Wait.
River’s breath sawed as she yanked herself out of her brother’s hug. She scrambled backwards on all fours until she hit the island. Pain reverberated through her spine, but she ignored it, drawing her knees up to her chest. She hugged them and looked at Ryker.
Reallylooked at him.
Her brother was watching her warily. Sorrow was etched into the lines of his face, along with grief and… regret.
“You knew?” River rasped.
His breath hitched, but he didn’t say anything. Didn’t deny it. Couldn’t, since he was a fae.
“Youknew,” she repeated. “For how long?”
How long had Ryker known that his sister had made his wife an orphan? How long had he known that she was the reason Brynleigh was a vampire? How long had he been keeping this from her?
Ryker sucked in a sharp breath, exchanging a worried look with his wife.
“Tell me,” River said firmly.
The manacles on her wrists chaffed, but she didn’t resent their presence. If anything, she welcomed them and the vastness inside her. The lack of pulsing, pounding magic in her veins was the only thing keeping River sane right now.
Because this…
This was a betrayal River had never seen coming.
She never thought Ryker would hide anything from her. Never thought he wouldlieto her. And fae, while physically incapable of lying, were perfectly able to omit things when theyspoke. She never thought Ryker would do that, though. Certainly not about something like this.
“I’ve known for a long time,” Ryker admitted. He glanced at Brynleigh, and something dark passed between them. “Everything came to light soon after the Choosing.”
Years.
He had known for fuckingyears.
“When were you going to tell me?” she croaked.
Ryker scrubbed his hand over his face. “I didn’t… You’ve already suffered so much. You beat yourself up endlessly about the Incident. I didn’t want to add to your pain.”
River stood, her legs trembling. She moved back, her cheeks growing damp. How long had she been crying?
“Your plan was to lie to me for the rest of our lives? You were going to keep this from meforever?”
Panic was leaking into her words, but she couldn’t stop it.
Ryker’s mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. Then shut.
“How could you do this?” River asked. Sobbed, really. “I trusted you, and you kept this from me.”
He’d betrayed her.
There was a part of River’s mind that thought that maybe her frustrations were a little misplaced. Yes, this was Brynleigh’s secret, not Ryker’s, to tell, but it didn’t feel that way to River. He was herbrother,and they’d always been open with each other. Or so she’d thought.
Now, she wasn’t so sure.
Grabbing the blanket and her phone from where she’d dropped them, River turned and ran out the front door. Ryker shouted at her, but she called back for him to leave her alone. She needed time.
River swiped her thumb across the screen, barely able to see past the veil of tears pouring down her cheeks.
She pressed the only name she wanted to talk to right now and brought the phone to her ear. It rang once.