Maybe it was, but it didn’t stop her from wanting it. This wasn’t a conversation to be had over text, she decided. It didn’t seem fair to either of them.
Before she could second-guess herself, she had replied.
I’ll miss you, too.
It had taken approximately two seconds after she pressed the send button for panic to roll through her.
That was stupid. So gods-damned stupid.
Why had she replied? She should’ve ignored his messages.It would’ve been mean, but maybe then, he’d think she hated him. Maybe that would’ve made their next face-to-face conversation easier.
And then, proving that it was a traitor who didn’t care about her curse, River’s mind had wondered where Nikhail was. What had happened last night? Was he on a job? What if he got injured? What if she never got to see or talk to him again because hedied?
That last thought had chilled her to the bone and caused her magic to roar awake. The calmness from the night before had been nowhere to be seen. Panic had dug its claws into her heart, and her magic had crashed through her veins, a tempest in the making.
She barely had time to react. She’d shoved back against her curse, sweat beading on her brow, as she reinforced her dam and bolted from her room.
Somehow, she’d made it out of the house, unnoticed by the crew her mother had hired to clean up after the party. She’d grabbed a forest green hoodie hanging by the back door, and her feet had landed in a pair of black flats she vaguely recognized as hers.
Taking the four-wheeler’s keys had been instinctual, and before she knew it, she’d arrived at Isolation Lake.
Nikhail couldn’t die. He just… couldn’t.
That was the thought that swirled in her mind as she poured water into the lake. It flooded out of her, an endless supply of magic. Her well of power had always been effectively bottomless. There seemed to be no limit to what she could do.
She hated that. Limits existed for a reason, and she’d love to have some.
Water streamed from River’s outstretched palms until dark shadows fell above her, blocking the sun. Her skin pebbled,and she craned her neck. Charcoal clouds were sweeping in, replacing the clear blue sky. Drizzle fell from them, dampening the air.
A full-blown storm was minutes away, if that.
River inhaled deeply.
Stop!she commanded her magic, willing it to cease pouring from her hands.
Her curse resisted. It pushed back, begging her to allow it to remain. To let it keep flowing from her.
More, more, more, it sang in her veins, a symphony of power.
It was always like this. It never wanted to stop, never wanted to be held back. Like the tempest it was, her curse wanted to unleash itself upon the world so the depths of her power would be known from coast to coast.
River would never let that happen. She’d sooner lock herself in a prohiberis cage and throw away the key.
“My magic does not control me,” she declared out loud. “It is a tool I’ve been given. I control it.”
The mantra gave her strength as she pushed back against her power. It fought her every damn step of the way, but eventually, she wrestled the curse back under control. The water slowed, then stopped.
Thank the gods.
She couldn’t leave yet, though. She hadn’t expelled nearly enough magic. Extending her right hand in front of her, palm facing the sky, she reached for her power once again.
Summoning a storm was one thing. She could do that without thinking. Gods above, that was exactly what had led to the Incident all those years ago.
But directing her magic and forcing it to do her biddingtook far more skill. It was one thing to call a storm, another entirely to send it away without hurting anyone.
River’s eyes fell shut as she reached within herself, taking hold of her magic. She imagined that it was a sphere, floating in her palm. Malleable. Eager to be shaped.
She grabbed it and twisted her fingers, infusing it with her will.