Rive (6 page)

Celeste was rooted to her spot, slowly watching the people and
Sidhe
leave the room.

She had just seen the creation of the world. She had seen her birth mother. She had seen the ancient ones. She had seen power unknown to the modern world.

Rylan was standing at the edge of the stage. “Celeste?” he said.

She focused her eyes on him.

“Can you hear me? Are you okay?” he said.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Tension tightened his shoulders. It was worry for her. She forced herself to smile, though she felt her heart break when she did. Now she knew that his life would be a flash of light, while hers would burn for a long time.

She walked toward him, holding her smile the best she could. She knew the horrible truth. This little slice of happiness with him wouldn’t last because he wouldn’t last.

Her parents stood behind him, hand in hand, waiting for their daughter. Her heart crumbled as she realized how truly short their light would be. It would flicker and flash, then be gone, even before Rylan. Tink, too.

There would be many, many eons of time after they were gone. Her future would be filled with lonely dark masses of time. For the first time, oppressive weight of immortality pressed down on her shoulders.

“What happened up there?” her mother asked. They followed the last few people out of the room.

“Oh, just a ritual.” She tried to speak normally, but her voice came out all weird and weak.

“Just a ritual? That didn’t look like just a ritual,” her mother said.

Celeste stopped walking, holding her mother’s arm. “What did you see?”

“You guys were in a circle, then you held hands, then there was a bright flash of white light, so blinding I had to look away. Then it was over in a second, and you guys were all standing their dazed and confused.”

“Oh. Hmm. I didn’t see the light.”
I just saw the history of the world, that’s all.

“Are you okay?” her dad asked.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She forced another smile, working hard so it came across as genuine. Nobody looked convinced, though. Rylan was a few feet away so her parents could drape their arms around her, but he was watching. There would be questions later.

She stepped into the atrium, filled with strange
Sidhe
,
Tuatha
and humans. She took a sip of the punch Tink pushed into her hand. She looked around the open space around them while Tink engaged her parents in polite conversation.

Rylan skillfully grabbed her hand and whisked her away into a small, dark hallway before anyone noticed she was gone.

They were alone.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” she said. “I’m right here.”

“You know what I mean.” He moved closer to her, using his finger to tilt her face up gently to his. She had nowhere to look but into his swirling gold and green eyes. “Where did you go? What happened to you?”

“I need you,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be without you.”

“You have me.” He cupped her face. “Tell me what happened up there.”

“Rylan.” She whispered his name, let her love flow through her. She pulled him close to her. Their mouths met, tongues dancing, bodies molding together. She wrapped her arms around him, pushing her body into him until ever inch of her was pressed into every inch of him. She needed him. All of him.

He pulled away for a breath and she clung tighter, her need and want filling all the space around them.

Their lips separated and he pulled her into him, cradling her head against her neck. “I’m here. I’m always here,” he whispered into her ear.

“I know. As much as you can be.”

“What?” He pulled back. “You’re scaring me.”

Regina’s voice sliced into their meeting. “Celeste.”

“Yes?” She stepped back from Rylan, cheeks flushing with the intrusion on their emotionally intimate moment.

“Please come to the boardroom. We need to talk.”

***

She was back in the board room. It was hard to believe only a few days ago it was an unfamiliar place. The counsel were seated at the table, along with all the
Tuatha
. The silent guards filled the spaces humans couldn’t see. Even now, she felt Victor’s presence near her back.

Regina, flanked by Usha and Mateus, spoke first. “We’ve done an extensive investigation as to why Naomi died. She was murdered, by
Sidhe.
”

Mateus spoke next. “I’ve been hearing rumblings for months. Talks of a revolution.” He paced around the table, looking at each
Tuatha
in turn. “A group of
Sidhe
has detached themselves from ranks in the  Otherworld. They fancy themselves a military junta of sorts.”

“Why?” Ashley asked. She rested his hands on her chin. “What do they want?”

“I’m not sure,” Regina said. “I don’t know if they targeted Naomi or if that was a crime of convenience.”

Mateus shifted in his chair. “It would not make sense for them to destroy the
Tuatha
. They need us. This is an act of cowardice. An act of terrorism. It’s designed to create fear and make us tremble.” He stood, crossing his arms over his chest. “We must not let them make us afraid.”

“No.” Regina’s voice rang through the room loud and clear. “We should be cautious.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “They killed Naomi. She’s third in. She had many more years left.”

She placed her hand on Mateus’s, pulling him down so he was seated next to her. “We need to go on lockdown, pull everyone here. We need to circle the wagons.”

“No.” Mateus shook his head. “We can be cautious, but that is too much. We are stronger. We will not live in fear.”

Regina dropped her hand from his arm. “It is not cowering, it is being safe.” Anger tinged her words. Celeste had seen more emotion from her in the past few days than she thought possible.

“I will not cower,” Mateus said. “You can, but I will not.” He lowered his voice so Celeste had to strain to hear it. “You saw our power. It is untapped and undeveloped.”

Regina sat up, her face etched with grief and hostility. Her body changed, becoming churning and watery, but contained within her human shape.
Like water,
Celeste thought. She hadn’t realized she could actually change form like that. “We have lost two
Tuatha
. We have two new ones in one year. Do you understand how rare that is? It has never happened like this.”

She stood, pacing the room, flickering from living, walking water to her human form. It was strange and beautiful. Celeste had to stop herself from reaching out to touch her. “Many years pass between
Tuatha
. Sometimes hundreds. We have to go on lockdown. I’m ordering it.”

“Regina, no!” Mateus yelled. “You may be the oldest, but you do not have the final say. You’re overreacting.”

“Naomi is dead! How dare you—”

“He is right,” Usha said. As usual, his face read distant and bored. “We do not yet know the situation. If we overreact, it will create a panic among the
Sidhe
. That would be unfortunate for everyone.”

“Plus, a lockdown is a horrible idea,” Victor chimed in. Regina turned to him, fury clear in her stance.

Victor stepped forward, hands up. “From a security standpoint, that is. I don’t think we have the resources to effectively defend ourselves against any military-type action. We may, but we don’t even know for sure what we are dealing with yet.”

“Then, what? Please enlighten us, child,” Regina said.

“Instead of swarming together like fish in a barrel, we scatter like pollen in the wind.” His lips curved into a smile.

“I agree,” Celeste said. The strength in her voice surprised her.

“Listen to the children,” Usha said. He flicked his strange hair out of his face. “They are wise.”

Regina sat down in her chair, looking tired and old, but her composed, prim self. “Fine. All
Tuatha
will return to their normal lives with guards. Potentiates will remain here, along with me. Mateus, find me an army big enough to defend them against any attack. You like to pick fights.”

Mateus smiled. “I will make this place a true fortress, my dear Regina.”

“Good. It is done,” she said.

The door opened, guards and
Tuatha
slowly filing out. Celeste felt Rylan’s presence behind her. She guessed he’d been lurking in the shadows the whole time, but she’d been too distracted to notice. She slipped her hand into his.

“Let’s go,” he said. He solidified himself next to her, and then led her out of the room.

“Rua.” Regina’s voice stopped them in their tracks.

“Yes?”

“Find your power. Use it wisely, for it is very strong.”

Celeste’s mind flitted over the images she had been shown at the funeral. She understood more of what she was, but she still had many questions. “I will try.”

“Good. And be careful. Dark times are upon us.” Her beautiful eyes were full of sorrow as she spoke.

“Yes, ma’am.” She slipped out of the room, her hand still nestled inside of Rylan’s. “How much of that did you hear?”

“All of it,” Rylan said. “I may not be the biggest fan of Victor, but he was right. They can’t keep you here like prisoners because one
Tuatha
died.”

Her parents waited outside. “Well?” her mother asked. “What was that?”

“A meeting to decide how to proceed. Naomi was murdered by
Sidhe
, so they want to make sure we are all safe.”

“And?” her father asked. “Why the hell wasn’t I allowed in there? How come he was?” He pointed at Rylan.

Rylan raised both his hands. “I wasn’t invited either. I snuck in.”

Her father relaxed his shoulders, but still looked mad. “What happened? Tell me everything.”

“There’s a faction of
Sidhe
that have broken off and are rebelling. They seem to be violent, but we don’t know what their purpose is,” Celeste said.

Rylan shifted his weight. “Yep. Not too different. Some
Sidhe
have always been dangerous. There just seems to be more organization to it now.”

Her dad rubbed his temples. “So what? What do we do now?”

Celeste put her arms around his waist. “We go home. With guards. Like before.”

Her dad folded his strong arms around her. “Okay, baby. Let’s go home. I’m hiring private security too.”

Victor appeared next to them, causing them all to jump. “Sorry,” he said, “but that won’t be necessary.”

“Don’t do that, please,” Celeste said.

“Yes, ma’am. You ready to go home? We can take you all now.”

“Yes, please do,” Celeste said.

“Right.” He stepped next to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Rylan wrapped his arm around her waist and gently pulled her close to him. “I’ll take her.” His eyes flashed in a dangerous way.
Oh, shit. Not now, Rylan.

“Right.” Victor stepped back with his same smile.

The guards surrounded them. Before Celeste had time to shut her eyes, they were moving violently.

The crazy whirling stopped. When she opened her eyes, she was in her backyard.

Chapter 7

Celeste leaned against the frame of her bedroom window. She had it propped open, waiting for Rylan. Darkness settled on the house, washing through her, calming her spirit. The crickets were chirping in the hot, humid night. Some of her birds stirred in the backyard, flitting near her window. She liked having them around when she was under stress. She could feel her guards around her, even now. She didn’t let them in her room, though. She had to draw the line somewhere.

“Ma’am.” A male voice directly behind her interrupted her thoughts.

Well, except for that guard. “Hi, Victor.” She turned. He was standing in the middle of her room, hands crossed over his chest. He was dressed like a normal teenager, jeans and t-shirt, aside from the sword strapped to his back.

“You parents okay? They asleep?”

“Yeah,” she said. “They’re coping pretty well, considering.”

“Considering their daughter is the most power
Tuatha
the earth has ever seen and is constantly hunted by
Sidhe.
”

“Right. Another day in the life of me.” She smiled and plopped down at the head of her bed. “I’m surprised you were so eager to leave the compound for Kansas.”

He laughed. “Kansas is nice, so far. A little flat, but it has its own beauty.” He sat at the foot of the bed, far away from her. “It’s nice to get away from my father and have my own space. I’ve been raised on that compound.”

She pulled a pillow close and rested her arms on it. “What’s that like? Were you allowed to leave?”

“Oh, yeah.” He tucked his hair behind his ear. “I was sent to other countries to train in different martial arts, and my father is from Brazil so we spent a lot of time there, too. It’s a unique place to live, but with my father, Regina hovering around, the constantly revolving potentiates, and the pressure to date them, it can suck.”

“I bet.”

“I’m glad to be out, too. I had a bit of ulterior motive. I have intel of my own monitoring the
Sidhe
situation.”

“What kind of intel?” Rylan asked. His eyes bounced from Celeste and Victor, his mouth an angry slash on his face.

Celeste jumped up from the bed. “Rylan! You’re here.”

“Hi.” He flashed to her side, planting a kiss on her cheek. “And what were you saying, Victor?” Tension worked his jaw.

Victor smiled back, unmoved by Rylan’s anger. “Intel. I think the
Sidhe
are up to something. Without my father and Regina breathing down my neck, I have the freedom to investigate a little further.”

“Like what?”

“I’ve got some spies going in that Regina and Mateus may not need to know about.”

Rylan uncrossed his arms. “You think it’s an inside job?”

“I think I need to investigate on my own, away from them,” he said. “It’s better for everyone.”

Rylan’s face relaxed. “Whatever we need to do to keep her safe.”

Celeste rolled her eyes. “You guys know I’m not helpless, right?”

“No one is saying you’re helpless, babe. I just want you safe,” Rylan said. He turned to Victor. “Anything else we can help you with?”