His words ended in a watery gurgle. His eyes bulged, and he drew in a gasping breath. Or he would’ve, if water hadn’t comepouring out of his mouth, ears, and nose. It streamed out of him, accompanied by a choked scream.
Someone behind Nikhail swore. Another muttered about the Waterborns and their power.
Nikhail couldn’t move or reply. He was frozen, entranced by the deadly scene unfolding in front of him.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
Harringdale was choking on water. Drowning? It certainly seemed that way.
He gurgled and gasped as even more water poured out of his every orifice.
The rebel removed his hand from River’s hair to claw at his own throat in a desperate effort to breathe. At the same time, River shoved his other hand away from her.
There was a sickeningripas the shifter’s claws tore through the fabric of River’s shirt and the skin beneath. Blood bloomed on her chest, but River didn’t seem to notice. She flung herself away from the rebel leader, landing on her back.
Her chest heaved as she extended her arm.
A wall of water gushed from her outstretched hand, slamming into the bear shifter. Pinning him against the wall.
The moment River was out of harm’s way, Nikhail was moving. People were shouting, but he couldn’t hear their words. Nikhail raced towards River, flinging his own magic towards Harringdale. Adding his power to River’s.
Air and water mingled, a deadly tempest of their own making. The force of their combined power slammed into Harringdale. One moment, the shifter was clawing at his throat, making a mangled mess of himself as blood and water coated him. The next, he was thrown back. His head slammed into the wall.
There came a sickeningcrack, and then, Harringdale collapsed. Blood pooled behind his head.
And…
He was gone.
Dead, just like that.
Chancellor Rose was going to be angry. Furious, even. Nikhail didn’t fucking care, though. Let her be angry. At least River was alive.
He spared a glance at Harringdale’s body. His mouth was open in a silent scream, and water still trickled from his lips. Drowning on land didn’t seem like a gentle way to die, but Nikhail could not find one ounce of grief or shame for Harringdale inside himself.
Nikhail kneeled in front of River, who was on her back, chest heaving as she drew in gasping breath after gasping breath.
“Never again,” he murmured, taking her hand.
She blinked up at him. “What?”
“Don’t you ever say goodbye to me again,” Nikhail breathed.
It struck him then, just how close he’d come to losing River for good. Thank the gods, she’d had access to her magic. He didn’t even know how she’d done it—conjured a storminsideHarringdale’s body, hadn’t even known that was possible—but honestly, he didn’t care.
Understanding flooded River’s gaze. “Okay,” she murmured. “No more goodbyes.”
“Never,” he said. “Promise me.”
They still had a lot to unpack, and there would undoubtedly be fallout from today’s events, but he found he didn’t care about any of that.
River’s lips crept up into the smallest smile. “I promise.”
He’d never heard a better sound.
CHAPTER 35
Propriety and Reputations