River shoved open the door, the cold slamming into her like an icy wall.
Her control slipped. Water gushed from her fingers, as if someone had opened a faucet on full blast.
“Fuck,” she cried out. She rarely cursed, but this moment was made for foul language.
Reaching within herself, she tried turning off the flow of magic, but it didn’t work. The faucet was stuck, and water jetted from her hands.
No, no, no. Clenching her teeth, River fought back against the curse.This can’t be happening.
She pushed back against the magic, desperate to slow it down. Sweat beaded on her brow, and her entire body ached.
Nothing would slow her storm, though. The ground was getting soaked beneath her feet. Her heart plummeted when she realized the truth of the matter. Her magic would not be contained. It streamed out of her, thickening the air like humidity on the warmest summer day.
Storm clouds gathered above her, having been called forth by her power. They were hers, and she was theirs. The rain. The clouds. The storm. She belonged to them.
Water poured from the sky as much as it did from her hands, as if the heavens were lamenting her loss of control with her.
She had to get out of here and find someone who could help her.
A sob crawled up her throat. Her arms and legs pumped as she raced through the hospital parking lot. She wove around stationary cars and bicycles. Passed a few people too involved in their own lives to notice a panicking fae.
By the time she reached the main street, rain was pouring from the sky in sheets. River was drenched, but it didn’t matter. She had to keep going.
Her magic was screaming in her veins. Thinking rationally was becoming more difficult with every passing second. She had to run as quickly as possible.
Cursing every moment that she’d chosen to sit on the couch to watch a sports game instead of running on a treadmill,River raced down the sidewalk. Shallow breaths hit her ears; her vision blurred from the endless rain.
There was only one person in Lakewater she trusted to help her, one person who might be able to help contain her curse before the storm turned deadly. She wasn’t sure he’d be there, nor was she certain he could help, but she had to take the risk.
She had no other choice.
Lightning crashed above River,rain fell from the heavens in an endless deluge, and her curse was a tempest in her veins. It battered against her, and she was powerless against it. It had destroyed every restraint she’d placed on it, demolished them in its desperate attempt to find freedom.
With every step, water gushed from River’s hands. With every step, the storm worsened.
She had no idea how long she’d been running before her destination came into view. All she knew was that her feet were sore, she was drenched, her shoes were waterlogged, and her muscles burned with the strain of keeping her magic at bay.
River raced past rows of red-brick townhouses, desperately scanning the numbers until she found the one she sought.
Please, gods, let him be here.
She’d memorized this address a year ago at Ryker’s insistence, but this was her first time coming here. Was he home? Would he be awake? Would he even help her?
She didn’t know, but she had to try. Gods help her, but she’d do anything to make the storm stop.
River took the steps two at a time. Her control was a fraying rope, and several strands slipped from her grip as sheslid onto the landing. Her feet squelched beneath her, the air thickened with the tang of magic, and thunder roared its displeasure. She clenched her fists, pounding them on the door like the crazed fae she’d become.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the death she’d left in her wake.
Maybe if she’d been earlier and hadn’t gotten banned from the operating room, Lila would still be alive. Maybe if she’d been faster, Anya Valois wouldn’t have died.
Maybe, maybe, gods-damned maybe.
The maybes were a tornado in her mind, and her breath came in short spurts. Seconds that felt like hours passed before the door opened mid-knock.
Concerned amber eyes framed by rugged black hair met River’s gaze. Even through the haze of magic pulsing through her veins, her heart recognized him. Two ears rose to points above his inky hair, his cheekbones were sharp, and his beautiful, haunting eyes stared into the depths of her soul. All fae were beautiful, but he…
Gods above, he waseverything. His beauty had a graceful, deadly edge, like a skillfully honed blade made to kill.