wasn’t by River’s side every single day, making sure her beautiful, smart, powerful daughter knew she wasn’t cursed?
When he couldn’t take the sound of River’s sobs anymore, when he had to touch her, everything else be damned, Nikhail gently pried her hands away from her face. She shook her head, but he refused to let her cry anymore.
“Little storm,” he whispered hoarsely. “Look at me.”
It felt like it took hours before her eyes slowly met his. Mascara ran in black streaks down her cheeks, her eyes were puffy, and redness tinged her skin.
He grabbed a tissue from the side table, gently cleaning her tears. She didn’t move, didn’t say anything at all as he slowly removed the evidence of her pain.
“You arenotcursed.” He took her clenched fists in his and pressed a kiss to the inside of each of her wrists. “I can feel your storm. It calls to me. I swear to you, there is nothing unnatural about it.”
If anything, it was the most natural thing he’d ever felt. The way her power spoke to him, the way he was drawn to her, felt like it was destined by the gods.
“If you’re cursed, then so am I,” he told her.
The longest moment passed before she sucked in a sharp breath. “What?”
He leaned towards her, unable to stay away any longer. He was tired of ignoring the draw between them, tired of pushing his heart aside. And now that he knew about the hurt she’d been carrying, he refused to do it any longer.
River was in pain, and she needed someone to show her what it meant to be loved. She neededhim.
He ran his thumb down the back of her hand. “Was this story supposed to scare me, River?”
Because it didn’t. If anything, anger burned in his veins at the way his beautiful water fae had been treated for so long. How could she think such awful, untrue things about herself? He was filled with fury on her behalf.
Nikhail vowed to find the people who had made River believe these terrible lies about herself and ensure they understood exactly how wrong they were. River wasn’t cursed. She wasn’t dangerous.
She was just…River.
“Scare you? I’m trying to warn you, Nikhail.” She clutched at his hands, the necklace still grasped between her fingers. “I’m trying tosaveyou. From me.”
CHAPTER 29
A Warning Ignored
River had laid it all out, and now, she waited for Nikhail to nod and pull his hands away. She’d told him everything, and she knew—she just knew—that he would get up and walk away.
That was for the best, and honestly, she hoped he’d do it soon. Her heart was in the process of breaking—it had started shattering the moment she’d sat down with Nikhail, and he’d kissed her. She needed time to dry her tears and gather the broken pieces of herself.
Once he was gone, she would glue herself back together as best she could before the rehearsal dinner. She’d hold it together until she could call Ember tonight and cry with her best friend over the phone.
And then tomorrow, River would be strong. She wouldn’t cause a scene during Ryker and Brynleigh’s bonding ceremony, wouldn’t ruin it. She’d already taken so many years of Ryker’s life, but this… this, she could give him. This, she could do.
Waiting for Nikhail’s response, River memorized the way his amber eyes swept over her. She clutched the silver necklace,grateful he hadn’t taken it back yet. It was a lifeline, and she was holding on to it dearly.
But when he stood to leave, even though the space on her neck felt painfully empty, she’d give it back.
Seconds became minutes, the library’s clock steadily ticking away, before Nikhail’s lips formed a thin line. A vein in his jaw pulsed.
“No,” he said.
What? River stared at him, shaking her head. Had she misheard him? Or maybe he hadn’t been listening earlier.