“That’s it. Tertia’s phone rang, and she dismissed me without another word.” River kneaded her temples, a headache forming behind her eyes. “I checked on Dad before heading to bed, and when I woke up to come here, she was gone.”
“Where did she go?”
“On a work trip to the Northern Region.”
Her therapist raised a brow. “She called you to tell you that?”
“No.” An incredulous scoff left River’s lips, and she shook her head, wringing her hands together. “She didn’t even leave a note. Can you believe that? I saw it on the shared family calendar on my phone.”
Sometimes, it felt like a miracle that River was even included in that calendar.
There was no missing the flash of disapproval in Eliza’s eyes. “Your mother should’ve said goodbye,” she said sternly. “I’m sorry.”
River went back to picking at her nails. “Me, too.”
When she’d realized that her mother had left, anger had burned in her veins alongside her curse. Did she mean so little to the Representative of the Fae that she couldn’t even be bothered to speak to her?
Tertia was a government official—dealing with people was part of her job. But speaking to her daughter was, apparently, too much to ask.
The longer River thought about it, the angrier she got. She’d raced outside, her magic screaming in her veins as she released it in the enormous garden behind Waterborn House.
By the time she returned inside, the gardens were well watered, and River…
Well, she was tired. These days, she was always tired, so that wasn’t entirely surprising.
The awful truth, the one that River hadn’t even been brave enough to admit to Eliza, was that she didn’t need Tertia’s help to feel worthless. She didn’t need someone else to tell her that she was a disappointment in order to feel bad about the things she’d done.
Every day, from her first waking moment to her last, River dragged around the crushing weight of her curse. It was a millstone around her neck, a ponderous burden that was hers and hers alone. No one could help lighten the load she bore.
Even Eliza, with her helpful advice and mantras, was still only a bystander to River’s daily struggle.
This was the cost of her magic. Cursed to forever bear the weight of it on her own, she’d never fully find freedom or absolution from her sins.
No matter how hard she tried.
CHAPTER 1
A Gods-damned Tempest
PRESENT DAY (EIGHTEEN MONTHS AFTER THE REUNION)
No, no, no.
That was the only thought on River’s mind, the only word she heard, the only thing she felt as her feet pounded the moonlit streets of Lakewater. She passed houses, ran through parks, and raced down streets. Hot tears born of remorse, pain, and fear streaked down her cheeks.
Her running shoes hit the sidewalk in time with her booming heart. Soaked pink scrubs were plastered to her body like a second skin, and her brown ponytail slapped the base of her neck. The rhythmic sound urged her forward, pushing her to keep going.
There was still time to stop this. Therehadto be time to stop this.
The water pouring from the swirling charcoal clouds mocked her.You thought you’d be able to escape your curse?theyseemed to say.You werewrong. You are the Cursed One, and it will always be with you.
Her vision blurred, and she sucked in shaky, too-shallow breaths. The roaring thunder was far too similar to an executioner’s drum. Rain pelted her from above. Lightning slashed through the night sky like the surgeon’s blade she regularly wielded.
River’s heart was pounding far too quickly, her skin was too tight for her frame, and a sense of wrongness permeated her every step. Her sharp nails sliced through her palms, but her fae healing would take care of the wounds without medical care.
Internally, River screamed and screamed and fuckingscreamed.
She couldn’t stop running, couldn’t take the time to breathe, couldn’t slow down at all. Street signs passed in a blur as she forced herself to run past. Burning muscles and aching joints would not stop her.