The word stood out to River. Not only because the request was layered, but because she knew the voice didn’t say it often. It touched a deep part of her.
And so, River gathered every ounce of strength she possessed. She held it close and shoved past the emptiness inside her. Ignoring the fact that she was vacant in an unnatural way, River focused on the hand gripping hers, the way it clung to her. The strength that lay in that touch. The yearning in the mysterious person’s every word.
She poured everything she had into this moment, pushed herself as hard as she could, because this was it.
Her final fight.
Minutes passed, or they could’ve been seconds or hours. She had no way of telling time.
Eventually, River’s fingers twitched. It was a minuscule movement, and yet, it felt like the greatest victory.
A sharp inhale came from above her. “Do that again.”
Oh, how she yearned to please that voice and do exactly as they asked.
Again, she strained. Again, it took far too long, but her fingers rubbed against each other.
A soul-deep sigh of relief rang through the room. Lips pressed against her fingers, adoring and gentle, as if she was one wrong move away from breaking.
“Oh, gods. That’s it, River.” A thumb stroked her hand, leaving a trail of warmth in its wake. “Keep going.”
Gathering herself and forcing her body to move was like cleaning up a garden after a tempest. Everything was out of place, knocked over and messy. Bringing the pieces of herself back together took time and effort, and gods above, she was fatigued. Weariness had sunk into her bones. Even thinking hurt.
It was taxing, wading through the growing void and trying to collect the pieces of herself.
But she had to do it.
Open up, River told her eyes.Please.
It felt like she had to repeat the command a dozen times before her lids briefly lifted. Just enough for a tiny shard of light to make it through. It was gone nearly as quickly as it had appeared, but it had been unmistakable.
The sight flooded River with hope, and she pushed even harder to get back to herself.
It felt like a series of lifetimes had passed before bright light seared her vision, and she cried out. Who knew light could be so magnificent and awful at the same time?
Scrunching her eyes, she gasped for air, filling her lungs. She steeled herself, mentally preparing for the blinding light. She took stock of her body—her head was on something soft, and she was fairly certain she was lying down. A comfortable blanket covered her, light and lacking the oppressive weight she’d been struggling against in that nothing place.
She squinted, waiting for the blinding light to reappear. It wasn’t as bad this time. Blacks, browns, and whites swam in front of her, and a blob solidified, becoming a fae male.
Nikhail.
Oh, gods.
Her vision blurred for a completely different reason. Her heart wrenched as understanding washed over her. He was the voice, the one who had stayed by her side throughout this whole ordeal.
Not only was Nikhail here with her, but he was in disarray.
And that shocked River.
She’d never seen her brother’s best friend like this. His black hair went every which way, as if he’d run his hands through it countless times. The buttons of his white dress shirt were undone, the garment untucked from his pants. His sleeves were rolled to his elbows, and his tie was a discarded crumble of fabric in the corner.
Nikhail pressed his lips against her knuckles and whispered her name. The sound was a desperate plea. “This is real, right? You’re finally awake.”
River’s throat was dry and scratchy as she swallowed. “Yes,” she rasped, the word rough. “I think so?”
She wasn’t sure, if she was being honest, but it seemed real. Itfeltreal. Her body strained towards Nikhail, like a magnet desperate to get to its other half.
Something was still wrong, though. That emptiness remained, and River knew she was missing something.