Her magic wasn’t a blessing, but a curse. She couldn’t risk unleashing it here. Even though she’d expended massive amounts of power before coming to the hospital, the curse remained in her veins. It was always watching, always waiting behind the dam she’d created to keep it at bay.
In the end, when River lowered her chin, it wasn’t out of submission. It wasn’t because she’d been bullied into it. It was because death resided in her veins, and she refused to give it any power.
“I understand, sir.” The words tasted like chalk in her mouth, and River’s face was a blank mask, even with the tears lining her eyes. She refused to let a single emotion show, refused to let Doctor Collins know her feelings were a whirling storm within her.
So, her boss hated her. Plenty of people had bad relationships with their superiors. There wasn’t anything she could do about it. Asking Tertia for help would be a moot point.
For one, that would simply confirm her boss’s suspicions that she was a spoiled brat. For another, she didn’t really think her mother would help her. If anything, the Representative would laugh and say that this was what River deserved. Didn’t she know that Cursed Ones didn’t get to live regular lives?
Doctor Collins removed his hand from the elevator call button and stepped away from her.
“ICU. Now.” There was no mistaking the command in his voice. “If you come anywhere near the Howlers or their daughter’s surgery, missing the tumor removal will be the least of your problems. Is that clear, Doctor Waterborn?”
Hatred churned in River’s veins, a bitter stream flowingthrough her, and she clenched her fists. “It’s crystal clear,” she ground out.
She didn’t wait to be dismissed. Holding back her tears with hope and a prayer, she jammed her finger against the elevator call button.
Thank the Blessed Obsidian Sands, the silver doors opened a moment later. She got on without looking behind her and punched the button for the ICU, hitting it until the doors shut.
The last thing she saw was her boss’s scowling visage.
The elevator lurched up, and she grabbed the silver railing. Then, and only then, did she allow a ragged half-sob, half-gasp to rip out of her. A single hot tear raced down her cheek, and she watched it fall to the floor.
One sob.
One tear.
That was all she allowed herself to feel. She clamped down on the pain running through her. She would not break, nor would she give Doctor Collins the pleasure of knowing how deeply he’d hurt her.
Waterborns are not weak. Waterborns do not bow to others. Waterborns do not cry.
By the time the elevator reached the fifth floor, River was standing straight. The picture of the perfect surgical resident, she was unbothered. Untouched. Strong.
She could do this. At least, that’s what she would keep telling herself until it was the truth. There was no other option.
River was a Waterborn, and no matter what hurdles life threw at them, they did not break. They did not shatter. They did not bend.
Waterborns were always strong, no matter what.
CHAPTER 2
The Stillness Waited in the Shadows
The silver elevator doors opened to reveal Cynthia Hudson, the senior doctor in charge of the ICU. Blonde hair fell in curls to the Light Elf’s shoulders, and a purple and green mating mark wrapped around her left hand and disappeared beneath her white lab coat.
River had met Doctor Hudson’s bonded mate and wife, Fyla, a few months ago at a hospital social. The Earth Elf was jubilant, and her bright personality had remained with River long after the function had ended.
“Welcome to the ICU,” Cynthia said kindly, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she smiled. “We’re glad to have you here tonight.”
Something about her warm brown eyes had the tension in River’s shoulders loosening. “Thank you, Doctor.” She stepped off the elevator. “I’m here to do whatever’s needed.”
This had been River’s motto ever since she entered the medical field. No matter where she worked, she would do her best.
Doctor Hudson tapped a few buttons on her tablet. “Excellent, that’s what we like to hear. I will be around tonight, but I have patients on several floors, so I’ll need you to stay here.”
River nodded, scanning the files she’d been sent on her own device. There were seven patients who’d be under her care tonight. The first six were typical cases, but the last…
She inhaled sharply, digging her nails into her freshly healed palm as she read the file in front of her.